Gauteng e-Panic button app a hit
The Gauteng e-Government Department says the province’s e-panic button app has surpassed 165,000 downloads and has distributed over 2,000 physical panic buttons.
The department provided an update on the initiative in a statement on Wednesday, 15 October 2025. It said it continues to promote the use of the panic button app.
“It provides residents with direct access to armed response and emergency medical services,” the department said.
It added that the smartphone app had accumulated 165,718 downloads across various smartphone app stores.
“Over 88,528 emergency callouts have been recorded, clear evidence that the system is working and is trusted by the public,” the department said.
The Gauteng e-Government Department launched the e-Panic Button in June 2024 as part of a broader strategy to combat crime.
It enables users to instantly alert emergency services and law enforcement at the touch of a button, ensuring quick response in times of distress.
The official launch followed a pilot launch in April 2023, during which the app was downloaded 8,000 times, primarily by nurses and teachers. It also plans to distribute 10,000 physical panic buttons.
The app experienced a relatively rapid uptake after its launch, reaching over 100,000 downloads by March 2025. It had also recorded an average turnaround time of between seven and 10 minutes for ambulances and armed response.
At the time, the Gauteng Provincial Government said it hoped to see the number of downloads increase in 2025.
“The Premier of Gauteng, Panyaza Lesufi, indicated in his State of the Province Address 2025 that the GPG will continue to use technology to fight against crime and lawlessness in Gauteng,” it said.
“This includes the use of the e-panic button distributed electronically and physically as an essential tool to safeguard the residents of Gauteng.”
The provincial government stated that more than 51,000 residents had activated the panic button to call for help in emergencies.
It listed the most commonly reported incidents as being motor vehicle accidents, pedestrian-vehicle accidents, assaults, shootings, and sexual offences.
Most calls originated from Johannesburg, which accounted for roughly 21,000 of the 51,000 callouts. Ekurhuleni followed it with over 11,000, and Tshwane with over 10,000.
E-Panic button app impressed in testing
MyBroadband tested the Android version of the Gauteng e-Panic button app during its pilot testing phase, and we were impressed with the results.
To use the app, users must provide a mobile phone number through which they can receive a one-time PIN via SMS for authentication.
It then requires users to provide their name and surname, as well as their email address, before asking them to agree to the app’s Terms of Service agreement.
We did not notice anything untoward in the Terms of Service agreement, and the agreement is available on the app’s settings page at any time.
The app requires various permissions to access three phone functions: location, motion, and notifications.
There are three prominent buttons on the app’s home screen: Report a Crime, Medical Emergencies, and Activate Armed Response. These are also the most important ones.
Tapping the first button brings up a page where the user must specify the type of crime they witnessed, provide a short description of the incident, and upload images of the alleged crime, if possible.
We tested the Medical Emergencies button as well, and to our surprise, it instantly activated the medical emergency response request without requiring further information.
This happened around 19:23 on a Sunday night from a home in Pretoria, and we immediately received an SMS confirming our request.
Before we could dismiss the request within the app, we received an incoming call from the response control room. We explained that we had accidentally pressed the button.
The second time we tested the panic button was at 07:30 from our offices on a Tuesday, when we selected the Armed Response button.
This requires users to hold down the button for three seconds, and after doing so, we received SMS confirmation almost immediately. The operator’s call came within five seconds.
In both cases, the operators were clearly audible and professional. To dismiss the requests, we were required to confirm our location and the last four digits of our phone number.
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