Samaritans Radar

Over a year in the making, originally devised as an R&D project within a tight-knit crew at DF London (Jam), Samaritans Radar was a Twitter app that monitored your friends’ tweets and discreetly alerted you if it spotted anyone who might be struggling to cope.

During the time it was active, Radar helped ensure distressed tweets from almost two million users would be picked up by friends. It raised awareness of the reality of suicidal tweets and online privacy all over the world. The story ended up being covered by all major news media on- and offline, and became a hot topic at SXSW ‘15.

What happened next

Whilst the application tested well with the target audience and various associated bodies, it was closed after only seven days due to public backlash — primarily around consent and privacy concerns from people whose tweets would be monitored without their knowledge.

It’s a project I think about often. The intent was unambiguously good. The execution underestimated how strongly people feel about being algorithmically observed, even by friends, even for ostensibly caring reasons. The right lesson, I think, is that consent has to be from the observed, not just the observer. A useful one to learn early.