New chat app to keep women safe

AHMEDABAD: How about a WhatsApp-like chat messenger that doubles up as your buddy in case you are in trouble! Two 18-year olds from Ahmedabad Institute of Technology have developed ClickOn, an app for android phones that will immediately dial the phone numbers of two of your nearest and dearest ones, while sending emails to another two. Not just that, a map providing location will also be a part of the emails.
Nishit Chaun and Dhwani Shah, fourth year students of computer engineering, knew their plan was ambitious right from the start. "We know that about 32 developers created WhatsApp over a span of two years. We both have achieved almost similar features and added some more in just 10 months. We are going to launch the beta version on Google Play Store soon," said Chaun, who wants to be an IPS officer.
ClickOn, apart from being a chat messenger, will have an emergency feature with a widget on your screen. It will ask users to register any two phone numbers and email IDs of people you trust the most and believe will come at your hour of need. The minute you touch the widget, the first number will get automatically dialled, followed by the second number in case the previous call isn't picked.
Simultaneously, emails will be sent to the registered IDs with a map location of the user. "We had been brainstorming during the Nirbhaya episode and realized that this feature may save lives," said Shah, who aspires to be an app developer.
Other than the emergency function, the app has status updates, emotion sharing along with maps providing live locations of friends. "The best part is that no data will be stored in our server except the login details. User can get rid of chat history, making the conversations secure and private," explained Chaun.
The duo had two mentors, their professor Naveen Kandwal and Pratik Patel. "They did tremendous R&D and included some of the most-in-demand features in the app," said Patel. A classmate and ClickOn user, Priya Shah agreed. "It is an incredible app for women and children and I will recommend it to all once they launch the beta version on Google," she said.