Overview

Once you have downloaded the free Bull Horns Panic Button app for Android or Apple there are just a few steps to activate it and start detering crime in your community. This is how simple it is to get started...

Activation

Add your details, the details of your security company, your emergency contacts and your preferences. For example you can opt in to receive alert notifications for crimes and suspicious activites reporting within a range (you can select the range).

Download (Android)

Download (Apple)

The Panic Button

The panic button is active. When you press it, it will start to call your emergency number and also send an SMS to your emergency contacts showing your location. If your security company partners with us, their control room will get an alert with a link to your details (including photo) and exact location in realtime. We recommend you test the app as soon as you download the app to understand how it works so you can trust it in an emergency.

See Demo

Non-Emergency

You can add crime alerts by completing a short form including photo, location, description and the category. This will automatically send notifications to other app users nearby. You can view a map of all alerts and click on the icons for more details.
You can also allow the app (and your security company, if they partner with us) to follow your location without activating the panic. Tap on the microphone icon to discretely start recording audio that can be retrieved later.
Tap the "Local Police" button to call the closest police station (SA only).

Headphone and Watch Activation

You can now activate your panic button with just one tap from your Apple iWatch or Android Wear smart watch. Just install the app on your linked watches. You can also activate the panic button on your Android phone by pressing the button on earphones that are plugged in. These great new beta features are designed to make it easier to get help, especially for runners, cyclists, the elderly even just when you're asleep at night.

The latest version of the app enables us to easily partner with private security companies and community safety organisation so they can protect their members better. When your members activate the panic button on their phone (which everyone carries on them and has on next to their bed at night, unlike traditional panic buttons) their phone will call you. Simultaneously you'll get a desktop alert in your control room (requires only internet access). You will be able to track their exact location on a Google Map, even if they can't speak or are on the move. This provides you with a competitive advantage and also enables you to support clients outside of their home. We'll even build you your very own app. For more information on the benefits and pricing contact us today about joining as a partner or getting your own version of the app.

1. Why does the app require all these permissions?

Some app users are concerned about the number of permissions the app requires, which is especially obvious in Android 6 (Marshmallow). In general, the app only uses additional permissions when the user initiates specific activities where these are required. Here are the specific examples of how it uses the permissions (the terminology might be slightly different between iOS (Apple) and Android:

• Contacts - When you add emergency contacts, you can select them from your existing contacts.
• Location - When you activate the panic button or the “Follow Me” button, the app can tell your contacts and security company (if they partner with us) where you are. It is also used when you want to add home location or location of crime alerts.
• SMS - When you press the panic button it will send an SMS to your emergency contacts showing your location. It will also send SMSes to contacts when you cancel the alert.
• Phone - To make phone call to your emergency contact when you press the panic button.
• Photos/Media/Files - So you can add a photo of yourself (at registration) or a crime (when adding an alert). The app never does this in the background - you must initiate this.
• Microphone - To record audio when you press the “Record Audio” button only.
• Data - The main way the app uses data is when you press the panic button or follow me button (to send a small data alert to the backend database), at registration and adding crime alerts (to save details to the database), to use the map (e.g. to find your home location or crime locations) or to use the online shop.
• Identity - So Google Play knows who has downloaded it and so users can access across devices.
• Device ID and call information - Device ID so we can synchronise your app details if, for example, you delete the app and re-install it.

2. What does the app icon at the top of my screen mean? Is the app using data or GPS in the background?

The app doesn’t use services (such as GPS or data) in the background. It only does so when the app is open and active. The app icon at the top of the screen on Android phones only indicates that the app can use the earphone jack. It has nothing to do with data or GPS. This is a new feature whereby you can activate the panic button by pressing the media button on your earphones.