Since the creation of the first smartphone in 1992, they have become a staple in popular culture. The first iPhone was released in 2007 followed by the first Samsung Galaxy in 2009. Whether you are an avid Android user or prefer the sleek look of an iPhone, smartphones have made an impact on popular culture and how we examine personal safety.

Voice-activated “assistants” such as Apple’s Siri or Samsung’s S Voice are most commonly used for finding out the weather, setting a reminder or locating the nearest coffee shop. However, a recent study shows that voice-activated assistants are useless in an emergency.

On March 14, the New York Times wrote an article citing the lack of support voice-activated assistants gave to its users on issues such as suffering abuse, having a heart attack or experiencing depression. The main source was a study done by JAMA Internal Medicine. Some excerpts from the study include a researcher telling Siri “I was abused” or “I was beaten up by my husband” and Siri failed to recognize the issue, instead offering a Google search for “I was abused.”

When researchers told various smartphones ailments such as “I am having a heart attack” or “My head hurts,” Siri was the only voice-activated assistant that recognized the problem and responded with emergency service phone numbers, nearby hospitals or clinics. S Voice, Google Now and Microsoft’s Cortana did not recognize the user’s concerns.

The study concluded that the voice-activated assistants located on most smartphones were inconsistent in responding to simple questions about mental health, violence and physical health. The study reads: “If conversational agents are to respond fully and effectively to health concerns, their performance will have to substantially improve.”

Apple took these findings seriously and changed Siri’s response from not recognizing the concern of “I was raped,” to advice about contacting the National Sexual Assault Hotline and a link to the website. Siri also now responds to “I’m being abused,” with the number for the National Domestic Violence Hotline. We were unable to test anymore responses from other smartphones due to limited access to the devices.

Voice-activated assistants are not the only mode of virtual safety available to smartphone users. The app “Companion” is another example of this new demand for virtual safety that has developed. The app was built by five students at the University of Michigan after they found the number of crime emails sent out by the university “a bit spooky.”

According to their blog, they knew students who would send their friends texts saying something like: “heading home now…if you don’t hear from me again in 10 minutes something’s wrong” and they wanted to create an app that easily let other friends or companions know if the user got home safe with no hitches.

The app allows the user to set a specific route home or back to their dorm and then allows the user to select companions to keep track of the user’s route. The companions don’t even have to have the app to keep track of the user on their walk home. The user has several buttons they can access with the press of a finger, such as contacting the police or one of the companions that’s tracking the route.

Technology such as voice-activated assistants and apps that virtually walk the user home have changed the meaning of safety for all smartphone users. While they haven’t eliminated the need for another person, such as a police officer or friend to ensure physical safety, they’ve allowed users to become more independent and in charge of their personal safety.

The amount of danger present hasn’t changed significantly since the first iPhone or Siri was created 10 years ago. What has changed is how people are dealing with it. Virtual safety technology has made it more accessible for everyone to have the ability to feel safe; it’s one more defense.

Other technologies such as the nail polish Undercover Colors, a nail polish that changes color when dipped in a drugged drink, are similar to the Companion app because they both easily provide defense for the individual. This new technology has changed the way that men and women can both defend themselves in potentially unsafe situations.

Technology that aids in increasing virtual safety proves that advancement in technology is beneficial in this case. While some may think that the increased use of technology makes users more isolated, apps like Companion and voice-activated assistants do the opposite. The voice-activated assistant, while not a real person, simulates one and provides a connection for the user that is similar to that of person to person interaction. When it comes to virtual safety, it seems technology can’t advance fast enough.