Microsoft's new tracking app for Windows phone

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IT giant, Microsoft, on Thursday unveiled ‘Guardian’, a new safety application (app), exclusively for its Windows phone users.

Guardian enables users to switch on a 'track me' feature in the app that lets friends and family track them in real-time using Microsoft Windows Azure cloud services and Bing Map APIs or application programming interface.

To use Guardian effectively, users need to add the names of friends, family members and security groups to the settings and in an emergency situation, the app can be used to alert them, via the SOS button. All the user has to do is tap the SOS button, a Microsoft official said.

“The phone then sends a distress SMS to all buddy mobiles, notifying them of the emergency along with location details. At the same time the SOS button also sends emails to buddy email IDs and posts to private Facebook groups, if registered,” the official said.

Explaining its features, Raj Biyani, managing director, Microsoft IT India, said Guardian enables users to switch on a 'track me' feature in the app that lets friends and family track them in real time using Microsoft Windows Azure cloud services and Bing Map APIs. Guardian users can call for help through an 'SOS' alert button and also connect to security agencies, police and hospitals easily via this app in times of distress. The phone can be traced even if it is broken. The application is capable of one touch video recording that may be used later as evidence, the official added.

Guardian was developed over six months by a group of Microsoft India employees in India within the Microsoft Garage. Microsoft Garage is a global employee innovation initiative that gives Microsoft employees an outlet to explore ideas in their free time, Biyani said.