Displaying items by tag: app

Frédéric Fornos, director of the Pope's worldwide prayer network, has said that the eRosary combines the best of Church tradition with the best of technology. The device is aimed at young people who seek to learn how to pray and who don't really know how to. It reminds them to pray three times a day. Once connected to its application, the Rosary has specific content, such as thematic prayers, allowing fervent users to record and share their spiritual activity. One researcher said a security flaw in the application allows an attacker to take over the account of the victim and get the victim's personal information just by knowing their email address. Another problem is the price of the device, which many consider to be too high.

On 7 June 2018 we prayed for an awareness-raising phone app, commissioned by the CofE, to become a valuable part of intelligence gathering that combats an estimated 11,700+ people trapped in UK modern-day slavery - starting with car washes. To date, police have been alerted to 930 reports of potential modern-day slavery at car washes, thanks to the app. Users spotted potential signs of modern slavery or labour exploitation, which they marked off against the app checklist. Then they called the Modern Slavery Helpline anonymously to inform the authorities. Nottingham University said the application was downloaded 8,225 times during its first six months. Bishop Alastair Redfern said, ‘This research shows that the Safe Car Wash app has made an excellent start towards mapping the extent of modern slavery and labour exploitation in hand car washes, and, crucially, raising public awareness of this issue’. See

On 16 February Saudi Arabia defended a mobile app that allows men in the kingdom to track female relatives after rights groups and a US lawmaker criticised tech giants for offering it. The Absher app provides services for ‘all members of the society - including women, the elderly, and people with special needs’, according to the interior ministry. It is currently free, allows users to renew passports and visas, and eases a variety of other electronic services. But critics said that the app enables abuse against women and girls by allowing men to track their movements. US senator Ron Wyden called on Apple and Google to remove the app, arguing that it promotes ‘abusive practices against women’. Saudi women must have consent from a husband or male relative to renew passports or leave the country.

There are an estimated 11,700+ people trapped in forms of modern slavery in the UK. These are just the people who have been noticed: many would say that the figure is vastly greater. Slavery is largely unreported because of the difficulty and expense of regulating small businesses using casual staff. On 11 June a free-to-use smartphone app, commissioned by the Church of England, will help shed light on the true extent of forced labour across the UK by ‘noticing the unnoticed’ among people and businesses in the parish, starting with car washes. The app will ask users to complete a short questionnaire on local car washes to ensure that the business is legitimate and meets employment regulations. If the car wash appears to indicate signs of forced-labour exploitation, the user will be prompted to report the business to the Modern Slavery Helpline (08000 121 700).