Different apps protect against different risks. This guide organizes them by what they actually do — so you can build the right setup for your trip.
Solo travel safety comes down to three distinct needs: daily passive safety (someone knows you're okay each day), pre-trip risk research (is this neighbourhood safe?), and in-the-moment emergency access (how do I call police in this country?). Most apps cover one of these. This guide tells you which app does what — and which ones are worth installing before your next trip.
Disclosure: Lunio is our app. It appears in this list because it genuinely addresses a gap the other apps don't. We've tried to describe everything fairly — including where other apps are the better choice.
Someone at home knows you're okay each day — automatically, without live tracking. Protects against accidents, unexpected detentions, or anything that prevents you from making contact.
Apps: Lunio, AssureOkay, Kitestring
Know before you go. Safety scores for specific neighbourhoods, streets, or cities — broken down by crime, health, women's safety, time of day.
Apps: GeoSure, Sitata
You need emergency services now. Local emergency numbers for every country, panic button with GPS, or direct dispatch connection.
Apps: TripWhistle, bSafe, Noonlight, your phone's built-in SOS
Daily check-in · iOS & Android · Free plan available
Set up a daily check-in schedule before your trip. Each day, you tap once to confirm you're okay from wherever you are — hotel, hostel, airport lounge. If you miss a check-in, Lunio emails your emergency contacts, then follows up with SMS if you still don't respond. No GPS, no live location — just a daily "I'm okay" signal.
The built-in Safety Timer is useful for specific activities during a trip — a hike, a night scuba dive, a long bus journey through a remote area. Set a duration; cancel it when you're back. If you don't cancel, your contacts are alerted.
You can add a custom message to your profile — accommodation address, itinerary details, hotel contact number — so your contacts have context if they're ever alerted.
Pricing: Free (email-only, 3 contacts). From €1.99/month for SMS escalation and up to 10 contacts.
Best for: Solo travelers who want someone at home to know they're okay each day, without live GPS tracking. Covers the passive scenario — something happened and you can't make contact.
Daily check-in · iOS & Android · from $4.99/month
AssureOkay is a paid check-in app with AI wellness phone calls as an optional check-in method — useful if you want a verbal confirmation rather than an app tap. It also includes a Digital Will feature for storing emergency documents your contacts would need.
Pricing: Base $4.99/month, Plus $8.99/month. No free tier.
Best for: Travelers who want check-in with voice calls as a confirmation method. Good for people less comfortable tapping an app daily.
Neighbourhood safety scores · iOS & Android · Freemium
GeoSure provides real-time safety scores for 65,000+ neighbourhoods and cities worldwide. Scores are broken down by category: overall safety, crime, health risks, women's safety, LGBTQ+ safety, daytime vs. nighttime conditions. The colour-coded map interface is fast to use when you're deciding on accommodation or choosing a walking route.
The data comes from a combination of official sources and community feedback, updated dynamically. It's not perfect — no safety score tool is — but it's significantly more granular than government travel advisories.
Pricing: Free tier available. Premium unlocks additional detail and offline access.
Best for: Research before booking accommodation, planning walking routes, or assessing safety in an unfamiliar area. Use it alongside current government travel advisories — not instead of them.
Emergency numbers · iOS & Android · Free
TripWhistle solves one specific problem very well: knowing who to call in an emergency abroad. It auto-detects your current country and immediately shows the local emergency numbers for police, fire, and ambulance — with one-tap dialling. It covers 200+ countries, works offline after the first load, and includes address-sharing so you can communicate your location to local services.
This sounds basic until you're in an emergency in a country where "112" isn't the right number and you don't speak the language.
Pricing: Free.
Best for: Every traveler, without exception. Install it before every trip. It costs nothing and could matter enormously.
Panic button · iOS & Android · Freemium
bSafe is a panic button app with a few features useful for travel: an SOS button that sends your GPS location to your safety network, a Follow Me mode where contacts can watch your route in real time, and a timed alarm for arriving somewhere. When the SOS is triggered, it records audio and video and sends an alert.
Key limitation: All features require you to trigger them. Unconscious, phone taken, or no signal — no alert fires.
