Learn how to stay safe digitally with this online community platform

The platform’s first virtual session on digital safety will encourage participants to share the everyday habits, privacy choices and online behaviours that help them feel safer. Representation pic/istock

Regardless of the country you live in, it's an unspoken rule that, when you're done meeting a friend, family member or colleague after a long day, you always tell them, "Text me when you get home." Why is that?

This everyday phrase became the starting point for Text Me When You Get Home, an online platform founded by Bengaluru-based social entrepreneur Devina S that explores how people navigate safety in their physical and digital lives. The movement was shaped by Devina's own distressing experience while living in New York in 2021. After not being able to process the incident, she started speaking to people around her and realised how common it was to not feel safe, even in broad daylight. That eventually grew into a community conversation.

Participants discuss street safety during a previous walk in Bengaluru. Pic courtesy/Devina S

Now, the initiative is hosting its first virtual session dedicated to digital safety. In the session, participants will discuss the invisible and unspoken rules they follow online - from preferred browsers and location settings to social media habits, dating apps, and privacy protocols.

The conversations have also revealed emerging patterns. For example, many women shared that they don't use their full names on dating platforms - they might just use an initial - and some intentionally change their age by a year so they're harder to identify. Friends also routinely exchange screenshots of dating profiles before meeting someone to verify who they are.

Devina S

Another observation is that when people are distressed, many women tend to seek practical support at places like pharmacies, while many men are more likely to gather outside tobacco shops or paan stalls, using those spaces for companionship. That contrast reflects a great deal about where different people feel they can turn to in difficult moments.

"Our digital lives are an extension of our physical lives. We realised people are doing the same invisible rule-making on their phones that they do in the real world. They ask about which apps should have my location, which browser do I prefer, how I engage on dating apps, and what helps me feel safe online. The idea isn't to teach people or bring in experts, but to create a space where people can share through experience and realise they're not alone," assures Devina.

On July 18; 12 pm to 1.30 pm
Log on to urbanaut.app or @textwhenyougethome for registration link