What was claimed
A flyer recommending the Hollie Guard app is genuine.
Our verdict
The Hollie Guard app is a genuine personal security app and has been recommended by police forces.
Police have recommended the Hollie Guard app
25 March 2021
Posts on social media have shared an image of a police flyer which encourages use of a personal security app called Hollie Guard. It is correct that police forces have been recommending the app.
The flyer has the South Yorkshire Police logo at the top and says it was sent by a Policing and Community Support Officer on behalf of Doncaster East. A similarly worded message can also be found on SYPAlerts, a community messaging system from South Yorkshire Police.
The Hollie Guard app has also been publicised by other many police forces, including police in Derbyshire, Edinburgh, Devon and Cornwall, Northumbria and the West Midlands.
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What is the app?
The app was designed by the Hollie Gazzard Trust, set up after 20-year-old Hollie Gazard was murdered by her ex partner, and is designed to help if someone feels unsafe.
If the user feels concerned they can shake their phone and alert key contacts. The app will start recording audio and visual information which will be saved and sent to emergency contacts, so that they can call emergency services on the users behalf if required. A repeated shake by the user will initiate a flashing light and high pitched audio alert.
Full Fact contacted the South Yorkshire police force to ask about the origin of the flyer but received no reply. However VISAV, a partner in the Neighbourhood Alert messaging system, confirmed that a number of police forces across the UK have sent alert messages endorsing the Hollie Guard app.
This article is part of our work fact checking potentially false pictures, videos and stories on Facebook. You can read more about this—and find out how to report Facebook content—here. For the purposes of that scheme, we’ve rated this claim as true Because the Hollie Guard app is a genuine personal security app, and was recommended by police forces.