These days, nearly everyone in the developed world has a smartphone with access to the internet, which means that cellphone apps are more important than ever before. Millions upon millions of apps are downloaded every year, but not every app on your phone is all that important when you think about it.

Sometimes, an app is useful once, but then it’s quickly forgotten. Then, there are those apps that helped change the way people interact with one another. Those are the apps that really have meaning in our lives, and these ten represent the most important apps released between 2010 and 2019, listed in no particular order.

SEE ALSO: 10 Ways Your Smartphone Is Ruining Your Life

10 Uber

Carpooling and paying for a ride were nothing new when Uber first hit the app stores in 2011, but that didn’t stop the app from creating an entirely new industry dubbed “Ridesharing.” Ridesharing apps like Uber, Lyft, Wingz, and Sidecar have taken over the market in a way few apps could ever hope to emulate, and they’ve also had a drastic impact on preexisting industries like taxis. Though Uber has gained some competition in the marketplace, it remains the dominant ridesharing app and is found on some 110 million users’ phones around the world.

By the end of 2019, Uber had found its way into 785 metropolitan areas across the globe, with coverage in 63 countries. Despite its growth and value on the marketplace, Uber and other ridesharing apps aren’t without controversy. Uber has been criticized for paying its drivers too little for the work they do, causing massive disruptions to the taxicab business, and for putting more cars on the road.^[1]

Related: 10 Ways Uber Is Shaping The Modern World

9 Instagram

Though it originally debuted exclusively on iOS in 2010, Instagram found its way to Android devices less than two years later to become one of the most important photo and video sharing apps on the market. Instagram is a relatively simple app, but despite its simplicity, it has exploded in popularity all over the world to include one billion registered users by the end of 2019. The app has become a focal point for viral social media issues, and it’s also heavily used by celebrities who use it to communicate with their fans.

It’s also an excellent way for so-called “Social Media Influencers” to make a living by sharing aspects of their lives while promoting products, or speaking about issues that they consider important. Instagram is hardly the only media-sharing app on the market, but it is easily the most used across the globe. Concerns about its valuation were put to rest when it was acquired by Facebook in 2015 for $1 billion in cash and stock.^[2]

Related: 9 Sinister Facts About The Dark Side Of Instagram [DISTURBING]

8 Tinder

Years ago, during the dark ages when the Internet was considered a place to meet dangerous people and otherwise undesirable folks, online dating was taboo. Back in the ‘90s, people would never tell their friends they met someone online, but by 2010, it was fairly commonplace thanks to sites like Match.com and others. While there have been apps that helped people meet one another before Tinder hit the market in 2012, none changed the way people got together quite like Tinder did, and it has gone on to become a significant aspect of many young people’s lives.

Tinder is fairly simple in its operation: set up a profile and get to swiping left if you’re not interested in someone, or right if you are. If you and someone you swiped right on did the same for you, you can link up through the app. Tinder has been criticized for creating a more prominent “hook-up” culture than existed previously, but these claims are difficult to quantify. What is easy to quantify are the billion+ swipes the app sees on a daily basis. Pictured above are the two most right-swiped people on Tinder in the UK.^[3]

Related: Failed At Tinder? Here Are 10 Surprising Things That Make You Less Attractive To Others

7 Snapchat

Snapchat first hit app stores in September 2011, and within a very short period of time, the app grew to become one of the largest image-sharing apps on the market. In less than a year, the service was processing 25 images each second, and since the service added video compatibility, Snapchat has seen growth to include more than 10 billion video views per day with over 210 million daily active users.

Snapchat’s success with its “story” feature pushed the competition to emulate it, and despite featuring the ability to remove any seen content shortly after it’s been viewed, more and more people have flocked to it as a viable image sharing platform. By limiting the amount of time a video or image can remain on the platform, Snapchat managed to continue to grow its sizable user base without having to invest heavily in expensive storage options. This has helped the company grow faster than most tech companies with similar offerings.^[4]

6 Pokémon Go

In terms of quantity, there are probably more games on the various app stores than there are utilities, and with that much content, it can be hard for one game to stand out from the rest. Then, there’s Pokémon Go, a game that not only became an instant success, but it also got people to leave their houses, venture out into the world, and capture digital creatures of all different kinds.

