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Pipeline — Help Shape It

WanderShield

Anti-trafficking protection — Polaris hotline ended December 2025, FOSTA-SESTA 40% assault increase, 218K identified victims, DOJ $90M+ OVC grants.

Safety & Privacy
ReplacesNo equivalent (Polaris hotline ended Dec 2025; existing tools require visible phone use)
Open-source baseMeshtastic

About

Polaris Project stopped operating the National Human Trafficking Hotline in December 2025 — the primary first-contact resource for trafficking survivors for over a decade. FOSTA-SESTA (2018) was intended to help trafficking survivors; it increased street-based sex worker assault rates by 40% by pushing activity underground and removing online safety tools. 218,000 trafficking victims were identified globally in 2022, with the US accounting for a significant portion. LGBTQ+ youth represent 20-40% of youth trafficking victims despite being 5-7% of the general youth population. DOJ's Office for Victims of Crime disbursed $90M+ in FY2024 trafficking response grants — WanderShield's exit planning infrastructure is fundable infrastructure. No existing app operates when the phone is visible — triple-tap WanderTag fires a silent alert sewn into clothing. No existing app builds a location history record for legal proceedings. The tool Polaris left behind.

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Features

  • Triple-tap WanderTag: silent alert, no visible phone use — works sewn into clothing
  • Duress code: specific word anywhere in app fires silent alert — no phone handling required
  • Fake screen / decoy mode: attacker sees normal-looking screen
  • Covert photo upload with invisible GPS tagging — documented for legal proceedings
  • Daily 'I'm safe' check-in + safe word system + location history building
  • Document preservation: offsite, outside trafficker's control, timestamped
  • Exit planning: financial emergency resources, shelter routing, legal documentation
  • LoRa beacon: continuous location even with no cellular signal or compromised phone
  • Family separation: reunification coordination over LoRa mesh
  • Polaris hotline gap filled: resources now in the app, not dependent on a hotline that closed
Hand-assembled

Built by supported employment workers — people with intellectual disabilities, autism, and physical disabilities — through WWP's fulfillment program. Every product ships with a Built By card. Competitive wage, never 14(c) subminimum.

Repair & refurb

Send it back. Prepaid label. Component-level repair, module upgrades, firmware updates. 7-year spare parts guarantee. Donate on return — refurbished hardware goes to shelter and community partners. GPL firmware: the device works even if WanderVerse shuts down.

No hardware subscription — ever

BMW charged $18/mo for heated seats already in your car. GM locked remote start. Eero charges for VPN on hardware that could run it free. We don't do that. You bought it, you own it — every feature works forever, no subscription required. WanderAssist ($9/mo optional) is a convenience layer, never a gate. Safety features are never paywalled.

Pro & Lux tiers — coming

Every WanderVerse hardware product will offer Pro and Lux finish tiers — premium materials and handcrafted finishes by WanderVerse Artisans: supported employment workers with artistic skills. Each Lux unit ships with a Finished By card. Lux revenue cross-subsidizes nonprofit pricing.

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