A personal safety phone app has launched in Barrow.
WalkSafe will help those who live, work or visit the town plan their journeys and days and nights out safely, while letting their friends and family know where they are on an online map.
The app was launched in Carlisle in December 2024 and has been used almost 20,000 times.
WalkSafe features a map of Barrow that pinpoints local venues that provide enhanced safety features that may make people feel safer on a night out.
The app can also help people plot a safer route home.
Users can share their live location with trusted contacts and the app will notify friends and family when they get home safely.
It also features an SOS button to alert trusted contacts immediately when people feel in danger.
The app also allows people to report issues.
If you don’t want or aren’t ready to contact police or other agencies for problems you are aware of – such as poor lighting, being followed, catcalling, or large groups and intimidating locations – this information when reported is used to focus on and increase safety in that place.
It can be downloaded on the App Store or at Google Play.
The app is backed by Cumbria police and Westmorland & Furness Council.
