Picture messaging as personal protection tool

"Don't try to hurt me — I've deposited a letter with my lawyer. If he doesn't hear from me within 24 hours, he will mail it to the police. It details all your murky dealings."

That hard-boiled plot device from detective novels and movies is coming to life in a free service called My Mobile Witness from a startup in Pittsburgh.

It works like this: When you're in a situation you're uneasy about — say you're letting a stranger into the house — snap a picture of the person with your phone and message it to My Mobile Witness. Or just tap out a text message. My Mobile Witness time-stamps and stores the message, and if you end up getting into trouble, it gives law enforcement access to your "vault" of messages.

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation spotlights stringent New York state laws that have long drawn criticism

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe debate over AI’s future rages on both coasts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDecades-old march dispute reignites in Northern Ireland, threatening political crisis

The main idea is that if a situation turns ugly, you can let the threatening person know that "Hey, I just took and sent a picture of your face/car/license plate to a place where the police will find it." Just like in the movies, but with a picture message instead of a letter. Threats will do no good — the sender can't retrieve the message or erase it from My Mobile Witness' vault.

Police can access the vault without a subpoena or court order if they go through "Fusion Centers" that coordinate state law enforcement efforts.

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation spotlights stringent New York state laws that have long drawn criticism

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe debate over AI’s future rages on both coasts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDecades-old march dispute reignites in Northern Ireland, threatening political crisis

The founders, Marcus Anthony and Scott Bullens, came up with the idea when they bought a real-estate firm and became concerned with the safety of their agents. They made it a policy that their employees had to take pictures of the clients they were meeting and send them to the office.

Ron Knight, a former FBI agent who's a security consultant for the startup, cautioned that the service is no replacement for a 911 call in an immediately threatening situation.

The service is free for users, but the firm says it may e-mail them once or twice a month with messages from sponsors.