For students worried about their safety and how to better protect themselves, a group of software developers have made a new way to prevent sexual assault and violent crimes. Last week the Whistl smartphone case, designed by LifeShel, was presented at the Forbes Under-30 Summit in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The case is designed to help protect its users, equipped with flashing LED lights, an alarm and an app to control the settings.

Kickstarter is currently funding the case with time to back running through Nov. 2, but it will only be funded if at least $70,000 is pledged. The case has three modes: Check-In Mode, Panic Mode and Stealth Mode. 

For Check-In Mode, the user must click the two side buttons together once and set a time interval for the app to check on them. If they do not respond and tell the app they are safe, the police and their friends or family will be notified. 

Panic Mode is activated when the user clicks the side buttons twice while under distress. The double-clicking sets off an alarm along with flashing LED lights, and if the users are able to, they can provide additional information about their environment. The alarm that is set off is rated at 120dB, which is almost as loud as the front row of a concert, and the LED light is rated at 90 lumens. After 15 seconds, the police are notified that the user is in distress. 

“There is a wide range of capabilities for alerting the police,” said LifeShel COO Alan Fu. “We use one that communicates that message through text-to-voice service, so someone can send GPS coordinates and information, which will then be translated to speech, so the police can receive messages no matter their capabilities.”

Stealth Mode is for when users do not want to draw attention to themselves. To activate it, they must hold the buttons together. Stealth Mode does not have the LEDs flashing or the alarm sounding, but like Panic Mode, it gives an option to provide additional information about the environment and notifies the police after 15 seconds.

According to Fu, it is not necessary for friends and family to also have the Whistl case for the safety messaging to work. However, the company recommends that whoever is on the user’s contact list should get the application. If they choose not to receive the safety messages from the user’s case, they will come through as texts instead. There has not been much negative feedback, but one concern seems to keep resurfacing.

“Most of our negative feedback has been [people worried about] accidentally launching the app and alarm,” said LifeShel Community Outreach Organizer Leah Yingling.

According to Yingling, the case will not be activated in the user’s pocket or purse, as the buttons need a human touch to function in one of the three modes. Yingling also said the team has set up several safety features, including a failsafe if the user accidentally sets off the Whistl case. If the case is accidentally activated, the user has 15 seconds to type in their personal code to shut it off and negate the alert to friends, family or the police.

There is not an option yet for non-Apple smartphones, but Fu insists that LifeShel wants to develop more products such as the Whistl iPhone case that can be used on other smartphones.

“For us, the main focus was on the iPhone because of the iOS platform, which has the largest amount of smartphone user share,” Fu said. 

Yingling agreed that the main concentration is the iPhone case at the moment, but in the future, LifeShel may look at wearable devices as an avenue for safety technology. 

“Other products could include a panic alarm not attached to a phone, devices for the elderly like Life Alert, or buttons around schools for teachers when there are active school shooters on campus,” Fu said.

Initially the case will only be available online through Kickstarter, but the team does hope to sell Whistl cases in stores in the future. According to Yingling, LifeShel’s main message is preaching safety and raising awareness by creating a product that can help keep its users safe.

“Safety should be 24/7, not just when you think you need it,” Yingling said.