Seattle-based app turns phone into virtual eyewitness to crime

Cristina Corbin
A Seattle man thinks he's discovered the perfect eyewitness: a crime observer that never forgets and never makes mistakes. It's also available on the app store.
Known as "iWitness," the app sounds off an alarm, records video that cannot be erased, and alerts authorities with a mere tap on the screen of a smartphone.
"This will save lives," David Remer, the app's founder and CEO, told Fox News on Tuesday.


"It is the perfect deterrent to crime," said Remer. "The last thing a perpetrator wants is a witness."

The app is intended for use when a person is alone and in a potentially unsafe situation -- like a walk through a dark parking lot or college campus.
After registering, the app takes one click to arm. Once armed, audio, video and an individual's exact location are recorded and saved to a secure cloud server.
Another tap or shake of the device and 911 will be called automatically. The app also sends emails and text messages to six friends and family members pre-listed as emergency contacts, while emitting a bright light and sounding off an alarm.
Friends and relatives will receive a street map and the exact location of the individual as well as a link to video recorded by the phone.


Remer said it is impossible for a criminal to erase or otherwise destroy any images or videos recorded by the app because they are transmitted off site immediately to a safe cloud storage.
"This witness cannot be tampered with," he said. "Once it sends video to the cloud, it’s there and cannot be deleted."
"We want the criminal community to know this," Remer said.
While the app is designed to bring immediate help if a person is attacked, its real purpose it to prevent crime from occurring by scaring off a perpetrator.

Remer first designed the app about five years ago but the latest version was unveiled in October. The concept, he said, is a simple one -- and life-saving.
"Just about everyone has a data system on their phone and a camera these days," he said. "We’re using exisiting technology and not creating any complicated code."
The app is free to download, but costs $2.99 a month to use.
The service it provides, Remer said, is priceless.

"We could have a life-saving device in all phones," he said. "My goal is to put this on every phone in the world. I don’t know of anything you could have on your phone that is more important."