Halos is “a mobile application that allows citizens with concealed handgun permits or are legally entitled to carry a concealed weapon in their state of residence to anonymously and approximately represent themselves on a mobile device.” [Full press release via ammoland.com below.]
“With Halos, one can now post a giant warning sign for those contemplating violence,” founder Dan Cook explains. “Halos’ maps illustrate not only where the good guys are (or are not) but how many are present. We believe that this will create a ‘halo’ effect of safety for our users and deter criminals where there are high concentrations of gun-carrying citizens.”
Just thinking out loud here . . . Couldn’t bad guys use the app to avoid or even target concealed carriers? There’s a reason Mexican cartel members monitor military and police channels. And doesn’t Halo violate the rule “concealed means concealed”? Your take?
PRESS RELEASE:
Jackson, WY (Ammoland.com) – Halos, a mobile application that allows citizens with concealed handgun permits or are legally entitled to carry a concealed weapon in their state of residence to anonymously and approximately represent themselves on a mobile device, has launched.
Designed and produced by Halos Force LLC, users join the Halos community and elect to be represented in several different ways on a heat map, revealing areas of high and low concentrations of concealed carry permit holders in the immediate vicinity of its users, in real time.
Halos Founder Dan Cook said, “With Halos, one can now post a giant warning sign for those contemplating violence. Halos’ maps illustrate not only where the good guys are (or are not) but how many are present. We believe that this will create a ‘halo’ effect of safety for our users and deter criminals where there are high concentrations of gun-carrying citizens.”
While the number of concealed carry permits across the U.S. has more than tripled since 2007 to nearly 14 million in 2016, citizens who carry concealed handguns provide little discernable deterrence to violent crime. This fundamentally changes with Halos.
Carry permit holders are accustomed to carrying concealed, so Halos members have several options and tools to manage the degree of their visibility to others and protect their identity (see Halos map). The degree to which a member chooses to obscure their identity directly correlates with both the safety of an area as communicated to other users and Halos’ deterrent value.
Leveraging the premise that there is safety in armed numbers, a virtually connected group of handgun carrying citizens can collectively telegraph to the criminally inclined that they are entering an armed area and potentially prevent crime before it even begins. This changes the dynamic of concealed carry from that of self-defense to both self-defense and deterrence.
Halos membership is currently restricted to those who possess a state issued concealed carry permit or individuals who reside in a Constitutional carry state.
Halos is available on the iTunes store today, and an Android version will be released soon.
Membership is free for the first 100 people in each state, after that members will pay $1.99/year. In the near future, Halos will offer a view-only version to the general public for an annual fee as well.
About Halos Force LLC
Halos Force is a Jackson, Wyoming-based limited liability corporation founded in 2016 for the purpose of creating mobile applications that are designed to give US citizens the tools to deter crime and make informed decisions on what are perceived to be safe areas. http://halosforce.com
Read more: http://www.ammoland.com/2016/06/halos-force-concealed-handguns-app/#ixzz4DAH1qavy
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution
Follow us: @Ammoland on Twitter | Ammoland on Facebook
Uh . . . How would the criminals know? Are they supposed to download the app too? Then as the author says isn’t this just telegraphing information?
That little logic-loop is why my first gut-reaction is that this is another agit-prop “parody”.
1-Halos, a mobile application that allows citizens with concealed handgun permits or are legally entitled to carry a concealed weapon in their state of residence to anonymously and approximately represent themselves on a mobile device, has launched.
SO it’s only available to law abiding citizens?
2-Halos Founder Dan Cook said, “With Halos, one can now post a giant warning sign for those contemplating violence.
SO the lawbreakers should get it too?
3-Halos membership is currently restricted to those who possess a state issued concealed carry permit or individuals who reside in a Constitutional carry state.
SO in some places anyone can get it?
SO if anyone can eventually get it……and tools can be of use for good AND bad…………..
🙂 oy
As a fearless beta tester, I downloaded the app. There was no charge. They asked for my state of reisdence and wanted me to take a photo of the front of my card. The front gives my age, weight, DL#, address–everything they don’t need. This can’t be legit.
You just hit the nail on the Head.
“In the near future, Halos will offer a view-only version to the general public for an annual fee as well.” The benefit is supposed to be that people can hangout around responsibly armed people and criminals know to choose greener pastures.
How many criminals are going to pay $2 per year for a membership?????
And how are criminals going to be able to buy a membership when the vendor only sells to people with no criminal record?????
How will criminals know to “move on to greener patures” unless they have the app too? How do they do that without a cpl? If they have the app and know where you are then concealed offers no benefit – might just as well open carry for better accessability.
“Halos membership is currently restricted to those who possess a state issued concealed carry permit or individuals who reside in a Constitutional carry state.”
