Walking alone can be scary. Walking alone at night can be terrifying. There is no such thing as being too safe these days and one new app allows friends to keep you company on your commute, even if they can’t be with you.

Have you ever been walking through a dark parking lot late at night?  What about a college campus well after most of the traffic has cleared? Have you been on a late night jog through a park? There’s hardly anyone around and even though there may not be an immediate threat, no one can predict when something could go wrong.

Technology makes it easy for friends and family to connect but imagine allowing a select few to virtually “walk” with you and send for immediate help should an emergency arise. A student designed app called Companion gives users the ability to do exactly that.

With smart features such as maps that alert your “companions” when the ventures off of the route and the option to signal the police of your location, it’s surprising that this app hasn’t caused more hype. With the companion app, you don’t have to be alone.