LiveTag

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SMS API
Google Maps API

LiveTag: Project Story

Inspiration

We wanted to build something that could help women feel safer. Initially, our idea was to create a safety app specifically for them, but as we developed it, we realized that safety is a universal concern. Everyone, at some point, has felt uneasy walking alone at night, especially in today’s unpredictable world. That’s why we created LiveTag, an app designed to help anyone stay safe by easily sharing their real-time location in emergencies.

What It Does

With a simple shortcut, LiveTag sends a distress signal to your closest friends via SMS, sharing your real-time location through a link. This way, they can track you in real-time without needing the app themselves. Although we haven’t fully integrated the quick shortcut feature into a mobile app yet, our web-based version already enables location sharing via SMS.

How We Built It

We developed LiveTag using JavaScript, primarily working with React and Node.js. To enable SMS alerts and real-time tracking, we integrated ClickSend API for sending messages and Google Maps API for geolocation.

Challenges We Ran Into

As first-time hackathon participants, most of our team had limited coding experience. We relied heavily on external resources like ChatGPT to help us navigate challenges in deployment, API integration, debugging, and even understanding basic development concepts. We attempted to implement several advanced features, including a routing system to track movement, but ran into significant obstacles. Despite our efforts, we weren't able to complete the routing feature in time, so the current version only displays the user's current location without providing a navigable route. Frustrated with cloud database complexities, we ultimately opted for a simpler JavaScript-based solution for data management.

Accomplishments We're Proud Of

Despite our challenges, we successfully built a functioning web app that can send SMS alerts and track real-time locations through APIs. Seeing our project come to life and actually work was an incredibly rewarding experience.

What We Learned

We gained valuable hands-on experience with frameworks, API integrations, and server-to-client communication. More importantly, we learned how to collaborate effectively as a team and problem-solve under pressure.

What's Next for LiveTag

Our goal is to expand LiveTag into a fully functional mobile app with additional safety features. Future improvements include:
-Community Assistance – Allowing nearby users to help in emergencies, not just your closest friends.

-Voice Recording – Capturing audio as evidence in case of an incident.

-Scalability – Ensuring LiveTag can support a larger user base.

-Advanced Routing – Implementing the originally planned route tracking feature to show movement patterns and provide navigational assistance.

-Enhanced Location Services – Building on our current location functionality to offer more detailed mapping and directional capabilities.

We believe LiveTag has the potential to make a real difference, and we’re excited to keep improving it!