A new app that helps you find cherished items may well be on its way to helping you find your loved ones. Find My Everything CEO Taylor Baloney is taking her tech startup and Gotcha app to new heights. Baloney developed Gotcha, a waterproof GPS tracking device, in 2017, after the search for her misplaced cell phone became an out-of-state exercise in frustration.
Sensing that her experience was a common one, Baloney teamed up with developers to create Gotcha. The app allows users to attach the device to multiple items, then name and track those items on their smartphones or tablets. The app also retains memory, displaying location for days after an item has left the area. Gotcha’s effectiveness, along with a great review from Google Security and Privacy Product Manager Michee Smith, led Baloney to partner with Love Never Fails, a nonprofit dedicated to ending human trafficking.
Baloney cemented the partnership with the hope of bringing the exploited and missing home.
“Survivors from Love Never Fails who have endured human trafficking will be using the device during a trial period. Love Never Fails will also give Find My Everything the survivors’ feedback, including reports and analytics. The Gotcha device will help survivors feel safer and more protected. It will also allow family and friends to find them if they go missing. And they can press an SOS button if an emergency occurs, sending a direct signal to whichever number is programmed with the device,” Baloney said.
The work is currently in a testing phase, but the progress is promising. Smith’s review has already attested to the app’s ability to track her own child and exchange emergency messaging.
At less than $50 per device, Gotcha is reasonably priced. But what about the cost of finding a loved one? Well, that’s priceless.