Since the game’s release in 2016, it has been downloaded more than one billion times. The game is entirely free, but players can purchase upgrades and tools to help in their quest to “catch ‘em all.” By the beginning of 2019, the game had grossed more than $3 billion, which is quite a lot for a free app. Pokémon Go’s biggest impact has been cultural, having bridged the gap between casual and die-hard gamers across the world. By March 2019, users around the world have walked a combined 23,000,000,000 kilometers, which is the same as ‘walking’ between Earth and Pluto three times.^[5]

Related: Top 10 Fascinating Facts About Pokemon Go

5Candy Crush Saga

If Pokemon Go helped people get off the couch and out into the world, Candy Crush Saga did the exact opposite. In terms of play mechanics, Candy Crush didn’t have a lot to offer as far as anything new; rather, it evolved earlier matching games into a unique playfield spread over an ever-increasing number of levels. The game debuted in 2012, and despite being free, it’s one of the highest-grossing apps of all time thanks to its perfection of the so-called “freemium” model.

Since its release, Candy Crush has been downloaded more than 2.7 billion times. Gamers spent an average of $4.2 million every day during 2018, and by early 2019, the game had pulled in an estimated $1.5 billion overall. The game’s success drew the attention of Blizzard, which purchased its developer, King, for $5.9 billion. Money aside, the game has had a significant cultural impact, having spawned multiple spinoff games, a television game show, and numerous references across popular culture.^[6]

4Apple Pay

Years ago, science fiction dreamed of a day where we could abandon our paltry coins and bills to be replaced by credits or some other currency tied to a thumbprint or other means. That day became a reality in 2014 with the advent of Apple Pay. Technically, digital wallets have been around, in one form or another, for a long time, but Apple managed to put one in nearly everyone’s pocket, and in less than a year, Google followed suit.

By utilizing a person’s smartphone, Apple managed to create a means of payment, which could be authenticated via password, thumbprint, or even, facial recognition. The science fiction predicted decades previously had finally come around, and it has since adapted to work on smartwatches as well. The impact of Apple Pay, Google Pay, and other similar apps can be seen everywhere credit cards are taken, which means you can pay with any digital means almost everywhere on the planet.^[7]

Related: Top 10 Epic Apple Fails

3 Vine

People want content, and for a long time, that content was considerably long. Movies are usually 90+ minutes while television shows run from 21 minutes to an hour, so it stands to reason that video content would follow suit. It pretty much did until the release of Vine in 2013. The app launched the popularity of the short-form video with each segment lasting only six seconds. If you thought a six-second video couldn’t garner the attention of anyone, you would be wrong. At its height, Vine had more than 200 million active users.

Vine survived until 2017, at which point, the platform was retired. It seemed like the impact of Vine was minimal until it was replaced by a Chinese app, Tik-Tok. Like Vine, Tik-Tok used microblogging short-form videos of between three and 60 seconds. The app took off like its predecessor and has gone on to see some 500 million monthly users in China and the rest of the world. Both Vine and Tik-Tok had a massive cultural impact, especially with younger users between the ages of 16 and 24 with a majority being female.^[8]

Related: 10 Terrifying YouTube Videos That Will Keep You Awake At Night

2 Siri

Back in the dark ages, people with cellphones had to get things done by typing/tapping some sort of input. Fortunately, those days are mostly behind us thanks to the advent of digital assistants and the release of Siri back in October 2011. Siri became a friend and companion to many iPhone users across the globe, and she—yes, Siri is personified as a woman—became a cultural icon. Siri effectively replaced the need to type anything into a phone since she can respond in real-time to vocal requests. If you need to schedule a meeting, order food, or check your stocks, just ask Siri.

