3rd-i was founded by Dillon Abend, whose personal experiences with safety concerns during late-night runs in bear-prone areas of New Jersey sparked the idea for a real-time location and situational awareness app. While initially conceived as a simple tool to stay connected with loved ones, the concept evolved significantly during his time at the University of Miami. After learning about the growing issue of rideshare-related assaults, Dillon expanded 3rd-i’s mission to focus on improving safety and connectivity for both passengers and drivers.
What inspired you to create this safety app for rideshare passengers?
Growing up in a household where safety was everything, my protective parents never let me take rideshares alone after constantly seeing tragic news stories on TV. During my freshman year at UMiami, I kept hearing friends share real experiences about unsafe rideshare encounters—their only solution being to stay on the phone with someone or share their location. After losing my father and watching my younger sister head off to college in a big city like Tampa, I realized I needed to build something that could keep her safe even if I wasn’t there.
That’s why I created 3rd-i—a true safety and connectivity tool. With 3rd-i, you can livestream and record your video, audio, and location to a selected squad (like a group chat), and if you ever feel unsafe, the in-app SOS button discreetly sends your livestream and location to trained dispatchers. It’s designed for all forms of transportation—whether you’re walking, driving, using public transit, delivering, or receiving deliveries—especially when traveling alone at night.
Was there a moment or experience that made you think, “Someone needs to build this”?
Yes—my friend came running up to me, visibly shaken after a troubling incident in a rideshare. That moment opened my eyes, and over the next few weeks, I kept hearing more stories and concerns. It became clear that a real solution was needed.
How does 3rd-i aim to fill the gaps in rideshare safety today?
3rd-i fills gaps in rideshare safety by letting users stream and record video, audio, and location to Squad(s) of their choice, a squad is like a groupchat, helping bridge the gap between safety and connectivity. With features like discreet emergency dispatcher, where at the touch of the in-app SOS button, dispatchers receive your livestream and live location so they can see and hear what’s going on discreetly and provide that critical information to police and decrease emergency response times. There is also trip mode, which streams your livestream but also the route that you’re taking, so you as a passenger can see if the ride starts to take a wrong turn, and the viewers in the squad can see that too.
Alerts that connect to dispatchers, squad-based streaming, and live trip tracking, it provides a discreet, always-on layer of protection. The app empowers users to stay connected and protected, especially when riding alone or in unfamiliar areas.
Having the recording allows people that may not be able to watch the stream, what it is when they get up in the morning to make sure you were okay or if something were to happen, have it be used as evidence.
What are the core features of the app, and how do they work to protect users?
We never say we “protect” the user in any way. We aid in helping the user stay safe and connected to trusted contacts, with discreet SOS features to help when calling may be too dangerous.
We are the Ultimate Social-Safety app, making safety fun by making safety social!
Live Streaming to Squad(s): Users can instantly stream and record video, audio, and location to selected “Squads” (trusted contacts), ensuring someone is always watching over them.
SOS Emergency Button: With a single tap, users trigger a silent alarm that shares their livestream and location with emergency dispatchers who can act fast.
Trip Mode: Shares a user’s live location, route, and estimated arrival time with their Squad, so friends and family know they got there safely.
Squads System: Like group chats for safety—users can go live to one or more Squads, who get notified and can watch and message during the stream.
- Can you walk us through a typical user experience from start to finish?
- If movement detection is enabled, you’ll receive a Lock Screen notification prompting you to Go Live. Tapping it brings up the Go Live pop-up.
If the notification wasn’t tapped:
- Open the app and tap the center camera button at the bottom of the screen. Choose whether to stream just your video or both your video and route by selecting “Trip” mode.
- Select the Squad or Squads you want to Go Live with.
- You’re now live! If viewers haven’t joined, you can “nudge” them to send an additional notification.
- Squad members receive an alert that you’re live and can join your stream directly from the notification.
- You can swipe up on the stream like FaceTime, allowing it to continue in a floating box UI so you can multitask on your phone.
- Interact with friends through in-stream messaging.
- If you’re on a Trip, viewers can watch your live route and track your journey.
- If you feel unsafe, press the SOS button—this discreetly shares your livestream and live location with emergency dispatchers, who can send police if needed.
- When you arrive at your destination in Trip mode, your Squad will be notified.
- Once the stream ends, Squad members can view the recorded stream (if recording was on), the in-stream messages, the route taken (if on a trip), and the time of arrival.
- They’ll also have access to an auto-generated transcript and summary of the stream.
What were some of the biggest technical challenges you faced while developing the app?
Overheating issues, dispatcher system creation, making a complex experience as seamless an experience as possible
Are there any AI, real-time tracking, or emergency alert features built into the system?
Yes, AI transcription and summary. We are working on Savi, our AI app helper where you can ask Savi anything about the app and she will answer and we are building her out to also respond to all safety questions in the future.
What kind of feedback have you received from early users, beta testers and your peers at University of Miami?
They love it. Actually had already 3 incidents recorded on stream with just my friends and I.
“Your app saved me” “This really helped me feel safe when I needed it most”
Transforming the whole way students go about campus safety and rideshare safety.
Who do you see as your primary user base—college students, solo travelers, etc.?
Anyone engaging in some sort of transportation in a new or unfamiliar environment, especially at night.
Rideshare passengers and drivers, Uber Eats, Instacart, DoorDash deliverers and recovers, College students, work travelers, senior citizens, early morning/night runners.
3rd-i can also be used for self defense documentation purposes.
We are currently working with businesses who buy bulk subscriptions to help their customers or employees stay safe on the go.
What has the reception been like from the rideshare or public safety communities?
They love it, so much better than FaceTime/Phone call or just sharing their location to ‘stay safe’s they like the fun and social aspects especially. Safety is serious, but that’s also a reason a lot of people don’t utilize safety tools. Making it social helps people use it more.
Do you have any investors or partners that were instrumental in the progress of 3rd-i? Who were they and how so?
Yes, University of Miami, I was one of the winners of the USTAAR program for $100k, that money was instrumental in helping us launch and build out our cloud infrastructure for scale.
Howard Pearl, Harvard Business School grad, 2 Exits, both RTO’s, 30+ yrs in the “C” suite. Howard has served as a great mentor to me, helping me navigate fundraising, the business space and obstacles I’ve faced.
My dad, although he passed of cancer, he was the reason for my continued determination as he saw the early stages of the app and told me to “get this in the hands of everyone” and I plan to not stop until I do that.
How are you marketing the app and reaching new users?
We soft launched and are currently iterating on feedback as fast as possible, we will be hard launching with our Go-To-Market Strategy in June.
- Are there any partnerships in place or in the works with rideshare companies, universities, or city governments?
- Yes, we’re currently partnered with OTG, a senior transportation company; BlackWolf, the second most-followed rideshare company on social media; The Baylie’s Wish Foundation, which is dedicated to nationwide campus safety; and the #WhatsMyName Foundation, created in honor of Samantha Josephson, who was tragically murdered after mistakenly getting into a vehicle she believed was her rideshare while attending USC.
- We’re also actively working toward official partnerships with three major universities and a government safety entity.
What’s your long-term vision for the app and its role in personal safety?
My vision is for 3rd-i to become a global standard for personal safety during transportation. We’re reshaping how people approach rides and travel—transforming 3rd-i from a reactive tool into a proactive safety companion that people rely on every time they step into a vehicle, especially at night.
We will save lives, help prevent tragedies, and provide crucial documentation when time matters most.
