Have you ever had one of those terrifying moments, perhaps while out shopping, when you couldn’t find your child? Even if they slipped out of your sight for mere moments, your heart genuinely skips a beat. And there are, of course, those horrific stories of children who vanish, never to be seen again. The reality is that someone, somewhere did see those children, but had no idea they were in trouble or lost. Here’s a smartphone app trying to create a new-world solution to the age-old problem – and we can all be part of it.

The world really has become a smaller place with the proliferation of smartphones. And it’s refreshing when that fact can be used to help protect children. The Lost Kidz app is designed to allow parents who’ve lost or been separated from their child to issue an instant alert to people in the vicinity.

The alert will include a current photo of the child, and in turn, people who receive the alert can send the parent information of sightings. Take a look at the video below to see how it works.

There are a few steps involved in setting up the app, but once it’s done, it is pretty simple to send an alert when needed. There have been concerns raised about those who prey on children having access to information about vulnerable kids, but the makers of the app believe a predator will be less likely to take a child if others in the vicinity are aware the child is lost.

We were alerted to the Lost Kidz app in the hope that we could help spread the world on this movement to make the world safer for children. The app is free to download.