Personal alarms: the honest comparison.

They ask different things of you. Pepper spray has to be reached, aimed and kept out of the other person’s hands, and carrying it is restricted or banned depending on the country. A personal alarm is not a weapon: no carrying rule, no minimum age, and one movement.

A light is useful every day and needs neither a phone nor a network: the one on OYA is a white LED, steady or flashing, that the side button switches on without the siren. Built-in GPS needs a dedicated chip and, most of the time, a SIM card with a subscription. OYA has none: the position sent to your people is the one from your paired phone, through its native SOS.

It makes noise, and that is already useful. Three things are worth checking before you buy: the distance at which the stated volume is measured, whether it recharges or runs on batteries you keep having to buy, and what it does after the noise. OYA states 130 dB measured at 30 cm, recharges over USB-C and, paired with your phone, gets it to call for help.

Look first at who is selling: a named seller, with an address, a warranty and a right of return in writing. OYA is ordered on this site, from ALTHIR GROUP, a French company: dispatch from France, free delivery in France from 2 OYA, 30 days to change your mind and a 3-year warranty.

Yes. A personal alarm makes a sound and is not a weapon in any European Union country: no permit, no registration and no minimum age to buy or carry one. The objects that come with carrying rules are elsewhere, starting with pepper spray.

What you are allowed to carry for self defence.

A personal alarm is not a weapon: nothing stops a minor from buying or carrying one. A school can set its own rules on what pupils bring in, so read them first. Have them try it once at home before pairing the phone, so only the siren goes off, and say what it does not do as well.

Two families of device answer two needs. A monitored alarm covers the home and a fall, with someone who answers. A pocket alarm covers journeys: noise, no subscription and, paired to a phone, the call for help, which assumes the phone is being carried.

Choosing an alarm for an older relative.

It is if you can set it off at pace, with one movement and nothing to unlock. It adds to the rest without replacing it: a route in loops, reflective kit, one ear on the street and your location shared for the length of the run.

Running alone after dark, without giving up the run.

Five things can be checked on any model’s page: the volume in decibels and the distance it is measured at, the movement that sets it off, rechargeable or batteries, what the device does after the noise (siren only, or alerting your people and the emergency services through your phone), and the weight, since it decides whether you carry it. Our buying guide goes through them.

How to choose a personal alarm you will actually carry.

Nobody can guarantee that, and no alarm should promise it. What it does is simpler: a very loud noise that draws the attention of people nearby and makes the scene visible. Paired with a phone, OYA also gets that phone to call the emergency services and send your position to your people. Call 112 as soon as you can.

The one that goes wherever you go without a decision each morning. A keyring alarm comes with keys you already take out, while a wristband only helps on the days you put it on, so compare how each attaches before you compare the volume.

How to choose a personal alarm you will actually carry.

One that works in any country and flies with you. OYA’s siren needs no network, your phone’s SOS dials the emergency number of the country you are in, and the alarm travels in the cabin, never in the hold, because of its lithium battery.

How it works

Check what you may legally carry first. An alarm keychain only makes a sound, so no permit or age rule applies in the European Union, while sprays and objects made to hurt can be restricted or prohibited depending on the country, and have to be reached, aimed and kept out of other hands.

What you are allowed to carry for self defence.

On a hill, often a whistle rather than an alarm: it needs no battery, works out of phone coverage and is understood as a distress signal. If you only take one, take the whistle; many people carry both, the alarm on the keys and the whistle on a rucksack strap.

A whistle, an alarm, and what each one asks of you.

A keyring alarm makes noise straight away and comes with keys you already carry. Anything worn, on the neck or the wrist, is always on you provided you put it on every day, and a pendant linked to a base unit is a monitored home alarm, a different service.

How to choose a personal alarm you will actually carry.

One you can set off with the hand already holding your keys, with nothing to unlock: on a last train or a night bus, one pull and the siren goes off at once. Paired with your phone, OYA also gets it to call for help and send your position.