Since Siri proved to be immeasurably popular with Apple users, other companies got into the digital assistant game. Google, Samsung, and many more have their own digital assistant, but it’s the one who came first that dominates the market. Siri did something no app had done before when, in 2017’s The Lego Batman Movie, she voiced the role of ‘Puter.^[9]

Related: 9 Signs Apple Is Being Run By Supervillains

1 FaceTime

Another technology that was promised to folks in the 20th century through numerous science fiction stories was video communication. Over the years, video chatting showed up on a number of devices and computer applications, but it needed a push from Apple to finally land in people’s pockets via a reliable application in FaceTime. The app first debuted in mid-2010, and while it wasn’t the first app to link people all over the world in video chats, it was the first to gain wide acceptance such that many people refer to video chatting with someone as “facetiming” whether they are using the app or not.

Since its development, other companies have expanded their own video chatting tech, but as those apps grow and develop, so too does FaceTime. The app was so successful and widely implemented, video chats have become the norm. Whether you use FaceTime to see your friends and loved ones across the world, or you use Skype, Google Chat, Facebook Messenger, or any of the dozens of viable apps, they all owe their success to Apple’s FaceTime.^[10]

About The Author: Jonathan is a graphic artist, illustrator, and writer. He is a Retired Soldier and enjoys researching and writing about history, science, theology, and many other subjects.

Dating is hard enough without the added terrors that apps can bring. In the U.S, an October 2019 study found that three-in-ten adults say they’ve used an online dating site or app. A total of 45% of those with recent experiences claim it was more frustrating than hopeful. While failed encounters are irritating, some people have utterly horrible stories. From robberies to unwanted sexual advances and even murder, here are the top 10 dating app horror stories. 

10 Ex-Date Sends 1,100 Strangers To Him For Sex or Drugs

Revenge pursuits generally lead to unpleasant situations for everyone involved. Matthew Herrick experienced an incredibly unique revenge plot from an ex-boyfriend he met on Grindr. Over five months, Herrick had 1,100 men show up at his Manhattan home and workplace expecting sex or drugs. Herrick’s ex had created fake Grindr accounts starting in October 2016 with Herrick’s photos and personal details. He also added lies, e.g., Herrick is HIV positive and enjoys rape fantasy and role-play. These lies explained to suiters why Herrick might appear resistant when they show up for sex. The strangers wouldn’t take “no” for an answer and even followed Herrick into the bathroom at work. 

In April 2017, Herrick sued Grindr for allowing the incident to occur. His lawyers questioned Grindr’s legal and ethical responsibilities when users abuse the platform, especially since there were over 100 reports on Grindr’s app flagging the fake profiles.

9 Her Date Loved Himself a Bit Too Much

A Reddit user shared a disturbing account online of her experience with a man she met through OkCupid. Although she thought he was cute, there were red flags all throughout their dinner conversation. They went to the movies, and during the trailers, he began to masturbate. She explains, “He just unzipped his pants and started going at it, and I sat next to him horrified!”

He justified his actions by saying every normal person jerks off in movie theaters. Um…okay… Next, he tried to have sex with her, which she declined. She moved across to the other side of the theater to watch the movie in peace. At least she enjoyed the movie!

8 Toilet-Loving Tinder Match Threatened Revenge Porn

Some people can’t take rejection very well, and Trent John Samuels, age 27, was one of them. Samuels matched with a woman on Tinder. They exchanged messages for a few weeks before she deleted him from her Snapchat account in December 2019. Apparently, he turned her off by a photo he sent her of him defecating on the toilet, with the caption “Poo time.” Unfortunately, during those weeks of conversation, she sent photos of herself and an intimate video where she had no underwear and touched herself. Samuels used a screenshot of the video to threaten her on Instagram, saying she should be careful and check his Instagram story. She went straight to the police, assuming he had already made the content public. 

With the threatening messages as evidence against him in court, Samuels pleaded guilty to revenge porn charges. This charge can carry up to three years in jail in Queensland, Australia. However, Samuels ended up with $2,500 in fines and was court-ordered to pay the victim $1,000 compensation. 

