A good personal safety app lets you raise an alarm fast, shares your live location with people you trust, and is honest about who responds: your friends, a paid monitoring centre, or no one. Before paying, check what your phone already does for free, whether you need 24/7 monitoring, the price after any trial, and how your location data is handled.
Updated 28 September 2026 · Sources: Apple Support, Google Android Help, Hollie Gazzard Trust, App Store and Google Play listings, Avon and Somerset Police
Most safety apps alert your own contacts, not the police. If you are in danger, call 999. If you can’t speak, stay on the line and follow the operator’s prompts; our guide to silent 999 calls explains how.
Six things to check before you choose
What should a personal safety app do?
At minimum, it should let you send an alert with your live location to people you trust in one or two taps, even from the lock screen. Better apps add check-ins that warn your contacts if you don’t arrive, evidence recording, and route or area information. The key question is who receives the alert and how quickly they can act.
Is my phone’s built-in safety feature enough?
For many people, yes. iPhone Emergency SOS calls 999 and alerts your emergency contacts, and Check In in Messages tells a friend when you arrive or shares your location if you don’t (both phones need iOS 17 or later). Android 12 and later has Emergency SOS, emergency sharing and Safety Check in the Personal Safety app. See our Emergency SOS set-up guide.
Do safety apps call 999 for you?
Usually not. The built-in Emergency SOS on iPhone and Android can place a 999 call, but most third-party safety apps alert your chosen contacts instead. Some paid plans, such as Hollie Guard Extra, pass alerts to a professional response centre that can involve the emergency services. Always check the app’s own description of who responds.
What is 24/7 monitoring, and do I need it?
Monitoring means trained staff receive your alert and decide what to do, instead of relying on a friend seeing a notification. It suits people who often travel or work alone, or who have no one reliable to alert late at night. It costs more: Hollie Guard Extra is listed by the Hollie Gazzard Trust at £79.99 a year. Employers of lone workers often provide monitored devices.
How do the main UK options compare?
Based on each provider’s own store listing or website, checked on 28 September 2026. Prices and features change, so confirm in the app before you pay.
Green: free · Amber: paid or partly paid. Safety App UK is made by the team behind this site; we have judged it on the same criteria as the others.
Is my location data safe with a safety app?
Read the privacy section of the store listing. Check who can see your location, whether sharing stops automatically, whether data is encrypted in transit, and how to delete your account. Share only with people you trust, and review the list regularly, especially after a relationship ends. Our guide to sharing your live location shows how to switch it off.
Which features matter for walking home or a night out?
Arrival check-ins, one-tap SOS and a way to find somewhere safe matter most. Venues trained in Ask for Angela can help if you feel unsafe on a night out. Combine an app with the basics in our walking home at night checklist: charged phone, planned route and someone expecting you.
Myths vs facts
- Myth: “A safety app will send the police.” Fact: Most alert your contacts. Only 999 (or a paid monitoring service that escalates) brings emergency help.
- Myth: “Free apps are less safe.” Fact: The built-in iPhone and Android tools are free and can call 999. Paying mainly buys extra features or monitoring.
- Myth: “You can text 999 without setting anything up.” Fact: The emergencySMS service is for deaf, hard of hearing and speech-impaired people, and you must register first by texting “register” to 999.
Frequently asked questions
There is no single best app. Start with your phone’s free Emergency SOS and check-in tools, then add an app if you want extra features such as evidence recording, safe-space maps or professional monitoring. Choose using the six checks above.
Many are free or have a free core, including the built-in iPhone and Android tools, Hollie Guard’s free app and WalkSafe+. Professional 24/7 monitoring and some extra features are paid.
Sources
- Apple Support: use Check In for Messages
- Google Android Help: get help during an emergency
- Hollie Gazzard Trust: Hollie Guard Extra
- App Store: Hollie Guard
- Google Play: WalkSafe+
- Avon and Somerset Police: emergencySMS
General information, not a product endorsement. Features and prices are taken from each provider’s own listing and can change. In an emergency, always call 999.
Keep reading
See how Safety App UK measures up
Safety App UK combines a live safety map built from police data and community reports with safer routes, SOS by button or shake (or automatically in higher-crime zones), live location and live video to your trusted circle, and Safe Zone arrival alerts. It does not call the emergency services. Free for 7 days, then £2.99 a month. For ages 16+.