Since criminals don’t have concealed carry permits, how can the possibly use the app to find out where CCW’s are?
Last line of the article:
“In the near future, Halos will offer a view-only version to the general public for an annual fee as well.”
ANYONE will be able to download a view-only version and see where the halos are. This is like those apps where users report speed traps so other app users know where they are. Except this time the gun carriers are self reporting.
As I asked above, how many criminals are going to pay $2 per year for a membership?
No idea. Everyone has a smart phone these days, including many criminals. A two dollar app is not going to break anyone’s bank. There will be a view only app available to the everyone so the info will not be exclusive to licensed CCers.
Two words: “Big Brother”.
I don’t want the government getting a hard-on for me as a lawful concealed carrier, and start tracking my every position at all times.
This can also be used by gun control supporters to pinpoint and “swat” concealed carriers who are dumb enough to use this app.
This is a really bad idea on so many levels
Concealed means concealed, not “here I am!”.
+1. Why would I want to know where I’m carrying, when I’m authorized to carry throughout the state.
Concealed. You’re doing it wrong.
“With Halos, one can now post a giant warning sign for those contemplating violence,” founder Dan Cook explains. ”
Is this guy for real? Seriously, its not likely that any criminals are using the ap, so they aren’t going to be detered. And even if they did, it would likely be to get a little confidense in knowing that an armed bystander is slightly less likely to be around.
Criminals do this for a living. They absolutely WILL download this app. Never think that criminals are stupid, they are professional bad guys who want to steal your stuff. They will download this app. They can then decide, based on what they want to steal if they are going to hit your house.
Guns = yes.
Anything but guns = no
Criminals, as a whole, are neither stupid nor smart, but they are pragmatic.
I’m more afraid of being loudly outed and berated my emotional, over-protective Mommies. Hopefully, this is just satire.
The devil is in the details. Hopefully these halos aren’t too small or in real time so anonymity is preserved.
I’ll pass.
not on the app store
Selling on iTunes and android – two companies that would take your guns if they could
Bad idea and worse, funds the enemy and potentially puts the enemy in the loop. What if iTunes decided to use the app to out concealed carriers?
Hanging a cardboard sign around my neck would be cheaper.
Dang. Why haven’t I thought of this before!
Gonna go make me a sign…
/sarc off now
Wow….
Anything to make a buck
“…citizens who carry concealed handguns provide little discernable deterrence to violent crime…”
This was the most distressing statement, as violent crime is down, what?, 48% from 20 years ago.
I realize that correlation doesn’t equal causation. It’s also true that areas that still have very restrictive carry laws (e.g., NYC, Chicago, LA) have high rates of, um, interpersonal crime. So there might be a clue there.
(And no, I’m not ignoring government abuse.)
The state publishes and the media reports on the number of active carry licenses per Texas zip code. That’s a sufficient halo effect for me without transitioning into a target effect by address.
It wouldn’t surprise me if this were some kind of scam by antis to trick carriers into self-identifying. Pass.
Just open carry?
But how would I pay a company for the privilege of having them track my every move? You’re not thinking straight are you?
just open carry?
Okay, I can see maybe CC mall ninjas going for this. Other than that…really, no one else comes to mind at the moment. I’ll get back to ya if I think of anyone.
Don’t hold your breath waiting.
Maybe they can offer an RFID-chipped version of those lame Concealed Carry badges that automatically links to their app. Or, once we’re all mandated to have Smart Guns, the chip in there can report our whereabouts.
Needless to say, I choose to not participate in any of the above.
“Couldn’t bad guys use the app to avoid or even target concealed carriers?”
Well, I think the idea that they would avoid us is kinda the point. Could they target us? That depends on how precise the mapping is, and how many people are around me. Seems stupid for a thug to go looking for a concealed gun in a crowd.
Still, I’m not inclined to provide this information to the world. “Smart” phones already share too many of our secrets with Big Brother. Which is part of the reason I don’t have one.
It disturbs me that you MUST prove your concealed carry permit/license. Who stores that info? Is it safe from uncle Sam? Who has access to it? I don’t like it.
Hell for all we know this IS uncle sam running this app!
So much for “Anonymous”.
That part does not make sense to me either. Treat everyone as constitutional. Or maybe they are trying to avoid fishing expeditions from law enforcement in gun unfriendly jurisdictions?
“But we promise your data is safe with us and we PROMISE not to sell it to anyone.”
I call BS. This is a disaster waiting to happen.
Even if they actually tried to keep your data safe, where do you thing the anti-gunners are going to hack first?
Not for me, not ever.
C’mon…. If you pass any info about yourself to a bloody phone app, you’re way beyond saving to begin with.
Wait… did we travel 3 months back in time?
