Vodafone Idea launches mobile phone-based safety service for women

Indian operator Vodafone Idea has introduced a service dubbed Vodafone Idea Sakhi. The service allows women to manage their security through their mobile phones, Vodafone said. Vodafone Idea Sakhi users can carry out mobile recharges privately, use emergency calling, send an Emergency Alert with their location to up to 10 mobile phone numbers. 

The Sakhi mobile-based safety service is exclusively available to women who use Vodafone and Idea prepay or postpaid services. The Vodafone Idea Sakhi features include Private Number Recharge, Emergency Alerts, Emergency Balance. Vodafone Idea Sakhi can be used on smartphones and feature-phones and the safety features can be accessed even when there is no balance or mobile internet connection, thus ensuring that the service is accessible to women at all times, the operator said.

To activate the 'Sakhi' service, Vodafone and Idea customers can dial a special number and update their ICE (In Case of Emergency) Contact numbers. When faced with a challenging situation, Sakhi users can make a call to a special short number free of charge to send emergency alerts to the ICE contacts.

Market competitor Bharti Airtel also offers carrier agnostic safety app dubbed 'My Circle'. Airtel introduced this service in 2019, in partnership with the FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO), the women business wing of apex trade body FICCI. The app is designed to empower women in the event of any distress or panic situation. The My Circle app allows women to send SOS alerts to any five of their family or friends in 13 languages including English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi, Punjabi, Bangla, Urdu, Assamese, Oriya, and Gujarati.

Vodafone Idea launches mobile-based safety service 'Vodafone Sakhi'