The best personal safety alarms
TL;DR – what’s the best safety alarm?
If you want a safety alarm that doesn't look like a safety alarm, we recommend the Callie bracelet. It’s a gorgeous piece of premium jewellery that can also raise the alarm in an emergency.
See why the Callie Bracelet is perfect for anyone who wants to feel safer on nights out, during exercise, on walks, or while travelling, by heading to their shop. Alternatively, if you want to learn about all the different types of alarms: physical sirens, apps, SIM-enabled fall detection, etc., please read on!
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Intro – what are personal safety alarms?
“Personal safety alarms”, “panic alarms”, “panic buttons”, and “attack alarms” are terms you may have heard of. You may think of small alarms attached to a keyring that make a loud noise, or perhaps larger devices that more vulnerable older people might wear.
You may also know that there are now a number of personal safety apps on the market, as well as more modern panic devices that can be worn when out and about.
Note: If you’re a bit older, these may have been referred to as “rape alarms”.
Perhaps understandably, this term isn’t used as much anymore. Maybe because our understanding of sexual assault and “rape culture” has changed so much in the last 10-20 years, or maybe because it’s just not a great-sounding term.
Either way, while we won’t shy away from discussing the more serious topics of personal safety, we’ll be sticking to broader terms like “personal safety alarms” for this article.
In this piece, we’re going to focus on personal safety solutions (whether they’re part of an app or worn on the body) that can “raise the alarm” when a person feels uncomfortable. This means being able to press a button and send out some sort of distress signal. This alarm could be digital or it could be a physical siren-based device.
Why are we talking about personal safety?
We’re discussing personal safety for a few reasons:
- People care about it! Last year there were over 3,000 searches for “personal safety” and over 2,000 for “panic alarm” in the UK alone. On top of this, millions of people worldwide use some form of “safety tracking app”.
- We think there’s a lot of confusion out there about personal safety solutions. For someone leaving home for the first time, going to uni, going travelling, moving to a new city, etc., it can be difficult to see what solutions are available and what will provide the best value.
- We know safety! As well as discussing personal safety here at Callie, we run one of the biggest worker safety brands in the UK (Safepoint) and are backed by one of the oldest and best-regarded security companies in the world (ADT). Our safety advice has also reached millions of people on social media.
Types of personal safety devices
As mentioned, personal safety devices (physical devices or buttons that can trigger an alarm) can come in many shapes and sizes. Some of the main types include:
1. Siren alarms
These types of "siren" alarms have arguably been around the longest. The oldest form (the whistle) is about 200 years old and is still used in life jackets and by various adventurous types as a “last resort” method of calling for help. (If you have never looked up the “history of whistles” this researcher cannot recommend enough that you save yourself the bother.)
Since then there have been several attempts to create, essentially, a personal safety “car alarm” that fits in your pocket. The goal is to create a lot of noise (or light) that can raise the alarm, and scare off / disorientate an attacker.
These days, several companies are producing these sorts of pocket-sized sirens that are actually pretty good! We’ll let you know our favourite at the end of the article.
2. Standalone SIM-enabled GPS devices
Another type of personal safety device is the “standalone” GPS device. These also come in many shapes and sizes, but they can be summed up as any sort of personal alarm that sends a GPS alert via an in-built SIM card. These SIM-enabled devices devices tend to either be for:
- Those with limited mobility or who are prone to injuries – these devices will tend to have fall-detection capabilities and can let a carer or loved one know if you’re in an emergency.
- High-risk workers – Sometimes, businesses use devices like these to protect at-risk staff such as shop workers or health workers. While some, like the Safepoint Lone Worker Device, can be quite sleek, they are not really the sort of thing you’d want to wear on a night out.
3. Safety apps on your smartphone
We recently wrote a great article on personal safety apps so if you’re interested in a low-cost, low-fuss option, we definitely recommend heading there.
If you’re interested in personal safety apps, we definitely would recommend trialling the Callie Safety App. It’s free, secure and packed full of handy features to keep you safe.
4. Safety wearables and safety jewellery
Our last category offers something more discreet and attractive than traditional personal safety devices.
Rather than having their own SIM card, safety jewellery pair with your existing smartphone to provide a powerful personal safety solution without the bulk.
Perhaps the sleekest and most advanced piece of safety jewellery is the Callie Bracelet. Powered by Callie’s free Personal Safety App, this looks and feels like premium jewellery but could provide life-saving support in an emergency.
Users can trigger an SOS alert through their phone with just a tap of the bracelet’s face. This alert will be sent, through the user’s phone, to their emergency contacts. Their contacts will then be able to see the user’s alert –including a live update of the user’s location, signal status and battery life.
For £9.99 a month, the bracelet can also be used with “CalliePlus”. With this plan, the user is monitored 24/7 by Callie’s partners, ADT. This is a bit like having an ADT alarm on your house, but for wherever you are. If it’s 2 am and you’re in distress you can tap your bracelet and a smart-alarm will be sent to one of the world’s most respected security companies. They will call you, help you through the situation and, if necessary, send out the emergency services via their priority line.
Best personal safety alarms by type
So here’s the important bit! Here are our recommendations for personal safety alarms by type:
Best siren-based safety alarms
If you want something designed to startle an attacker, we recommend the Ashley Alarm. The brand boasts a “130db siren and a 200-lumen strobing LED light”. If you are looking for a way to alert your loved ones, however, you should keep reading.
Discover the Ashley Personal Safety Alarm
Best safety devices for the elderly or those with health issues
If you’re looking for someone whose at risk of falling, or who has mobility issues and doesn’t mind wearing something a bit bulkier, we recommend the Taking Care Anywhere alarm.
While it’s mostly targeted towards older people, it’s much more attractive than a lot of solutions. It has 24/7 monitoring and will work anyway with phone signal. It comes at £34.79 a month with a £70 set up fee. It’s not the sort of thing you’d want to wear to the club, but it might help a lot of people feel safer on walks and in their homes.
Discover the Taking Care Anywhere Alarm
Best safety devices for workers
If you or someone you know works alone or in a high-risk job, we’d recommend they check out the Safepoint Lone Worker Device. Like the alarms above, it comes with its own SIM and 2-way chat so you can trigger an alarm and immediately speak to your supervisors. Contracts start at £21.99 a month with a £55 setup fee. Again, this is for businesses, not for individuals!
Discover the Safepoint Lone Worker Device
Best personal safety apps
In this article, we’ve tried to focus on personal safety devices. If you want to try a personal safety app, however, we strongly recommend the Callie App. It’s free, secure, and doesn’t run ads. It has cool features like their “Fake Call” and you can add multiple friends or loved ones to be your “guardians”.
You can even upgrade to Callie's premium, ADT-backed monitoring package for £9.99 a month (or go for Annual for a discounted price!).
Discover the Callie Personal Safety App
Best personal safety wearables and safety jewellery
If you want a sleek, discreet panic alarm that you can wear on a night out, on holiday, on a run, and everywhere in between, we’d recommend the Callie Bracelet.
Made from ethically-sourced, premium metals and certified skin-safe materials, The Callie bracelet packs a lot into a tiny frame.
Pairing easily with the accompanying app, the bracelet can send an alert to your loved ones or ADT’s security team within seconds. Working much like a pair of wireless ear buds, it can connect with your phone even if its across the room in a big, yet its battery will last for over a year and up to 10,000 taps*.
The bracelet is launching later in the next few months, so this is your last chance to take advantage of the “early bird” discount.
Discover the Callie Safety Bracelet*All stats are subject to change.