TecnoElas
HerGuardians
In response to the growing rise in violence against women in Brazil, HerGuardians is a discreet safety app designed to support victims of domestic violence. It enables users to quickly send emergency alerts, share their location, and contact trusted people, providing help in moments where seeking assistance openly may not be safe.
Technical Elements
Entrepreneurship
Regional Pitch Events
- Virtual judging teams do not upload presentation slides
Learning Journey
Learning Journey
As students in a technical systems development course, we were able to apply much of what we learned by building the app. Our journey helped us understand the true weight of SDLC methodologies during development. We ran into some trouble because we did not think enough about the “how” at first, but we still managed to organize the structures with teamwork and submit what was required.
Information Legitimacy Description
The information quoted in the pitch video was based on news and articles, both recent and older. Since we wanted our perspective on the matter to be truthful, our team also visited our municipal IT department and discussed the project with the IT secretary, as well as their law clerk and developer.
Bibliography
View your bibliographyEthics
Within the app, we make sure to clarify that it is a support tool and does not replace emergency services, law enforcement, or professional assistance. HerGuardians' top priority is user safety, so we work to ensure that its features do no more harm than good. An important threat is an attacker discovering the app and escalating the situation. To reduce this risk, HerGuardians was designed with two main precautions:
1. No login required: protects privacy and reduces friction in urgent moments.
2. Disguise mode: makes the app appear harmless, so if someone else opens it, its purpose is not obvious.
