New app sends last known locations

A new app has been developed to send out notifications of the last known location of a smartphone user once a battery goes flat, with the developers choosing 'tech friendly' New Zealand to make their debut.

The app, Zivatar, was developed by University of Arizona student Garrett Patrick and Zivatar co-founder Craig Patrick, sends the last known location to trusted contacts when a phone battery is critically low.

The developers say this information is useful when coordinating activities, and could also be crucial in the case of a missing person.

Users can set up trusted individual contacts and groups to receive battery notifications. The threshold battery level for each contact can be set separately, along with a custom message. A reminder can also pop up on the user's own phone, accompanied by vibration, audio, and video.

Users can also send NAV pins of their current (or any) location along with a short message. The NAV pins link directly to Google Maps, which gives the user turn by turn directions. They can also send individuals or groups captioned photos and videos that disappear after being viewed.

"We are charging a small fee because Zivatar is about communicating with family and friends in a fun environment without your actions being tracked, your data being sold and advertisers constantly harassing you.

"We just wanted to create a great product that will make everyone's daily lives a little better, and possibly safer," says Patrick.

Zivatar is available now on the iTunes App Store and Google Play.