7 Men Posing as Women to Rob Their “Dates”

According to eHarmony, 20% of women had used older photos from when they looked younger, and over 40% of men lied about their jobs on their dating profiles. However, in 2020, some Maryland dating app users faced people lying about their gender and intentions. Men were posing as women on dating apps, only to show up and rob their date. The police indicated that the robbers would physically assault the victims before taking their wallets, car keys, and cell phones. In February 2020, Greenbelt police urged people to refrain from meeting strangers through dating apps. 

Other men in different U.S. cities have also used this scheme for robbery. In Detroit in 2020, police were seeking a serial robber posing as a woman on dating apps before forcing them to withdraw money from the ATM for him. Another group of three men and one woman also used this impersonation scheme in Chicago. Maybe it’s a sign to stay home—or at least do a background check on potential dates first!

6 He Was Robbed at Gun Point By His Date and Two Men

Sometimes, even a background check may not be helpful against people conning to rob you on a date, especially if your date is 31-year-old Shalena Lopez. An unidentified Californian man met Lopez on the dating app Meet Me. They set up their first date at the Eagle Mountain Casino in Porterville. At the casino, the daters met with Lopez’s relative, Mario Garcia. They also ran into her friend Cesar Cameron Domingo Jr. 

At the end of the night, the California man drove Lopez, Garcia, and Domingo home. In the car, Garcia shot a revolver twice and held the man at gunpoint. The trio told him to drive to an ATM to withdraw money and hand them his valuables. He called the Tulare County Police Department immediately after he dropped them off. Police were able to recover $400 of the stolen property. 

5 She Went On a Date With a Serial Rapist

Sexual assault is, sadly, a genuine threat women face when they are dating. And nothing proves this point more than Georgia-native Zach Anderson. Kelly Neagle met Anderson on OkCupid. She recalls him being a good-looking man who shared the same hobbies and interests as her. After a week of exchanging messages, they decided to meet at a grill and pub. “He just seemed like a normal, charming guy,” Neagle said. It wasn’t until they got into his car in the parking lot after drinks that “a switch went off.” He became aggressive, grabbed her thigh hard, and pulled her pants down before pulling the lever on the passenger side seat. He proceeded to sexually assault her. Neagle contacted OkCupid to warn them they had a rapist on their site. However, the site said they couldn’t find his profile. 

It turned out that Anderson had multiple OkCupid profiles, and his real name was Devin Richard Hartman. Hartman was a married father of three and a serial rapist. It was around two years later that Neagle got the opportunity to help put him away. In June 2014, Hartman had drugged and raped another woman, 28-year-old Jillian, after a date in midtown Atlanta. Jillian woke up at her apartment doorstep with no keys, no underwear, body aches, and blood around her private parts. Jillian went to the hospital and told the police her story. Investigations found that Jillian appeared disorientated after grabbing drinks with Hartman. Police later saw her on camera coming out of his car an hour later before a security guard helped her home in a taxi.

In late 2015, the courts convicted Hartman of rape and aggravated sodomy for his assault on Jillian. Three other women besides Neagle testified at his trial. The Superior Court Judge Constance Russell called Hartman a “predator” and sentenced him to two consecutive life sentences. Jillian recalls, “I was on a date with a monster, and I had no idea.”

4 She Was Murdered During The Second Date

In November 2017, Tinder matched 24-year-old Sydney Loofe from Lincoln, Nebraska, with Bailey Boswell. After a great first date, they agreed to meet up again the next day. The last time anyone heard from Loofe was on November 15th through a Snapchat photo with the caption “ready for my date.” She didn’t show up for work the next day and was reported missing on November 16th. Investigators later found out that Boswell had also brought along her 51-year-old boyfriend, Aubrey Trail, for the second date. 

Loofe’s friend, who had a picture of Boswell, found her profile on Tinder and sent it to the police. However, Boswell and Trail were already on the run. Bizarrely, Boswell and Trail started posting social media videos about the situation two weeks after Loofe went missing. They said they were innocent, felt bad for the family, and the police were trying to crucify them.  

