Ohio State student fights back against attacks by creating safety app

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An Ohio State senior has created a personal safety app designed to keep people safe while walking alone.

Angela Rucci is the founder of Tego. The OSU student used her background studying computer science engineering to create the technology, "once you're in the app, you select where you're going, very similar to Uber and Lyft. And then you say who will be your notified contact or what we like to call your protector,” explained Rucci.

Tego’s founder and creator said the app allows users to state where they’re going and estimates how long their trip should take. Users can also select contacts to watch over them as they travel. When the user arrives to their destination safely, their contact is notified.

Rucci explained the Tego app has built safety alerts if a person feels unsafe. The app user can activate a button that records video and audio from the phone, “this video is sent to my boyfriend, so he can follow along,” said Rucci. According to Tego’s website, if there’s an emergency, the police could also get live footage on an incident.

Rucci said the idea for creating the app came from an attack while grocery shopping, "some person came up to me. I wasn't really paying attention while I was shopping, I was really into my podcast and he grabs on to me."

Rucci is among six people who have worked on creating Tego. The name is short for protego which is Latin for protector. Angela got her project started at HackOHI/O this past fall. She will also be one of the spotlighted teams at ShowOHI/O on April 5. 

The app which is designed to protect, also has protections of its own, "a pin code validates that I'm the one putting it in. So, if there was an attacker, he couldn't just go into phone and disable everything."

The app is being tested for feedback. It will launch March 1st. Tego is free, can be used anywhere and will be available soon on iOS and android.

Information on the app and how to download it can be found by visiting Tego’s website.

Story pulled from COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX/WTTE)