Streetwise

Product Introduction

1. Streetwise is a navigation application that prioritizes personal safety by calculating optimal walking routes based on both speed and security metrics. It integrates real-time community-reported incident data with historical safety records to generate route recommendations. The app was developed in response to urban safety challenges, particularly targeting street harassment experienced by 80% of women in Paris. Users receive parallel options showing the fastest route and the safest alternative with safety scores ranging from 1 to 10.

2. The core value of Streetwise lies in its ability to empower pedestrians with actionable safety tools and crowd-sourced risk assessments. By combining route optimization algorithms with community-driven hazard reporting, it transforms passive navigation into proactive safety planning. The app operates as a free public service to reduce urban violence and create accountability through collective input.

Main Features

1. Streetwise displays dual-path navigation by calculating both the fastest route and the safest alternative simultaneously using proprietary safety-scoring algorithms. Safety scores (1-10) are derived from historical harassment incident data, real-time user reports, and environmental factors like lighting or foot traffic density. Users can toggle between route options while viewing safety hotspots on the map interface.

2. The app enables real-time community incident reporting through a one-tap "Report a danger" feature, which logs harassment, accidents, or hazards directly onto the shared map. Reports are anonymized and geotagged to update safety scores dynamically, creating a live risk-assessment layer. Moderators verify submissions to prevent false alerts, ensuring data reliability.

3. A "Fake Call" function simulates an incoming phone call to help users exit uncomfortable situations discreetly, with customizable caller ID and pre-recorded conversation scripts. The app automatically reroutes navigation to avoid high-risk zones flagged by recent reports or low safety scores, prioritizing user-defined safety thresholds over shortest-path logic.

Problems Solved

1. Streetwise addresses the lack of safety-focused navigation tools that prioritize personal security over conventional metrics like distance or travel time. Traditional apps ignore environmental risks such as poorly lit streets or areas with frequent harassment incidents, leaving pedestrians vulnerable. This gap disproportionately affects marginalized groups, including women and LGBTQ+ individuals.

2. The primary user base includes urban residents who prioritize personal safety, particularly women, night-shift workers, and students walking alone after dark. It also serves tourists unfamiliar with local safety dynamics and caregivers planning routes for vulnerable individuals like children or elderly family members.

3. Typical scenarios include navigating home late at night, avoiding construction zones with limited visibility, or bypassing areas with recent criminal activity reports. Users attending events in unfamiliar neighborhoods rely on the app to pre-plan secure paths, while daily commuters use it to adjust routes based on real-time hazard updates.

Unique Advantages

1. Unlike standard navigation apps like Google Maps or Citymapper, Streetwise integrates safety as a core routing parameter rather than an optional overlay. Competitors lack granular safety scoring, real-time crowd-sourced hazard updates, and automated risk-avoidance features. The app’s dual-path comparison interface is unmatched in existing tools.

2. Innovations include the community-driven safety score system, which combines machine learning analysis of incident patterns with human verification workflows. The fake call feature uses device-level APIs to mimic genuine phone behavior, including randomized vibration patterns and background noise simulation, to deter potential harassers effectively.

3. Competitive advantages include zero-cost access to all features, GDPR-compliant anonymized data sharing, and partnerships with municipal safety organizations for verified incident data. The app’s self-learning algorithm improves route recommendations as more users contribute reports, creating network effects that enhance accuracy over time.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. How does Streetwise calculate safety scores? Safety scores (1-10) combine historical police data, verified user incident reports, and environmental factors like streetlight density and nighttime foot traffic. Machine learning models weight recent reports more heavily, with scores updating every 15 minutes. Areas with multiple unverified reports receive temporary "caution" flags until moderators confirm details.

2. Is Streetwise truly free to use without hidden costs? Yes, the app operates as a free public safety tool with no advertisements or premium tiers. Development costs are covered through municipal partnerships and nonprofit grants dedicated to urban safety initiatives. Users never pay for route calculations, incident reporting, or safety features.

3. How do I report an incident without compromising my privacy? All reports are anonymized using cryptographic hashing, stripping metadata like device IDs and exact timestamps. Location data is aggregated to block-level precision rather than exact GPS coordinates. Moderators review reports without accessing user profiles, ensuring compliance with EU privacy regulations.