On December 4th, police found Loofe’s dismembered body in garbage bags thrown into a field. In June 2018, police charged Boswell and Trail with first-degree murder and the improper disposal of human remains. Before the second date, they had dismembered Loofe using tools they bought at Home Depot. This story shows that even after a great first date, horrors can still be waiting on the next one. 

3 His Date Was Paid to Set Up A Robbery Leading to His Death 

Sometimes an innocent bowling date can turn deadly—and this next story is pretty tragic. For 27-year-old Florida father, Adam Hilarie, this was just the case. Hilarie met 18-year-old Hailey Bustos through the PlentyOfFish site and went on their first date in August 2016. After the date, Bustos wanted to see him again. However, she showed up with three men at Hilarie’s house. They robbed him of his TVs, Xbox, alcohol, jewelry, and iPhone before shooting him in the head. Hilarie hadn’t fought back and begged for his life, saying he had a 5-year-old daughter. Police arrested Andre Warner, Gary Gray, and Joshua Ellington for conspiracy to commit robbery, robbery with a firearm, and first-degree murder. In 2020, a jury found Andre Warner guilty of killing Hilarie execution-style. 

During investigations, police found that the men paid Bustos $50 to set up the robbery. Bustos claimed she didn’t know they would kill him. The moral of this story is don’t bring a date home after the first meet-up. 

2 She Was Attacked and Hospitalized After Breaking It Off

After becoming a widow, Mary Kay Beckman didn’t expect her life to be at risk when deciding to date again. Beckman was using the Match.com dating site for two months when it matched her with Wade Ridley in September 2010. After ten days of dating, Beckman broke it off. However, Ridley had become angry and created a kill list. Three months later, Ridley found Beckman and stabbed her ten times with a butcher knife until the knife broke. He then stomped her on the head and left, assuming she was dead. A neighbor called in the attack. Beckman was hospitalized for months going through head surgeries.

Ridley later met another woman, Anne Simenson, on Match.com and successfully killed her with a machete knife. Las Vegas police arrested Ridley for Simenson’s murder, and during interviews, Ridley confessed to his kill list. Police charged Ridley with attempted murder and robbery, and a judge sentenced him to 28 to 70 years in prison. However, in May 2012, Ridley committed suicide. 

Although Beckman survived the attack, the incident still haunts her. Beckman said she would never use a dating app again and sued Match.com for $10 million. 

1 He Went On A Date With A Murderous Cannibal

A London Metropolitan Police officer, Gordon Semple, met 51-year-old Stefano Brizzi on the dating app Grindr. They decided to meet up at Brizzi’s apartment, where Brizzi strangled Semple to death. Inspired by the show Breaking Bad, Brizzi tried to dismember Semple’s body in an acid-filled bath. Ugh, terrible. Although Brizzi doesn’t remember doing this because he was high on crystal meth, prosecutors explained he also tried to eat Semple’s flesh. Double terrible! Police found Semple’s body in the oven, in a tea strainer, and on chopsticks. There was also Brizzi’s bite mark on the rib. Triple terrible.

In 2016, the courts sentenced Brizzi to life in prison. However, Brizzi hanged himself two months into his sentence. 

On July 10, 2008, the App Store was introduced to the world, and the way we consume and interact with technology has never looked the same. Apps became the go-to new format for brands and businesses to reach their audience. The introduction of apps has been the catalyst for all kinds of weird and wonderful, but more importantly, helpful.

There are numerous great innovative apps that change people’s lives for the better, and even some that have the possibility to save lives. These ten apps represent of sampling of the numerous versions that are available—not to mention the ones still in development with better tech and more dynamic features.

Related: 10 Times Smartphones And The Internet Saved Lives

10 ICE Medical Standard

ICE stands for In Case of Emergency. This app has been developed to be the industry-leading medical ID for both iOS and Android phones. Medical ID is an app that lets you put your emergency medical contact information on your smart phone’s lock screen image overlay display. So if you are in an accident, first responders, EMS, EMTs, FEMA, and ER staff can find your emergency contact information as soon as they turn on your phone.

