Guide, personal safety
Connected personal-safety keychain: alert your loved ones in seconds
My Self Key is a personal-safety device that lets you raise an alert from a connected keychain, without having to reach for your phone.
Pre-orders opening soon. The opening date will be announced here
My Self Key is a personal-safety device made up of a keychain connected over Bluetooth to a smartphone. A single press of its button sends trusted contacts a text message with a link to the person's location, which they can follow live.
01
When every second counts, reaching for your phone isn't always possible
This isn't about frightening anyone. It's about facing a very concrete limitation of the existing solutions.
- Your phone isn't always within reachIt's at the bottom of a bag, in a pocket, locked. Taking it out costs time and attention, and it shows.
- Warning several people takes timeTexting your loved ones one by one, explaining where you are: those are seconds you may not have.
- An alarm alone warns no one at a distanceIt draws the attention of people nearby. If the street is empty, nobody will know what is happening.
02
What is a personal-safety keychain?
A small personal-safety device that attaches to a keyring and is triggered with one gesture, without taking your phone out.
What you'll usually find
- A sound alarm, set off by a button or a pull pin.
- No connection, no app.
- It draws the attention of the people around you, and nothing more.
What My Self Key does
- The keychain talks to your smartphone over Bluetooth.
- One press notifies your contacts, with a link to your location.
- It keeps the sound alarm, and adds the emergency QR code and the Safe Cup.
There is only one My Self Key keychain, and it carries all four protections. The offers differ by what comes with it, not by the keychain itself.
03
Is a personal-safety keychain legal in France?
Yes. It is not a weapon under the French Internal Security Code: it is not designed to injure.
What is regulated
- Pepper spray falls under Category D: buying it is unrestricted, but carrying it is regulated.
- Objects designed to strike or injure fall under weapons regulations.
What is not
- A device that merely emits a sound or sends a message falls into no weapons category.
- It can be carried and transported freely, in the street as on public transport.
This is exactly what separates an alerting device from a self-defence object: it isn't there to fight, it's there to warn and to buy time. We published a detailed article on self-defence objects.
04
Whistle, alarm, app: what does what?
Each solution answers a different need. None of them is bad; they simply don't cover the same situations.
| WhistleWhistle | Standard personal alarmAlarm | Safety app on its ownApp | My Self KeyMSK | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draws attention around youDraws attention | Yes | Yes | No | Yes, 140 dB |
| Warns your loved ones remotelyWarns your loved ones | No | No | Yes | Yes, by text |
| Shares your location | No | No | Yes | Yes, live |
| Works without taking your phone outPhone stays away | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Works without a smartphoneNo smartphone | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| No app to installNo app | Yes | Yes | No | No |
No solution wins everywhere, and that is the point. A whistle is unbeatable for simplicity: nothing to charge, nothing to install, it always works. But it warns nobody. My Self Key warns your loved ones and shares your location, at the cost of two acknowledged dependencies: your phone and the app. That is the trade-off to know before choosing. We also compared the main safety apps.
05
Why a keychain rather than an app alone?
Safety apps do real work, and My Self Key uses one. The question isn't their quality, it's the number of gestures they ask for at the worst possible moment.
With an app alone
- Take the phone out of a pocket or bag
- Unlock it
- Find the app
- Navigate to the right function
With a connected keychain
- Press the button, already in your hand
The phone can stay away, locked, with the app closed.
06
Made for everyday life
Walking home alone at night, public transport, running early or late, student life, public shift work, public work travel, travelling alone, or keeping an eye on a vulnerable relative.
This is not an object reserved for extreme situations, nor for one audience. It is one more way to warn someone, when you need to.
07
Four protections in a single object
They are independent of one another, and they are not used at the same moment.
- The SOS button
- One press, and your trusted contacts receive a text message with a link to your location, which they can follow live. Without taking your phone out.
- The 140 dB alarm
- A sound alarm loud enough to carry over street noise and turn heads. It needs no network at all.
- The emergency QR code
- A separate tag, on the same keyring. Any smartphone can scan it to see who to call, including your own, if your phone is dead or panic gets the better of you.
- The Safe Cup
- A reusable drink cover that clips onto your glass to stop anyone slipping something into it without your knowledge.
08
One keychain, four offers
The keychain is the same in every offer, with its four protections. What changes is what comes with it, and how many people are equipped.
- The keychain on its ownThe essentials: the connected keychain and its four protections.
- The keychain, the Safe Kit and the workshopThe complete package, presented as the most recommended one.
- Two keychainsTo equip someone close to you at the same time.
- Three keychainsFor a whole family or a group of loved ones.
Prices will be announced when pre-orders open. Each protection is explained in detail on the keychain page, and all the offers are gathered on the Order page.
09
An alerting tool, not a replacement for emergency services
My Self Key warns your trusted contacts, not the emergency services. It is a complement, never a replacement. In case of danger, these numbers remain the first reflex, and they are free.
10
A French brand, born of a specific story
My Self Key was founded by Léa Bauchet, after a trauma that set everything in motion.
28 000 €raised through an Ulule campaign, with more than 500 backers
700+people support the project today
20media partners have covered the initiative
A share is donated to organisations working for women's safety, such as M'endors Pas, which fights drink spiking. Read the My Self Key story.
11
What people ask us about personal-safety keychains
A small personal-safety device that clips onto a keyring and is triggered with one gesture, without taking your phone out. What you'll usually find is limited to a sound alarm. Connected devices add the sending of an alert to loved ones, with the person's location.
Yes. It is not a weapon under the French Internal Security Code: it is not designed to injure. Pepper spray, by contrast, falls under Category D, whose carrying is regulated. A device that merely emits a sound or sends a message falls into no weapons category and can be carried freely, in the street as on public transport.
A personal alarm draws the attention of people around you. It warns nobody at a distance. A connected keychain adds that second layer: your trusted contacts are alerted even from across the city, with a link to your location.
No, that is the whole point of the format. The button is already in your hand, on your keyring. The phone can stay in a pocket or a bag, locked, with the app closed.
The alert to your loved ones needs a connection to go out. Without a network it is queued and sent automatically as soon as the phone finds signal again. The sound alarm depends on no network at all.
No. A personal-safety keychain is not there to fight back physically: it is there to alert and to draw attention, so you have time to leave. That is an important difference, legally as well.
No, never. It warns your loved ones, not the emergency services. In case of danger the reflex remains 17 or 112, 3919 for violence against women in France, and 114 by text if you cannot speak.
Anyone who wants to be able to warn someone quickly: walking home alone at night, public transport, running, student life, shift work, work travel. It is not reserved for women, even if they are the ones who most often express the need.
Prices will be announced when pre-orders open, which is not scheduled yet. You can leave your email to be told on opening day.
One simple gesture to warn the people who matter.
Pre-orders will open soon. Leave your email and you will get a single message, on opening day.
Pre-orders opening soon
