By Vinny Porco
The University of Louisville will replace its campus safety app Card Armor and long-held RAVE alert system on Sept. 1, 2026.
The new system, an app called SafeZone, builds off of the timely emergency notifications and location-based safety services of the two previous systems.
ULPD Chief of Police Bryan Luckett announced the change in a university-wide email Wednesday morning.
SafeZone, adopted by the University of Kentucky before the Fall 2025 semester, carries over several safety features from the Card Armor app. However, the app also provides new safety resources.
In an interview with The Louisville Cardinal, Luckett and U of L Clery Compliance Manager Heather Egan outlined both the new and returning features of the platform, one that Luckett calls “comprehensive.”
Still included is a “Report a Tip” feature in which users can send ULPD information in the form of text, photos and videos. Users can choose to attach their name and current location, or they can stay completely anonymous.
The SafeZone app has tip-reporting and live check-in capabilities facilitated by ULPD and the Department of Public Safety. (Screenshot by Vinny Porco / The Louisville Cardinal)
SafeZone also replicates Card Armor’s “Virtual Walkhome” feature, now labeled “Check In.”
Users can select this option to temporarily share live location updates with the U of L Department of Public Safety. Users can then “check out” and rescind live location updates at any time. If users don’t check out, authorities can then be notified and mobilized using the location services.
The SafeZone app, Luckett noted, has improved location services compared to previous platforms. However, he emphasized that U of L would only have access to users’ location data during Check In’s and other calls for help.
At the bottom of the app’s primary dashboard are green, blue and red buttons to call for various services. Pressing each button will begin a five-second countdown before calling that button’s service, and can be canceled out by pressing the button again.
The SafeZone app features several options for making near-immediate emergency calls. (Screenshot by Vinny Porco / The Louisville Cardinal)
Egan explained that the buttons labeled “First Aid” and “Help” are designated for non-emergency services. The larger red button labeled “Emergency” is for more immediate situations.
The SafeZone app will also serve as a contact and information hub for health and safety resources. Pressing the yellow “Wellness Resources” button takes users to a list of phone numbers and university websites for services such as the Counseling Center and Dean of Students Office.
This list of resources, Luckett said, are dynamic to time and location. “After hours” resources will be available when certain university offices and resources shut down for the day.
“You’ll notice that this app is specific for your location and also the time of day,” Egan said.
Also time-dependent in the SafeZone app is ULPD’s CardCruiser program. From sundown to sunrise, on-campus users can call ULPD ride escorts. Pressing this button will redirect users to the TripShot app.
After hours, SafeZone can redirect students to call a CardCruiser through the TripShot app. (Screenshot by Vinny Porco / The Louisville Cardinal)
Finally, the app will pick up where the RAVE alert system left off by sending users emergency alerts and timely campus updates in the form of push notifications, emails and text messages.
Luckett praised the new alert system, claiming it will allow for a faster notification process. Additionally, he said the new system allows notifications to be sent through different “groups” such as weather and safety.
Looking ahead
Luckett told The Cardinal that additional features on the SafeZone app will be released in phases.
One such feature is the ability for users to disclose medical information. “We also have a different part where you can put in your identifiers,” Luckett said. “You can put in like, ‘Hey, I’m diabetic.’ So that way, if we come across you down we know that it’s most likely not a stroke, it’s most likely not this.”
Furthermore, Luckett emphasized the importance of campus buy-in, sharing that U of L’s RAVE text alerts had just over 4,000 users signed up.
The mission ahead will be more widely encouraging SafeZone sign-ups, but for now, Luckett and Egan are enthusiastic about the app’s potential.
“It really encompasses everything that we needed,” Luckett said.
Feature Photo by Anthony Riley / The Louisville Cardinal
