No - Key Contacts will only be alerted if you do not confirm your safety within 3 minutes when a Safety Trigger is activated during your journey.

No - All your journeys and your location remain private unless SMS alerts are sent to your Key Contacts. In that situation, a map link to the precise location of your device when the Safety Trigger was activated is included in the message.

Yes - Becon works all around the world, wherever you can get a mobile data connection.

No - Becon turns off automatically when you reach your destination, so you don’t need to worry about it. If you are using the ‘Just Walk’ mode you will need to turn Becon off when you are finished walking, however.

‘Just Walk’ is a safety mode within Becon designed for your walking journeys that have no specific route or end destination – when exploring a new city on foot, walking the dog or strolling around the park, for example.

By tapping the middle button on the map/home screen and entering ‘Just Walk’ mode, you will activate all Safety Triggers except for ‘Off Route’, which means you can walk any route you like, and Becon will be looking out for you – just remember to turn Becon off when you are finished with your journey.

That is absolutely fine. You shouldn’t feel restricted at all by the route shown within the app, so we have made it quick and easy to reroute if you want to walk a different way.

As you know, if you deviate by more than 50 meters the ‘Off Route’ Safety Trigger will be activated, and a timed notification will pop up on your screen. When that happens, all you need to do to carry on your journey is tap ‘I am safe’, then ‘Reroute’, and Becon will automatically recalculate a new route from your current location.

You may want to walk without any route at all – when exploring a new city on foot, walking the dog, or strolls around the park for example. In that case you may wish to use Becon’s ‘Just Walk’ mode. ‘Just Walk’ activates all Safety Triggers except for ‘Off Route’, so you can walk with Becon protecting your journey but without the need to keep to a specific route or enter a destination.

No – Becon only sends SMS alerts to your Key Contacts. If your Key Contacts are then unable to contact or locate you, they may decide it is necessary to get in touch with the emergency services but Becon will not.

No – Becon is built to be used for journeys at walking speed (<3m/s). Usage on, or in conjunction with, any other mode of transport, running or cycling could result in the activation of a Safety Trigger.

As a walking safety app with navigation features, Becon needs to be able to track your device’s location for the duration of your journey. It also needs to access your location ‘while in the background’ so that you can minimize Becon to use other apps if you wish to put the phone away while you walk. Becon does not track your location unless activated for a walking journey.

Becon is completely free-to-use, and it comes without ads or restrictions on any features. We are proud to say that it is our goal to always offer our automated walking safety features for free to users around the world.

To help us do this, we are working on a premium version of Becon which will offer subscribers a more advanced and varied personal safety assistant, for use on different types of journeys and outdoor activities. Stay up to date with all the news on Becon Premium by following us on socials.