--- title: Kitestring App Makes Sure You Get Home, Sends SMS to Emergency Contact description: It checks up on you and then basically freaks out if you don't respond. You know, like a mom canonical: https://time.com/44143/kitestring-app/ author: Samantha Grossman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-03-31T20:24:22.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:08:22.774Z og:title: This App That Makes Sure You Get Home Safely Is Your New Overprotective Mom og:description: It checks up on you and then basically freaks out if you don't respond. You know, like a mom og:url: https://time.com/44143/kitestring-app/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfc5d99f847a5e5ec/6986883606f2c1603332e248/480985793.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5906 og:image:height: 3322 og:image:alt: Smartphone man og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: This App That Makes Sure You Get Home Safely Is Your New Overprotective Mom twitter:description: It checks up on you and then basically freaks out if you don't respond. You know, like a mom twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfc5d99f847a5e5ec/6986883606f2c1603332e248/480985793.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # This App That Makes Sure You Get Home Safely Is Your New Overprotective Mom > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=0f7cf676-a81e-4902-9202-94754bc70bde&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1) by [Samantha Grossman](https://time.com/author/samantha-grossman/) ## Samantha Grossman Mar 31, 2014 8:24 PM UTC  Young man strolling down street looking at mobile phone, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Young man strolling down street looking at mobile phone, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Getty Images by [Samantha Grossman](https://time.com/author/samantha-grossman/) ## Samantha Grossman Mar 31, 2014 8:24 PM UTC Relying on friends and family to check up on you is so 2013\. Now, you can program an app to track your whereabouts and make sure you’re safe. [Kitestring](https://www.kitestring.io/) is a simple, free and overprotective web app. First, you enter a list of emergency contact numbers to your account. Whenever you want the app to look out for you, you let it know that you’re going on a trip and when you plan to return. At that time, the app will send you an SMS to check up on you, and you simply need to reply to confirm that you haven’t died. If you don’t respond, the app then alerts your emergency contacts. If you’re running late, you can notify the app and extend the length of your trip. Or if you get home ahead of schedule, you can check in early. The idea certainly makes sense. But let’s say, for example, that you’re just taking a solo stroll late at night and you get mugged and someone steals your phone. If your attacker is somewhat tech-savvy, he or she could totally respond to the SMS pretending to be you and then nobody would know you were mugged and oh goodness the world is a scary place and maybe we need MORE overprotective apps. 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