The app went viral since last year

Anti-groper app becomes smash hit

TOKYO – Tokyo police has released a smartphone app that scare off molesters. Soon as it was released, the app became a smash hit in Japan. As expected, the app is popular among women, especially those who need to commute during rush hour daily.

The app called Digi Police app. With this app, the user has two options—it can blasts out a voice saying “stop it” at top volume or creates a full screen message which says, “There is a molester. Please help.” The user can show the phone to other passengers to see.

The app has been downloaded for more than 237,000 times. According to a police official, Keiko Toyamine, it was a high amount of downloads for a public service app. Toyamine stated that due to its popularity, the download number has increased to 10,000 every month. She added that there are a lot of women who are too scared to shout or ask for help when being molested. With the help of this app, they can ask for help even without saying a word.

In 2017, it was reported that there were 900 groping and harassment cases on Tokyo trains and subways. However, Toyamine said that it’s only the surface—which means there are more cases that were not reported.

Digi Police app was released three years ago. It was released to provide information for elderly people as well as parents and their children about scams or prowlers. The repel molesters feature was added a few months after the release. A female pop idol used the app last year when she was being assaulted. Thanks to her, the app has increased its popularity.