Definitely one of the stupidest things I’ve ever heard or seen. Why would I want anyone to know where I am and that I’m carrying, even anonymously?
I’m guessing brought to you by the same people who brought us “Share the Safety”
Yeah, nope. I have friends and family who know I carry, but I don’t go telling total strangers.
If someone spent more time developing this app then it takes to take a crap, then it was time wasted and they need to get a job.
I always thought that one of the benefits to concealed carry, actually benefits everyone. When more people CCW, criminals don’t know who to attack. So instead of seeing targets, they begin second guessing, and likely pass over people who don’t CCW. Listen up anti-gunners, this includes you.
I saw a service (don’t know the name) advertised on the side of the Realtor.com website the other day when I was looking at homes that touted it could identify, mark, and map ALL gun owners and sex offenders in a neighborhood. I always ignore those ads but this one I caught out of the corner of my eye, before I could screen-shot it it changed to another ad. It showed a map and homes that owned firearms had a “handgun” symbol above them. I’ll be keeping my eyes out for this service, if anyone else sees it “screen-shot” it and share it with the rest of us.
This is beyond stupid. Why would you give up the advantage? Concealed is Concealed! This looks like a good way for the .gov to troll gun owners. See zero benefit to this BS app. Actually, I see a benefit. Any gun owner who uses this is stupid and I should stay away from that person.
Well, I just love surprise parties. There is hardly anything better than the look on a thug’s face when they think they’re going to ‘roll up’ on an ole bearded senior citizen, when suddenly they’re looking down the barrel of my G21SF.
Glad to hear someone else carries a full sized Glock 21. I was beginning to think I was the only one.
My wife carries the G21 too. Personally, I don’t own a full size Glock so I carry a full size 941 Jericho in most cases.
I don’t understand the people who only carry compact and subcompact guns. Not because I don’t care for the guns, I own a bunch of compacts and subcompacts, but because most of the people I’ve seen that carry them exclusively generally don’t shoot them really well due to the shorter sight radius and I doubt their accuracy improves as their stress level rises. Don’t get me wrong, they’re alright with the first shot, but well placed rapid followups elude a lot of those folks.
They’ve told me it’s too hard to conceal a full sized pistol. I just roll my eyes at that. If my wife can carry a G21 with a threaded barrel concealed on her person at 5’3″ and 125lbs, a full grown guy can do the same thing.
Speaking of women and how they dress, is the whole scarf thing finally over? What’s with grown women wearing skeins of yarn around their necks? Have we as a society sunk so low that Charming Charlie’s is considered high fashion? (That’s a store BTW)
How long after Clinton becomes president (hypothetically) would this become mandatory and federally controlled?
It looks like bad satire from Saturday Night Live. “Shield yer neighborhood!” Or dreck from Funny or Die(die)…
I’ll add my vote for stupid…I’m not advertising and paying for it. ’nuff said.
It sure sounds like an app built for a perfect world, one where such an app would not be needed…
In this world, I remain unimpressed.
If we keep on going the way we’re headed, Texas will be one humongous colored circle and Cali won’t even have a pimple.
Assuming that this is for real, I would not participate on security grounds alone. And when I say “security”, I am referring to VOLUNTARILY REPORTING THAT I HAVE A FIREARM AS WELL AS MY CURRENT LOCATION to some corporation that has who knows what for internal security.
Saying it another way, what assurances do we have that Chinese, Russian, Mexican Drug Cartel, or NSA hackers will be unable to access your information at the vendor? I would not bet on that.
OK, folks, I’m going to tell you a bit about how to do a go-to on someone.
The company is registered as a LLC in Wyoming. Soooo…. we toodle on over to the Secretary of State of the great rectangular state of Wyoming, and we find the following:
https://wyobiz.wy.gov/Business/FilingDetails.aspx?eFNum=239118084246139031098052161086246094166178204132
Hmpf. A business claiming to be out of Jackson, WY with a registered agent, but with principal and mailing addresses in Tennessee. Ooookay, let’s go have a look at that address…
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2112-32nd-Ave-S-Nashville-TN-37212/108744327_zpid/
Oh, a condo. A relatively new condo, at that.
Shall I continue?
Looked like a condo worth over $800k. If this was Piedmont, CA, I’d say it was a shack. By the looks of this, it sounds pretty nice.
“Oh, a condo. A relatively new condo, at that.
Shall I continue?”
As in next head to the local county clerk and search for the listed owner’s name, and while there, see what they might have for civil and criminal public records? Bankruptcy, divorce, lawsuits, etc?
Then perhaps, do a Google advanced search on that name and dig up whatever you may find via social media, such as their possible employer, photograph, etc?
One could call their power company and transfer their utilities to a new address.
All kinds of fun-n-games one can have with their curiosity and creativity…
So… An app you’re supposed to use when you’re carrying a gun … that records and broadcasts your location.
