About this app

Safety is a byproduct of being connected to technology and each other. Howl connects people through localized channels and content to make them safer, stronger, more engaged, better informed, and overall more productive in their communities.

When other online communities are overrun with spam/trolling/negativity/fake accounts/political rants/and polarizing topics that have nothing to do with their local community, Howl cuts through the digital noise of other social channels to connect its users with local, relevant, and urgent information.

LOCAL: On Howl’s interactive map-based platform, neighbors can share and engage with localized content in close proximity to them or their home. Local topics tend to get lost in excessively large “neighborhood” forums, and for that reason Howl connects its users exclusively with neighbors living on the same street via their “Street Channel.” Users have the option to include an exact location in their group posts, and will appear on group members’ maps better than any neighborhood watch. Unlike other community platforms, Howl provides the user with the option to include an exact address with every type of post on a complete neighborhood app.

RELEVANT: For those that want to engage with their community beyond their Street, Howl also connects users to their Block and Town channels. As seen on other platforms, these much larger groups have the potential to foray into polarizing topics that have nothing to do with community. This age-old problem continues to plague the likes of other social media platforms, but Howl has found the solution. Instead of allowing algorithms to dictate what is important to a community, Howl gives its users the power to vote. All users are instructed to upvote relevant and positive content that serves their community, and downvote negativity, spam, and political rants into oblivion. Power to the people! Find people nearby or organizations and nonprofits nearby to volunteer and get engaged to make your community safer and better.

URGENT: Not all relevant content is created equal. Some messages are extremely time sensitive and carry more weight than others, and for that reason, Howl enables its users to create and share real-time “Urgent” posts. All members of a group receive a push notification and custom ping when an urgent post is shared. Users posting directly to the map have the option to toggle “Urgent” so it will send a push notification to users in a one mile radius of the post.

As well as receiving local content from neighbors, Howl users can also access safety information through 24/7, real-time notifications about nearby emergencies and ongoing incidents directly sourced from their local police department.

JOIN THE PACK: The Howl Voice Alert integrates with voice assistants, and Google Home, to instantaneously connect users to their Pack (family, friends, trusted neighbors) in the event of an emergency. A simple voice command; “Ok Google, Alert Pack!”, will sound an alarm and provide Pack members with the user’s location and contact for their local Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP). The voice alert is free to use and makes home and mobile safety accessible to all. The best panic button emergency alarm ever for personal or home security.

The majority of home intrusions occur during the day. - 2019 FBI Statistics

Pricing and Availability: The Howl App is available for download in the Google Play store. The Howl Alert is currently available as for voice assistants and Google Action to accommodate voice activation. Users can add a Howl Agent to their Pack and access 24/7 personal safety monitoring for $5.99 a month. For more information or to sign up, visit Google Play. Ready to get started? Download it and build your pack out now for completely free.

New features

- Urgent notifications for groups posts
- UX and UI updates
- Performance improvements

App Permissions

Allows an app to access approximate location.
Allows an app to access precise location.
Allows the app to answer an incoming phone call.
Allows an application to access data from sensors that the user uses to measure what is happening inside his/her body, such as heart rate.
Allows an application to initiate a phone call without going through the Dialer user interface for the user to confirm the call.
Required to be able to access the camera device.
Allows access to the list of accounts in the Accounts Service.
Allows applications to open network sockets.
Allows an application to read the user's calendar data.
Allows an application to read the user's contacts data.
Allows an application to read from external storage.
Allows read access to the device's phone number(s].
Allows read only access to phone state, including the phone number of the device, current cellular network information, the status of any ongoing calls, and a list of any PhoneAccounts registered on the device.
Allows an application to receive the ACTION_BOOT_COMPLETED that is broadcast after the system finishes booting.
Allows an application to record audio.
Allows an application to use SIP service.
Allows access to the vibrator.
Allows an application to write the user's calendar data.
Allows an application to write the user's contacts data.
Allows an application to write to external storage.
Allows applications to change Wi-Fi connectivity state.
Allows applications to access information about Wi-Fi networks.
Allows applications to change network connectivity state.
Allows applications to access information about networks.
Allows applications to enter Wi-Fi Multicast mode.
Allows access to the vibrator.
Allows an application to receive the ACTION_BOOT_COMPLETED that is broadcast after the system finishes booting.
Allows using PowerManager WakeLocks to keep processor from sleeping or screen from dimming.