Personal safety startup Flare acquired by Smart Alert

The Best Personal Safety Devices, Apps, and Alarms.
Your smartphone or wearable could help you out in a truly dangerous situation. Here are some options to consider.

Rossen Reports on WCVB Boston reports on what’s happening across the country right now. For the first time ever, teens are moving out to live on their own on a college campus. Safety should be one of the first things on their minds as they navigate this. Jeff Rossen tests out a few products that can help prioritize safety for college students.

CBS News reports on how New Yorkers are turning to personal protection devices for peace of mind. With a surge in violent crime, many people are concerned about their safety, and for some, having a personal protection device is offering peace of mind, including Flare.

“This Survivor-Made Bracelet Is Pioneering A Personal Safety Movement. Listening to Flare users might explain why they’ve seen remarkable growth; selling out three times in the past year and a half. But the founders didn’t foresee such success when they launched Flare at the onset of the pandemic. “We had to question, ‘will people be thinking about safety if everyone is locked inside?’” says de Zarraga. “We actually found the opposite to be true—people were thinking about their safety much more. Being alone brings up a lot of safety concerns for people.” While a global health crisis heightens concerns over safety, so too does violence against marginalized communities. “It wasn’t just the pandemic that has happened. It’s been hate crimes against Asian people, violence against Black people, stories of assault and harassment one after the next—it was a crazy year,” says de Zarraga.”

“In a World Concerned with Safety, These Entrepreneurs Say Their Bracelet Can Help. de Zarraga and fellow co-founder Quinn Fitzgerald, who met at Harvard Business School, have been credited with re-centering the conversation around how women can keep themselves safe in the modern world.”

“Flare is more than a bracelet—it’s an emergency response system designed to keep you safe, wherever you go.”

PIX11 New York’s reporter Josh McBride shares his favorite gifts for Valentine’s Day.

“Laid out in plain sight, Flare’s sole mission is to “put [themselves] out of business and create a world where Flare is not needed.” Woefully, our world isn’t there yet, and Flare is still very much needed. But until we reach that healing point, we can take advantage of Flare’s efforts to make us feel safer and protected.”

“Wearable tech offers a lot of benefits. As products get more sophisticated, it makes sense that wearable tech makers would look for new innovations. One of the most exciting developments of the last year came from Flare, a woman-owned tech company helmed by co-creators Quinn Fitzgerald and Sara de Zarraga. Their creation? A personal safety bracelet that's designed to bring peace of mind, especially in the event of an emergency.”

WCVB Chronicle interviews founders Sara de Zarraga and Quinn Fitzgerald who want their company to go out of business. The two friends and business partners own Flare: a wearable personal safety device. The bracelet can call for help simply by pushing a button.

“The Flare smart bracelet is a safety accessory you’ll actually want to wear. There’s so much to appreciate about this bracelet. If you get into an emergency at home or when you’re alone, you can get ahold of someone provided you’re within GPS range of your phone. It’s also far easier than making a call. This could be great not only for people like me, but for older people who live alone and might have mobility issues or health issues. It doesn’t feel like an “old-person alarm,” as my MawMaw so lovingly referred to her Life Alert necklace: It's a gorgeous bracelet that just so happens to be incredibly well-connected.”

“Over the years, I have seen many products—and even purchased a few—that promised safety. Yet none of them let me feel as though I was gaining back that freedom lost to me after an assault. In fact, some products just heightened my anxiety and feelings of being unsafe. About a year ago, a product came into my orbit that changed that. As I read about Flare, a smart bracelet created by two sexual assault survivors, I was hopeful that I may have found something that would provide some peace of mind so that I could fully enjoy all situations.”

“Needless to say, I'm a big fan of the Flare. Its gorgeous design is what first attracted me, but its user-friendly companion app made me like it even more. And the peace of mind it offers is priceless. If you online date, have a toxic ex, or just want to feel safer when Ubering or walking outside alone, the Flare stands out among smart safety jewelry for its discreet, stylish looks and intuitive app. Most importantly, it's easy to use and works as advertised, letting you trigger a fake phone call, text your emergency contacts, or share your location with 911 first responders with the press of a button.”

Two women from the Boston area are trying to help people get out of uncomfortable, and sometimes dangerous, situations. Sara De Zarraga and Quinn Fitzgerald are the co-founders of Flare. The two women, who identity as survivors of sexual assault, launched Flare to provide a means of preventing further acts of sexual violence.

On CBS’s Henry Ford Innovation Nation, Ali Ward sits down with the founders of Flare Jewelry to learn about the latest innovation in personal safety.

"A safety-first accessory that also happens to look really cute…”

“Since launching in early 2020, Flare has seen rapid growth. The company says it has already sold out of inventory three times over, and according to SimilarWeb, a digital intelligence firm for website traffic, it is the fastest-growing direct-to-consumer brand with a 313.7% increase in website traffic quarter-over-quarter. And yet the company’s mission is a heartfelt one, even if it doesn’t make business-sense to some: the founders want the product to be so successful at protecting their customers that they put themselves out of businesses.”

Flare was named one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies for it’s stylish bracelets double as a powerful self-defense tool.