Carly Ryan Foundation launches Thread app to help kids in danger from paedophiles

A NEW mobile phone app allows young people to send emergency alerts and broadcast their GPS location to parents or friends if they are in danger.

A NEW mobile phone app allows young people to send emergency alerts and broadcast their GPS location to parents or friends if they are in danger.

The free Thread app, launched this morning, was developed by the Carly Ryan Foundation.

Sonya Ryan started the foundation in 2010 in honour of her daughter Carly who was killed by internet predator Garry Newman in 2007.

Ms Ryan said the app would empower children to discreetly keep in contact with parents, carers or other trusted contacts when they were unsupervised, feeling threatened or in danger.

“It is also about building trust between children and their parents and making it known that their safety and whereabouts is important,” she said.

The Thread app features functions including an emergency alert which connects users with emergency services through 000 and other nominated phone contacts.

Parents and children can set times to check-in at an agreed location or event.

If the user does not check in the app can send an alert with the child’s GPS location.

There is also the option to send updates at other times.

“If I had received an emergency alert (from Carly) saying ... I’m in trouble, I’m in danger, it would have come up with a map location (and) she would have been an hour and a half away from her location that she was meant to be at and I would have known something was wrong,” Ms Ryan said.

“I would have gotten in the car and made my way and called police immediately because I would have known that the location was not correct and that something was up.”

The app can be downloaded now by iPhone users from the Apple App Store for free.

A version for Android phones will be available from the Google Playstore in March.

The State Government committed about $100,000 to the development of the app prior to the last year’s March state election.

Education and Child Development Minister Jennifer Rankine said the app would enable children to reach out for help “with the tap of a button”.

“I know when my boys were young my heart was in my throat every time they went out of the driveway and it didn’t settle back until they came home again,” Ms Rankine said.

“We know there are so many different ways that people can prey on our children when they’re out and about.

“(With this app) they can contact the police whenever they’re in a situation of danger, they can contact their parents ... (and) people that support them.”

South Australian Senator Nick Xenophon said the app should be adopted nationally.

“Every kid in the country needs to know about it and use it,” he said. “This will act as a deterrent to predators.

“Download it now, this is going to revolutionise child safety in this country.”

Federal parliamentary secretary to the Minister for Communications, Paul Fletcher, expected the app would be used broadly by children around the country.

Mr Fletcher said the Federal Government was also working on legislation to establish a Children’s e-Safety Commissioner.