Samaritans Face Backlash Over Controversial Suicide Alert App

The Samaritans have been heavily criticised in recent days following the release of an app that notifies Twitter users if people they follow on the site appear to be suicidal.

The charity released the Samaritans Radar app last week and the tool uses an algorithm to identify key words and phrases that could suggest if someone is a suicide threat. Users of the app receive an email alert if anyone they follow uses trigger phrases such as "tired of being alone", "hate myself", "depressed", "help me" or "need someone to talk to". An person’s tweets can be scanned without their knowledge or consent and the launch has triggered a major backlash from people who have expressed concerns over their privacy. It has been suggested that the tool could force those with mental health issues away from social media and the alerts could be used by stalkers and online trolls to target those who are vulnerable. The charity said that it is taking the feedback "very seriously" and is now allowing Twitter users to opt-out of the monitoring service by following them on the social network and sending them a DM.