Inspiration
Every woman I know has faced some kind of scary or difficult situation.
Hearing their stories opened my eyes to how vulnerable people can be and how important quick help is in emergencies.
I wanted to create a small but meaningful support system — something that can make a difference when it matters most.
I also wanted to include hidden features because I know how hard it can be to unlock a phone and send an SOS in a scary moment.
This project is my way of doing my part to make the world safer for women.
What it does
- SOS Alerts: Quickly sends emergency alerts with location data to a centralized account.
- Hidden SOS Trigger: A discreet calculator that sends an SOS when the number "100" is entered and an error message appears, allowing help to be called without drawing attention.
- Interactive Safety Map: Uses Leaflet.js to display nearby safety shelters, police stations, and other secure locations sourced from OpenStreetMap data.
- Information & Statistics: Provides users with important safety information and statistics to raise awareness.
- User-Friendly Design: Simple navigation with a homepage linking to other pages, designed for quick access during emergencies.
Together, these features create a compact, accessible tool to help women call for help faster and safer.
How I built it
First, I created different files for each feature to keep the project organized and manageable.
Then, I researched and designed a basic homepage that shows important statistics, safety information, and a button to access other pages of the app.
For the SOS feature, I explored several methods to send alerts reliably. I decided to use Leaflet.js to build an interactive map, and I sourced location data using Overpass Turbo for accurate safety shelters and police stations.
To handle the backend, I switched formats and used a simple Node.js setup to serve the map and manage requests smoothly.
Initially, I tried using EmailJS for sending SOS alerts, but ran into reliability problems. Next, I experimented with Webhook POST requests, which gave me some issues as well. Finally, I settled on using simple Google forms connected to the SOS to properly show results and reliably send alerts.
One of the last-minute ideas I added was a hidden SOS calculator. It’s a basic calculator UI where, if the user clicks “100,” an error message is shown and an SOS alert is automatically sent. I think this discreet trigger could be very helpful in real-life emergencies where opening the app or phone isn’t possible.
This layered approach of building and refining helped me create a practical, user-friendly safety app.
Challenges I ran into
This project wasn’t easy and came with many obstacles:
- EmailJS caused unexpected errors and delays, so I had to find alternative methods
- Web POST requests initially didn’t work as expected due to CORS and server issues
- Learning Leaflet.js and mapping real locations took significant time and effort
- Figuring out how to make SOS triggers hidden yet reliable was tricky
- Handling the fact that all SOS messages go to one account, which is not ideal for real-world use
Despite these, I kept pushing forward, learning from each problem and improving the system step by step.
Accomplishments that I'm proud of
Proper Research and assurance that it's a viable instrument in real-time settings
What I learnt
Throughout this journey, I learned many new things:
- Different ways to build an SOS alert system
- How to work with Leaflet.js to create interactive maps
- How to send form data reliably using web POST requests
- How to troubleshoot problems with EmailJS and other services
- The importance of simplicity and speed when building safety features
This process challenged me to learn coding, debugging, and connecting APIs in real-world scenarios.
What's next for SafeCircle
Development of more features and hosting the actual website along with an app so it can actually be used by women all around
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