Samaritans twitter monitoring app accused of invading privacy

The Samaritans Radar app has been heavily criticised by Twitter users. Credit: Samaritans

Suicide prevention charity the Samaritans has been heavily criticised by Twitter users for an app that monitors posts and lets them know if someone they are following is showing signs of depression in their tweets.

The app, called Samaritans Radar, was launched last week with the tagline 'turn your social net into a safety net'.

Anyone who has downloaded it is automatically sent an alert when someone they are following tweets a message with words such as "depressed", "tired of being alone", "hate myself" or "need someone to talk to".

In a press release issued at the time of its launch the charity described the app as "a free web application that monitors your friends’ Tweets, alerting you if it spots anyone who may be struggling to cope".

But the service, which has 4,000 subscribers, has been criticised as an invasion of privacy as people are not told if a friend has signed up for the app and is monitoring their messages.

Other critics say it has the potential to alert trolls to a Twitter user who is feeling particularly sad or vulnerable.

The charity told ITV News that it is "looking into the details of the issues raised" but added that the app, which was in development for over a year, was tested by "young people with mental health problems, Samaritans' volunteers, social media platforms and other organisations".

Despite reassurances about the Samaritans good intentions, Twitter user Adrian Short has started a petition on change.org asking for the app to be shut down and calling it a "surveillance system"- so far it has over 800 signatories.

Some organisations and people have expressed support for the service and the Samaritans says the aim of it was to tap in to the way social media can often be used by people to express their feelings and as a way of reaching out for help.

Anyone who does not want their tweets monitored can send a direct message to the charity to have their named placed on a so-called 'whitelist' but this has not stopped the debate on whether the app is a vital intervention or a step too far.