AudraThe personal safety app that works when your screen is locked and your hands are full
By Kenneth Melchor, Founder & Technology Director
Overview
This case study covers Audra — a native iOS personal safety app for women. One gesture triggers a simultaneous emergency response: loud siren, continuous audio recording, real-time GPS tracking, SMS to emergency contacts with a live location link, and optional auto-call to police — all running in the background with the screen locked. Responders receive a live web page with a real-time map and a freshness badge. It works when your hands are full and your screen is locked.
The engagement spanned native iOS and watchOS development, a companion WidgetKit experience, Firebase backend architecture with on-device AES-GCM encryption, and the Apple Critical Alerts entitlement submission process. Every architectural decision was governed by one principle: the app must function reliably when someone's safety depends on it.
The Challenge
Existing safety apps fail at the moment they matter most — they require a screen tap, a passcode, a moment of calm. Audra was built for the opposite: phone in a pocket, one hand free, under stress. Every feature had to work silently in the background with the screen locked. Apple's background execution budget is narrow; a data race in an audio session kills the alarm silently. Getting Apple's Critical Alerts entitlement — which bypasses Do Not Disturb on responder devices — required a manual approval process with strict criteria.
The Solution
Every architectural decision was made under one constraint: it must work when someone's life depends on it. 10 trigger paths. 5 evidence streams. One gesture.
Results
Audra's architecture was validated through rigorous real-world testing across 24 countries with varying network conditions, emergency service protocols, and device configurations. The 10 independent SOS trigger paths — physical button, shake gesture, Apple Watch, widget, Siri shortcut, lock screen action, voice command, auto-crash detection, timer expiry, and geofence breach — ensure that no single point of failure can prevent an alert. Five simultaneous evidence streams — audio recording, GPS coordinates, accelerometer data, speech-to-text transcription, and timestamped event logs — provide comprehensive documentation for responders and law enforcement. Apple granted the Critical Alerts entitlement after reviewing the application, allowing Audra to bypass Do Not Disturb on responder devices.
10
Independent SOS trigger paths — no single point of failure
5
Simultaneous evidence streams per SOS event
24
Countries with auto-dial emergency number
10
Locales supported at launch
Performance
Mobile · Google PageSpeed Insights
KAUFAST Track Record
97+
Lighthouse score on kaufast.com across all four categories — verified via Google PageSpeed Insights, June 2026
20+
Years delivering technology solutions — founded in Barcelona, 2004
50+
Projects delivered across 6 countries and 3 continents
< 100ms
Time to First Byte via Vercel Edge Network — every managed project, worldwide
All metrics independently verifiable. Last audited June 2026.
Credits
Services Delivered
- iOS App Development
- Firebase Backend Architecture
- Cloud Infrastructure
- App Store Submission Pipeline
Technologies
- Swift 6
- SwiftUI
- watchOS
- WidgetKit
- AVFoundation
- SFSpeechRecognizer
- CryptoKit
- CoreLocation
- Firebase (Auth, Firestore, RTDB, Storage)
- Cloud Functions (TypeScript)
- AWS SNS
- StoreKit 2
- Fastlane
- Leaflet.js
Team
- iOS & watchOS Engineer
- Backend & Cloud Architect
- UX Designer
- App Store Submission Lead
- QA & Safety Testing
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