
An honest comparison of shesbirdie and Guardian TND.
Lots of people compare Guardian TND to shesbirdie and think they're proactively covered for emergencies with both. We feel differently.
Here's our take on it. We may have overlooked something (and please let us know if we did), but in a nutshell shesbirdie is used to sound a loud noise if and when something bad happens to you whereas Guardian TND alerts people that you've pre-selected to be notified if you're in an emergency.
Shebirdie requires you to be reactive if something's gone wrong, which isn't always possible when something unexpected happens. In fact, this report indicates that 7 out of 10 people freeze when in an emergency. If you happen to be one of those, there's no pulling apart any device, pressing a button or performing any other reactive measure you can take. Requiring a reactive action (like shebirdie does) makes the product relatively worthless and you're more than likely going to be a victim. Guardian works automatically and proactively for these types of situations by alerting your Guardians if you don't indicate that you're at Point B (by tapping your phone to the Point B chip or entering your secret PIN code when you're in a safe place).
Guardian TND takes care of reacting for you, so your Guardians don't need to do anything other than have their phone turned on. Guardian TND is used as a proactive alert system that notifies people you choose if, and only when, there's an emergency. It's designed to give you a sense of safety and extra peace of mind when moving from Point A and Point B.
Shesbirdie does NOT inform people of your location. It only emits a sound as a scare tactic when you pull the device apart. Also, if the speaker on the device is not aimed directly at the bad guy, the sound is NOT alarming at all. Long story short, you're on your own. Think of all the car alarms that you hear when out and about - do you look twice? On the contrary, Guardian TND does not track your location unless there's an emergency, but if there is one, it automatically alerts your chosen Guardians (friends, family, neighbors and/or co-workers) of your location and that you're in an emergency.
Guardian is based on privacy and requires NO personal information. One thing that most people don't even realize until they're done with Guardian app setup is that there's absolutely ZERO personal information required for you or your Guardians. No email address, no phone number, no username, no password, no login. Guardian TND doesn't need to know anything about you to offer protection. Your privacy and personal information is yours, not ours.
Shesbirdie+ (the enhanced version of shebirdie) is an attempt to connect you with up to 2 people and share your location. However, it has a bluetooth dependency which is a major liability when it comes to personal safety. How often has your bluetooth earpiece, headphones or speaker become disconnected for some unknown reason? What happens if that's the case during your emergency? Furthermore, you have to walk around with the device in your hand, ready to press it at all times. That's not a fun way to live. You should have your hands free to carry bags, talk on the phone, push the baby stroller, exercise properly or just be yourself.
Shesbiride+ has some innovative features. Press and hold the button for 3 seconds to send location to 2 contacts is one of them. However, what if the bluetooth connection with your phone isn't working? What if you're in a dead zone? What if those 2 contacts are unavailable, in a dead zone, have their phones off, have a dead battery or are sleeping? On the contrary, Guardian TND allows you to add an unlimited number of people to be alerted if you're in an emergency. The more people you add as Guardians, the higher the chance that someone is available, not in a dead zone, not with a dead battery. If they're sleeping, the siren alert (which has been specially approved by Apple and Google for critical alerts) will be sure to wake them. Also, if you're in a dead zone, you're still protected because the cloud-based system is not dependent on a bluetooth connection with your phone and will alert your Guardians.
Shesbirdie+ requires your phone to be within several feet of you to maintain the bluetooth connection. That's fine in the course of normal life, but not in an emergency situation. If you're in an emergency there is a chance your phone will be separated from you by more than several feet. With Guardian TND, that's ok, you're still covered. It'll alert your chosen Guardians of the last known location of the phone so they have a starting place to go find and help you. That's because it's cloud-based. You were safe and had a connection when starting your journey, so you're protected from that second forward.
Although shebirdie is an emergency button, if you have no access to successfully overcome these obstacles (not freezing your body, not dropping the keychain, aiming the proper part of the device in the proper direction, pressing the button the proper number of times or being able to hold it for the proper number of seconds, being in an area with a cellular data signal, being sure the phone's bluetooth connection is active and connected to the device, and being sure your 2 contacts are available) then you're out of luck in terms of alerting people you need help. That's a long list of obstacles to overcome to ensure safety.
Shesbirdie is a good device to give some sense of security but for real security and safety, Guardian is better. It overcomes each of those obstacles and does more to enhance your safety.
Shesbirdie charges a 1-time fee for the basic alarm and an annual fee of $89.99 for shebirdie+, their alerting option. Guardian TND charges a 1-time fee and it includes lifetime access to the system with an unlimited number of Guardians and emergency alerts.
Shesbiride+ limits your social safety network to just 2 people. This limits the ability to be helped in an emergency and places a lot of dependence on those 2 people. What if those 2 people have a dead battery or are in a dead zone? On the contrary, Guardian allows you to create your social safety network with an unlimited number of people you choose to be notified ONLY in the event of an emergency. If some Guardians have a dead battery or are in a dead zone, the likelihood is that others will be available. Since Guardian does not track you, we encourage users to add multiple Guardians. In essence, add anyone you can think of that you might want to be alerted and/or to come help you in case you're in an emergency.
The summary is that shesbirdie and Guardian TND are distinctly different in the services and benefits they offer. They both serve a purpose, especially if safety is of concern. Shesbirdie requires user intervention to work and Guardian TND focuses on proactively notifying certain people (i.e. your Guardians - friends, family, neighbors and co-workers) if you are in an emergency.