FBI Releases Their First iOS App: Child ID Hits The App Store
When Apple says "there's an app for that," they mean it. Of all the companies and entities in the world, though, most weren't expecting the FBI to come out with an iOS app.
The Child ID app has just hit the App Store, detailed as the first mobile application created by the FBI to provide a convenient place to electronically store photos and vital information about users' children so that it will be at hand if needed. Users can show the pictures and provide physical identifiers such as height and weight to security or police officers on the spot. Using a special tab on the app, users can also quickly and easily e-mail the information to authorities with a few clicks.
The app also includes tips on keeping children safe as well as specific guidance on what to do in those first few crucial hours after a child goes missing. Right now, the Child ID app is only available for use on iPhones and can only be downloaded for free from the App Store on iTunes, but the FBI plans to expand this tool to other types of mobile devices in the near future with new features, including the ability to upload other photos stored on the smartphone, in the coming weeks and months.
The FBI (and iTunes for that matter) is not collecting or storing any photos or information that entered in the app. All data resides solely on users' mobile devices unless it is explicitly sent to authorities.
The Child ID app has just hit the App Store, detailed as the first mobile application created by the FBI to provide a convenient place to electronically store photos and vital information about users' children so that it will be at hand if needed. Users can show the pictures and provide physical identifiers such as height and weight to security or police officers on the spot. Using a special tab on the app, users can also quickly and easily e-mail the information to authorities with a few clicks.
The app also includes tips on keeping children safe as well as specific guidance on what to do in those first few crucial hours after a child goes missing. Right now, the Child ID app is only available for use on iPhones and can only be downloaded for free from the App Store on iTunes, but the FBI plans to expand this tool to other types of mobile devices in the near future with new features, including the ability to upload other photos stored on the smartphone, in the coming weeks and months.
The FBI (and iTunes for that matter) is not collecting or storing any photos or information that entered in the app. All data resides solely on users' mobile devices unless it is explicitly sent to authorities.