Sounds to me like you might be seeing yourself up for being charged with violating a gun-free zone.
Per the app screenshot, there is a I’m carrying / not carrying toggle to turn off the halo on demand. It probably would be smart to do so before entering a legal gun free zone. Not sure if using an app is proof enough to get you busted in the real world.
Oh, I couldn’t contain myself. I thought I’d heard this name before… in something completely unconnected with guns.
That’s the danger of trying to pull a scam like this on someone in Wyoming with a memory like mine. I remember things, places and people fairly OK, but I especially remember numbers, and I don’t mean just that I’ve memorized pi and e out to 30 decimal places. It’s a by-product of my job as a EE. If I had to look up even half of the numbers, constants, etc I used all the time as an engineer, I’d never get anything done.
I thought I saw the principal’s address before… and in Wyoming, we have a population of only a bit more than a half-million.
The WY Secretary of State has a registered agent on file with the following address:
Registered Agent:
JH Corporate Services, Inc.
172 Center St Ste 2B
PO Box 4574
Jackson, WY 83001
Hmmm…. but wait, I recall that address. I’ve seen it on some business correspondence in the last couple of years… connected to legal filings on a development. Think, think, think…
Oh, look at this:
http://wyliebaker.com/about/
172 Center Street. Fancy that. Think you lawyers are going to pull a fast one on an engineer, eh?
Wrong.
So: We arrive at the point where the front-man name on this press release is a lawyer who handles land transactions and legal filings on land. Because he’s a lawyer as well as a registered agent for the WY SOS, it means his relationship with whoever actually owns the LLC is protected by lawyer-client confidentiality. I’ve seen this game played in Nevada and Wyoming with LLC’s and owners who wish to hide their assets and hide ownership/control of the LLC from outsiders.
My wager is that the actual developer is in Nashville, TN.
If any of you give your information to this application, you deserve what you get. I’ve now done the due diligence to warn you that they’re not on the up-n-up.
Holy Crap!
*Outstanding* work, DG.
CLarson, you really need to consider getting that app off your phone, like yesterday…
I fail to see the point of this app. What’s the target market? Who do they expect is actually going to download the app and enter their information?
I’m not one of those “concealed means concealed” folks because I know that to the trained eye concealment fails far too often but to me this seems like a colossal waste of time and energy because I don’t expect many gun folks to willingly input any data into the service.
Why. Would. Anybody. Ever. Want. This. App.
We are currently embroiled in a debate over whether federal bureaucrats should have the power to revoke our right to purchase a gun, in secret, and behind closed doors, and people will still use this app. Astonishing.
Okay, so, you’re carrying concealed ’cause, presumably, you don’t want anyone to know until it’s time to go to work.
So, what in the flying fuck would make you want to let anybody else know that you’re doing so — and over the fucking internet (which is forever), no less?
Dumbest. Idea. Ever.
Maybe its me butt…..When a perp suddenly realizes i was carrying i dont want anything to get in the way of the look of “oh chit!” on the jerks face.
So count me out of your “smart” phone aps, i;ll stick with my old trusty mil spec flip phone, thanks anyways.
I’ll bet free federal gun registration comes with this too.
Because it overflows with zero logic..
Neat idea!
I see some potential problems so I won’t be participating in the game but I wish them all the best of luck.
This provides information about me I don’t want anyone to have. It doesn’t provide me with any information I need. I am armed everywhere I go where allowed by law. I assume everyone I come in contact with is armed and roughly 2/3 of them would either do me harm intentionally if they could or are stupid and have to potential to harm me accidentally.
What could go wrong? Let’s look at a paralell occurence. The State of New Mexico, in an effort to reduce DWI on the Navaho Reservations, put breathalyzers in the local bars. They had to remove them when they found that they were being used for competition by the Native Americans.
I think it’s a great concept/idea, if you go on the net and do some research you will see about 85% negative attitude not on the app but the concept of the app. I believe most of these people have not given it serious consideration and for most it has been a knee-jerk reaction.
Their main complaint this is actually a government app and they Will know who owns guns and where they live…. The fact is if you are a CCW holder they already know this information!! Or criminal will know where to go to rob you.
This has holes in it as well why would a criminal go to a parsons house knowing their chance of being shot is very very high add to this they will not know where you live. You set radius of anonymous out to 100 yards how many people,how many houses, is there in 100 yards circumference? (LOTS.)
The no Sayers out there need to put there thinking cap on and reconsider.
Obviously you can turn the app off anytime you want.
Not going over the benefits of this app. If you’re here looking at a potential download you realize the benefits.
The app will evolve into even a more mature app but people need to download, and use it for that to happen. I encourage you to do so I believe in this app I have no affiliation with creators, just a user.
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