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Protesters find allies in app makers

A new app has been developed for street protesters that lets smartphones fire off messages about imminent arrests and rallying cries be heard by crowds.

A new app has been developed for street protesters that lets smartphones fire off messages about imminent arrests and rallying cries be heard by crowds.

A free "I'm Being Arrested" app is available at the online Android Market stocked with programs for smartphones powered by the Google-backed software.

"Alert your lawyer, loved ones, etc. that you are being arrested with a click," is the description of the mini-program for activists taking part in the Occupy Wall Street protests which have spread to other cities.

The Arrested application lets users make lists of people to be notified with text messages in event of impending incarceration, and then fires off a batch of missives with the press of a target-shaped on-screen icon.

Feedback at the Android Market included urging the application be modified to include location information automatically by tapping into satellite positioning capabilities of smartphones.

The Arrested application was available in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Turkish, and Catalan.

Protesters have also tapped into Vibe software that lets people using Apple or Android smartphones to anonymously exchange short text messages that can be set to automatically delete a short time later.

The thinking is that vanished messages can't be seen by authorities that may get hold of activists' smartphones.

A Shouty app for Android devices lets protesters broadcast speeches to other smartphones in crowds, avoiding police bans on loudspeakers or megaphones.

Applications for Android can be unleashed faster because they don't undergo the strict vetting process Apple uses to evaluate smartphone programs.

Software savants have taken to brainstorming on Occupy-friendly smartphone applications during "hackathons," with projects including software tracking reports of police brutality and tutorials for activists.

Nominations for the 2012 ARN IT Industry Awards open on Tuesday, June 12.

More about: Apple, Google, Wall Street

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