Pricing: Free tier with limited features. Premium from $2.99/month.
Best for: Active-threat situations — feeling followed, travelling in higher-risk areas, dates with strangers. Pair with a check-in app for passive coverage.
Panic button + dispatch · iOS & Android · $3.99/month
Noonlight's standout feature is a 24/7 monitoring centre that contacts emergency services on your behalf. You hold the in-app button; releasing it without a PIN triggers a check from the monitoring team. This means actual emergency services can be dispatched — not just a text to a contact.
Note: US-focused. Emergency dispatch coordination outside the US may have limitations depending on local services.
Pricing: $3.99/month or $29.99/year.
Best for: US travelers or trips to countries where Noonlight dispatch works. The most direct line to professional emergency response available in a consumer app.
Built-in · Free · No app required
iPhone: Hold the side button + either volume button for 3 seconds to call local emergency services and text your ICE contacts your location. In iOS 17+, Emergency SOS via satellite works in remote areas without cell signal (US and some other countries). Crash Detection on iPhone 14+ can trigger automatically.
Android: Typically power button pressed 5 times rapidly. Activates an SOS alert with location to your emergency contacts.
Make sure your ICE contacts are set up before any trip. This takes 2 minutes and is the highest-ROI safety step on this list.
Best for: Everyone, always. Configure it now if you haven't.
You don't need all of these. But this combination covers every realistic risk scenario without overlap.
The free baseline: Lunio (free plan) + TripWhistle (free) + your phone's built-in SOS covers daily passive safety, emergency numbers, and acute emergencies — all at zero cost. Add GeoSure and bSafe/Noonlight if you're travelling in higher-risk areas or want additional active-threat coverage.
| App | Category | Free | Works offline | No GPS | Passive alert |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lunio | Daily check-in | Yes | Check-in needs signal | Always | Yes |
| GeoSure | Safety scores | Yes (limited) | Premium only | Uses GPS for location | No |
| TripWhistle | Emergency numbers | Yes | Yes | No GPS needed | No |
| bSafe | Panic button | Limited | No | No — shares GPS | No |
| Noonlight | Panic + dispatch | No | No | No — shares GPS | No |
Different apps protect against different risks. For daily passive safety, Lunio or AssureOkay. For neighbourhood safety research, GeoSure. For local emergency numbers, TripWhistle. For active-threat SOS, bSafe or Noonlight. Most experienced solo travelers use at least a check-in app + TripWhistle as a baseline, and add others depending on destination risk level.
A practical baseline: (1) Set up a daily check-in app (Lunio) before departure — your contacts are automatically alerted if you miss a check-in. (2) Install TripWhistle for local emergency numbers. (3) Use GeoSure to research accommodation areas. (4) Configure your phone's built-in Emergency SOS with ICE contacts. For higher-risk destinations, add bSafe or Noonlight for panic button coverage.
No. A daily check-in app like Lunio gives your contacts peace of mind without live GPS tracking. You confirm you're okay each day from wherever you are — no map, no location data. Your contacts only hear from Lunio if you miss a check-in. Many solo travelers prefer this: family knows you're safe, but you retain full independence and privacy.
A panic button requires you to actively trigger it when something's wrong. If you're unable to act, no alert fires. A check-in app fires automatically if you miss a daily confirmation — it protects you in scenarios where you can't do anything. Both are useful and they cover different situations. The check-in app handles the "what if I can't make contact" scenario; the panic button handles "I'm in danger right now."
TripWhistle works fully offline once downloaded — it shows you local emergency numbers without a connection. Offline maps (Maps.me, OsmAnd) work without data once pre-downloaded. Lunio requires a brief internet connection to submit a check-in, but the escalation (alerting contacts) happens server-side, so it fires even if your phone goes offline or runs out of battery after your last check-in. For true off-grid safety, a satellite communicator (Garmin inReach) is the appropriate tool — no smartphone app can replace satellite connectivity in remote areas.
Lunio takes 2 minutes to configure. Add your emergency contacts — they don't need the app. Then tap once a day while you travel.
Also see: Lunio for solo travel · Safety Timer for hikes & activities