They created an easy-to-read color-coded system to allow the emergency responder to gauge how “high-risk” the individual is. Even the healthiest of individuals could benefit from having this app on their phone; you never know when an app like this could get you out of some serious trouble. Doctors can access your allergies, health conditions, and any medication you might regularly take within seconds of picking up your mobile. And, of course, you can decide which personal information is visible on your lock screen to protect your private information.^[1]

9 What3Words

In a time of emergency, it is vital to be able to describe exactly where you are. For example, imagine if you were out walking in the wild and found yourself in need of medical assistance, a street address certainly couldn’t help you then. So when needed, you must be able to precisely explain your location with more precision than a typical address.

This is where What3words comes in. This app gives every three-square-meter (9.8-square-foot) square in the world a unique three-word address—all 57 trillion of them. Three words have been randomly generated for each square and will always stay the same, so you can now direct someone to a specific square of the world with just three words.

It was originally designed as a solution for finding more unusual or remote addresses, but now their app covers the whole world with three-meter squares; the applications for this software are virtually endless. They’ve even created an extension for Google Chrome and Mozilla so that you can search a what3words address directly into google maps.^[2]

8 Zello PTT Walkie Talkie

Zello is an app that allows users to turn their mobile phones into walkie-talkies or two-way radios, providing they have a network or Wi-Fi connection. The service will even send communications over older 2G networks if nothing else is available. This app offers a way for people around the world to communicate even when they have poor cellular service.

It’s an easily accessible technology that helps emergency responders to communicate and receive alerts without needing the expensive traditional radio hardware. It allows clear and undisrupted communication across multiple teams of first responders.

Also, in the event of a crisis, channel owners can send out loud repetitive Channel Alerts. Alerts send out loud beeps every minute, along with a text message, to subscribers, whether connected or not to the channel. As a result, every day, tens of thousands of first responders use Zello in their operations, and eight billion live messages are sent monthly. This is solid proof that this app is making a seriously positive impact on many people’s lives worldwide.

They are further developing this technology by teaming up with AGIS (Advanced Ground Information Systems) to create LifeRing, an app to increase the efficiency of first responders and military personnel. Zello is clearly at the forefront of push-to-talk communications; it will be interesting to see the growing positive impact it has on the world.^[3]

7 Cairn

Cairn is the ultimate app to keep you safe when you want to go on long walks in the wilderness. It was released in 2015 and has helped many avid explorers enjoy their hikes with that extra peace of mind.

Their slogan “Get home safely from any adventure” highlights the sole purpose of this app. Some of the useful integrations on this app are trail alerts and real-time location tracking. Trail alerts will automatically contact your chosen contacts (friends/ family) if you’re overdue to return. If you’re walking somewhere a little treacherous alone, the real-time tracking could be a life-saver. It allows your contact of choice to be able to see where you are every step of the way.

Within the app, you’re also able to find which areas have cell coverage, so if you need to make a call, you’ll know where to head to. This element is crowdsourced, so every time a user opens this app on a new trail, it increases the amount of information available to the next hiker.^[4]

6 Stay Alive

Self-described as a “pocket suicide prevention resource…packed full of useful information and tools to help you stay safe in crisis.” They have created a free-to-use app that offers help and guidance to those that need it. If someone feels like they don’t have anyone to talk to about what they’re going through, Stay Alive changes that.

It offers multiple functions designed to inspire motivation and help individuals feel less overwhelmed. Some of the handy features include a safety plan, a “Lifebox” where you can store photos that are particularly important to you, and, of course, links to national crisis resources.

It was developed by Grassroots Suicide Prevention, a UK-based charity that supports communities in preventing suicide. They teach suicide prevention skills to community members and professionals. And although it may seem a tricky subject, it is incredibly important for charities like this to be creating free, up-to-date services.^[5]

5 First Aid by British Red Cross

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

The British Red Cross, the United Kingdom’s body of the worldwide humanitarian network—The International Red Cross—has created a series of apps that are designed to teach everyone the crucial techniques of first-aid. Being able to give first aid immediately can help to reduce a person’s recovery time and make the difference between the patient having a temporary or long-term disability. And encouraging people to learn the basics is certainly a worthy cause.

