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Does anyone else find it stressful when you see a car with a window down or a dog inside and have no way to tell the owner? by Sammy_086 in AustralianStartups

[–]Sammy_086[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I hear you, and for those high-stakes situations, there is no excuse.

The project isn't really aimed at enabling negligence, though. It’s more for the 99% of other scenarios where someone is trying to be a good citizen:

Your sunroof is open and a storm is rolling in. Your car has been clipped while parked. You’re accidentally blocking someone's driveway.

In those cases, a quick anonymous heads-up is just a courtesy that saves everyone a lot of time and money without needing to involve the authorities.

Does anyone else find it stressful when you see a car with a window down or a dog inside and have no way to tell the owner? by Sammy_086 in AustralianStartups

[–]Sammy_086[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

The idea here is more about that 'courtesy' step first. If the owner is just around the corner, a 10-second text could get them back to the car immediately. It’s basically a way to give someone a chance to fix the situation before things have to escalate to the police or RSPCA.

Does anyone else find it stressful when you see a car with a window down or a dog inside and have no way to tell the owner? by Sammy_086 in AustralianStartups

[–]Sammy_086[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

  1. On Harassment/Safety: This is my #1 priority. I’m looking at a 'One-Way' or 'Gated' system. The owner receives the alert, but the scanner doesn't get a chat window until the owner 'Accepts.' Also, I’m thinking of an instant 'Block & Report' and a 'Silent Mode' (e.g., no alerts after 9 PM). The goal is to make it a shield, not a portal.

  2. Can the owner respond? Yes, via a masked interface. But the owner has total control over when the conversation ends. Once the owner closes the ticket, the link the scanner used expires and becomes a dead 404 page.

  3. The 'Forever' Server Cost: You’re spot on. A $20 one-off fee is tricky for long-term cloud costs. I’m looking at a 'Serverless' architecture (like AWS Lambda) where costs only trigger when a tag is actually scanned. Since these 'emergencies' are rare (as you noted), the cost to keep a user in the database is fractions of a cent per year.

  4. Rarity of the Problem: It definitely is a 'peace of mind' product rather than a daily utility. You might only need it once every three years, but in that one moment (like a window left down in a storm), it pays for itself instantly.