GENERAL FAQS
What is Crash Detect?
Crash Detection is like your personal intelligent automated SOS beacon in case you're in an accident.
It uses your phone to sense if you're involved in a vehicle accident and then alerts your elected emergency contacts with your location if a crash event is detected.
Do I have to insure with Pineapple to activate it?
NO! Crash Detect is FREE for anyone to use as long as you have a compatible smartphone.
How does it work?
Crash Detect uses your phone's sensors (accelerometer sensor data, motion activities, and location waypoints) combined with machine learning processing to predict and detect if you're involved in a vehicle collision.
To save battery, the sensors are only monitored when you're on the move, and the data is only processed when a signal of a credible crash event is received.
Once a crash is detected, our system will Whatsapp your elected contacts to alert them of a possible event and supply them with your location, if available.
Why did you create Crash Detect?
Our mission at Pineapple is to activate safety via the community. We've developed best-in-class technology, processes and products to bring back the power of community in the way we do insurance, and crash-detect is just another way of us creating peace of mind for anyone, by cleverly using technology.
Step-by-step, how do I activate Crash Detect?
Download the Pineapple App here
Register for a profile on Pineapple with Google/Facebook or your email
Once signed in, Tap the "Crash Detect" bubble near the top left of the home screen
Follow the prompts to activate Crash Detect, namely:
Turn on notification permission
Turn on location permission and the ability to run in the background
Select your emergency contacts
That's it! You will now be taken to a screen showing your current location and indicating that crash-detect is now active.
SPECIFIC QUESTIONS
Can I disable it?
You can disable Crash Detect by tapping on the Crash Detect bubble (top left on the home screen) and switching the toggle to "off"
Will this feature drain my phone's battery?
We prevent battery drain by collecting data only when you're detected to be on the move, and our deep learning model processes data only when there is a promising impact signal in the accelerometer data.
In our testing, the battery drain did not significantly exceed what is expected from general app usage.
What data and permissions are required to activate Crash Detect?
Location permissions: This gives the Pineapple App access to the GPS and accelerometer sensors necessary to detect a crash.
Background running permissions - This gives the Pineapple App the ability to run in the background, necessary so that we can detect a crash without you having to start the Pineapple App.
What are the reasons why Crash Detect may not work correctly?
Phone unsupported - Some phones do not have the required sensors to allow Crash Detect to work. These phones will not be able to register for the feature.
Data turned-off or no signal - Without data, Crash Detect can not trigger the event in our systems to contact your family members
Location services disabled - If location services are disabled for the Pineapple App, the Crash Detect service will not be able to use the right sensors in your phone.
Background service disabled - Crash Detect requires the Pineapple App to be able to run in the background, this only happens when you're on the move in order to save battery, but requires your phone to allow it to run in the background.
Low battery level - Certain phones' battery-saving settings automatically stop background processes when your battery is too low. To correct this on your device we recommend following the instructions here for your particular phone to stop low battery level shutting down the Pineapple app.
Phone is dead or not on you - This is a pretty obvious one, but if you don't have your phone with you or it is dead, then Crash Detect will not be able to work its magic.
Are all my contacts automatically linked?
No, you elect which contacts you want to add as emergency contacts when you are registering via the Pineapple App.
You also have the ability to add additional contacts and remove contacts once registered.
Will this feature use my data?
Crash Detect utilises little to no data to monitor and detect a crash. This is because it is using your own phone to process the data from the sensors.
Crash Detect only requires access to data when there has been an accident to tell our Pineapple system to WhatsApp your emergency contacts. This uses a minute amount of data.
Will this feature work if I have no airtime?
It will work to detect an accident, but you'll need data to alert the Pineapple system if a crash occurs so that we can alert your emergency contacts.
Does crash detect run in the background?
Yes, Crash Detect runs in the background BUT it only runs when it detects that you're on the move, which means that it is very light on battery usage.
If I don't insure with Pineapple can I still use the crash-detection service?
Yes, Crash Detect is available to anyone, whether you are insured by us or not.
Can Pineapple guarantee to detect a crash?
Detecting a crash is a complex process of processing a vast amount of changes in the sensor data of your phone with a machine learning system.
The system has been trained to try to predict a crash accurately but also not to predict a crash falsely when someone is just, for example, dropping their phone.
As is the nature of a prediction system, it is trained to be as accurate as possible but never will be 100%. Pineapple cannot guarantee that we will detect every single crash, but we're determined to do the best we can do and continue to improve.
There are also factors which may limit the ability of Crash Detect to work as detected. Please see the reasons why Crash Detect might fail above.
Are emergency services alerted?
Emergency services are not automatically alerted right now, but watch this space...
How much is Crash Detect?
R0 and 0c --> IT'S FREE!
Do I need a tracking device to use this feature?
No, your phone acts as the tracking device by using your GPS sensor.
Is it possible that false alerts are sent out?
It is possible, but the system has been trained to only pick up impacts that meet a certain threshold for severity in order to prevent false events.
It is also trained to distinguish between a phone dropping and a vehicle accident by determining the directionality of the force changes.
How are my contacts notified?
Your contacts are notified via Whatsapp when you register and when a crash is detected.
Can anyone use Crash Detect?
Yes, Anyone with a compatible smartphone can gain access to Crash Detect.
Can I update my contacts?
Yes, you can add and remove contacts once you are registered.
Does this work if I'm outside of South Africa? (e.g. on holiday in Mozambique)
Yes, as long as you have data services.
What information is sent to my contacts? (e.g. location, car make/model)
Crash Detect sends your contacts a message alerting them of a possible crash event, with your location (if possible) and your number to quick-dial.
The message also contains a list of emergency contact numbers for convenience.