Their main app covers 19 skills that could help people give aid to themselves or others while going about their day-to-day business. It’s getting some much-needed information into many people’s hands with over 500 thousand downloads on the Google Play store alone.

It teaches users how to deal with incidents such as road traffic accidents and severe cold weather. It provides the information in engaging ways such as videos, interactive quizzes, and step-by-step guides.^[6]

4 Share the Meal

It has been said that one in nine people are hungry or undernourished worldwide. And according to the charity Action Against Hunger, about 2.3 million children die each year due to malnourishment. Share the Meal is an app that combats this serious matter. It was built alongside the United Nations World Food Program with a crowdfunding model.

The introduction of an engaging, easy-to-use app that both educates and enables people to donate received a warm welcome from many organizations. In 2020, it received recognition as one of the “Best Apps” by both Google and Apple. Its mission is to “make fighting hunger accessible to everyone,” and this app does just that. Most people would say they are willing to donate to charities, but maybe less have done so in the past due to the lack of ease around smaller donations. Now, Share The Meal allows its users to donate as little as 80 cents within seconds. It offers pre-set donation suggestions, describing how many meals each amount will provide, with the maximum suggestion being $293 to provide 365 meals to a family or individual.^[7]

3 Pulse Point

Pulse Point is a technology company whose mission is to use machine learning and automation to transform healthcare by creating platforms that help people in need receive assistance in quicker time frames. They have created an app that allows anyone with CPR training to provide help and assistance to people in their local area suffering from cardiac arrest. The “CPR Needed” alerts have a unique alarm sound and are programmed to override the do not disturb function on mobile phones. It is also a 911-connected app, so it will not only inform citizens in the local area, but it will also inform the relevant emergency services.

Users of the app can also help save lives even before they are in danger. They have created a function that allows anyone to pinpoint AEDs (Automated external defibrillators) anywhere on the map with a short description of the business it’s attached to along with a photo for the context of its location.

App users can now also choose to be notified of other events that may impact them and their families, such as wildland fires, flooding, and utility emergencies. And although it just covers North America currently, they are working on distributing this free service across the world.^[8]

2 My Earthquake Alerts

Another totally free app that has been designed with the safety of the world’s population in mind is My Earthquake Alerts. With over a million downloads and 4.5 stars in the Google Play store, this is an easy-to-use app designed specifically to inform users of earthquakes around the world. (12.)

It has been estimated that around 20,000 earthquakes happen every year globally, with 16 expected to be major earthquakes (at a magnitude of 7.0 to 8.0). Therefore, an app that informs people when they happen will undoubtedly have the ability to save lives. Users can choose which regions to receive notifications about, so they can have peace of mind about themselves and their loved ones, no matter where they are in the world. Available on both Android and iOS devices, it’s certainly an app that could have a positive impact on anyone who lives in (or visits) a region likely to have earthquakes.^[9]

1 Snug Safety

This is an app that has been designed as a daily check-in service for people that live alone, specifically targeted at seniors and the vulnerable. It provides a way for families to make sure their loved ones are keeping safe and well. Whether you need that peace of mind while on holiday away from your parents or grandparents or want a long-term solution to ensure that they are staying safe while living alone, this app can provide just that.

According to their website, they have already had two million check-ins. They have been featured in Forbes and AARP: The Magazine, so it’s clearly making a positive impact in the world of elderly care. The app requires the individual to check in at least once a day, indicating that they are safe to their loved ones. Previous to the check-in deadline, there are alerts to provide reminders. However, if the deadline passes without a check-in, it will send their emergency contacts a text message saying they missed the check-in. Also, the paid version of the app offers to call each of your contacts in order. And if they have still not checked in and the dispatcher does not have confirmation that one of their emergency contacts will check on them, they will request an official wellness check to their cell phone’s last known location.^[10]