If you've ever felt threatened walking home late at night, chances are you've phoned a loved one to make sure they know you're safe.
如果你深夜步行回家時感到害怕，你極有可能向你愛的人打電話，向他們報平安。

But making calls not only makes your phone a target for thieves, it can also distract you from your surroundings, putting you at greater risk.
但是打電話不僅會暴露手機成為小偷的目標，還會分散你對周圍環境的注意力，將自己置于更危險的境地。

Now there's an app that lets your family or friends track your journey and will call for help automatically if it senses you're in trouble.
現在有一款應用能讓家人或朋友了解你的旅途足跡，當感應到你遇到危險時，自動求救。

Called Companion, the main feature that distinguishes it from other tracking and GPS apps, such as Apple's Find My Friends, is its 'Are you OK?' button.
這款應用名為“同伴”（Companion）。該應用的主要特色“你還好嗎？”（“Are you OK?”）按鈕使它與其他行跡和GPS應用不同。

Before setting off on a journey, users input their starting point, their destination and a designated 'companion'.
出發前，用戶輸入出發點和終點，然后授權一位“同伴”。

This can be anyone in the user's contacts book, and they don't need to have the app installed.
這個“同伴”可以是用戶通訊錄里的任何一個人，而他們不必安裝此應用。

The 'companion' can then track the phone's GPS to see where their loved one is at any time, while the app will periodically show a button on the user's home screen asking 'Are you OK?'
然后這位“同伴”就可以跟蹤手機的GPS隨時了解他們愛的人所在的位置，而同時應用會定時在用戶的主屏幕上顯示一個按鈕，詢問“你還好嗎？”。

If they don't press the button within 15 seconds, the companion is sent an alert.
如果用戶15秒內沒有按下按鈕，指定的“同伴”就會收到提醒。

The user is also given the option to call the police from within the app.
而在用戶的應用中也會出現報警的選項。

Elsewhere, the app can detect if a person has been running, or headphones have been removed from the audio jack suggesting the phone has been dropped, for example.
此外，這款應用還可以檢測一個人是否在奔跑，或者耳機是否從插孔里脫落，這可能表明手機已經掉了。

If this happens, the 'Are you OK?' button appears and the 15-second countdown starts automatically.
如果這種情況發生，“你還好嗎？”按鈕就會出現，然后自動開始15秒的倒計時。

Companion is free for iOS and Android devices and users need to enter their mobile number to sign up to the service.
蘋果與安卓設備可以免費使用“同伴”，用戶需要輸入手機號碼注冊來獲得此服務。

Although the app was designed in the US, it works with international numbers when they are prefixed with their country's code.
盡管這款應用是在美國設計的，但是只要在前面輸入國家代碼，全世界的手機號碼都可以使用。

'Companion lets you reach out to family, friends or your campus police and have them keep an eye on you as you travel late at night,' explained the app's makers.
應用設計者說，“當你深夜時分在外時，‘同伴’可以保持你與家人、朋友或校園警察的聯系，他們可以實時注意你的動態。”

'If you start running, don't make it to your destination on time, have your headphones yanked out or your phone falls to the ground, we will check in on you to make sure everything is okay.
“如果你開始奔跑、沒有準時到達目的地、耳機拔了出來或者手機掉到地上，我們都會嘗試聯系你，確認你一切安好。”

'You can also report areas that make you uneasy. Simply tap the 'I Feel Nervous' button and we'll pass this information on [the authorities].'
“你也可以舉報令你感到不安全的地方。很簡單，按‘我感到緊張’按鈕，我們會把相關信息傳達給有關部門。”

Companion is similar to SafeTrek, an app that uses the pressure sensor of smartphone touchscreens to create an alarm that will call for help if the user lifts their finger off.
“同伴”和SafeTrek功能相似。SafeTrek是一款利用智能手機觸屏壓力感應器的應用，當用戶松開手指時，應用會發出呼救的警報。

Removing a finger triggers a screen asking for a four-digit pin code and if it is not entered it alerts the police and directs them to the user's location.
移開手指會觸發一個要求用戶輸入四位的PIN碼的屏幕，如果不輸入PIN碼，應用就會通知警方并指引他們到達用戶的位置。

Vocabulary

distract：分散(注意力)，使分心

designated：指定的

periodically：定期地

audio jack：耳機插孔

英文來源：每日郵報

譯者：there0900

審校&編輯：劉明