My Mobile WitnessSM Stores Cell Phone Images to Serve as an Official Record
A groundbreaking new cell phone service was unveiled today that may soon become a personal security device used by the nearly 250 million mobile phone users in the U.S.
My Mobile Witness is a new cell phone service that stores photos or text and warehouses the information for the sole use by law enforcement authorities.
The breakthrough technology is fast and simple to use: an individual takes a photo or creates a text message and sends it to their individual account where it is stored in the My Mobile Witness digital vault. The photo is time-stamped and stored on a secure site accessible only to law enforcement officials who have limited “active case” or subpoena access to the information when the images may be relevant.
One of the differences between this service and 911 is that the photo taken is non-invasive to the subject and non-engaging of law enforcement unless an incident actually occurs.
When an account holder sends a picture or text message it creates a record of their individual situation, to be used as a warning if someone later threatens them with harm. I have already sent your image/my location/your license plate etc, to My Mobile Witness. If I am harmed in any way, evidence has already been posted and is accessible to law enforcement. If nothing happens to me nothing happens to the picture.
Ronald E. Knight, a former FBI Supervisory Special Agent based in Denver, believes My Mobile Witness is “one of the most powerful and unique law enforcement tools he has seen for personal security.” According to Knight, the list of high profile crimes that may have been prevented had this technology been available “makes this a compelling tool for any law enforcement agent who has worked on a missing person case.”
The service is being offered for free by My Mobile Witness, Inc. According to Knight, although the uses for the service are numerous among the many cell phone user demographics, he anticipates the service will be particularly appealing to young adults, including high school and college students, “who are adept at cell phone use and regularly record their social lives using their cell phones.”
My Mobile Witness developers believe the service will quickly become an added security measure for individuals who may not necessarily be facing a dangerous situation but simply want to record their location as a precaution.
For example, a young couple hiking a new remote trail when the weather begins to turn bad can record a trail sign or marker. A single woman looking at real estate in an unfamiliar neighborhood takes a picture of a street sign. A family gets a flat tire on a deserted road at night and snaps a photo of their location while waiting for help or the license plate of someone offering them a ride.
Or perhaps a woman on an internet blind date or spring break asks to take a picture of the person she is meeting for the first time, she casually sends it to her account at My Mobile Witness. If the date later becomes inappropriate or threatening she informs him she has sent the picture to My Mobile Witness which can be used by Law Enforcement or the courts if needed.
My Mobile Witness features a simple, three-step sign up process. First, an individual goes to www.mymobilewitness.com and clicks on “Create an Account” and fills in the field. Second, you “Create a Profile” and click on Finish Registration. The last step is “Activate Your Service,” which sends your account information to the secure My Mobile Witness database and provides the user instructions on how to use your individual My Mobile Witness account.
Once an individual signs up for the free service images are stored in a secure database for six months and can only be retrieved by law enforcement officials.
