Sorting the good from the bad smartphone applications to alert residents facing disasters - Experiments in France

International audienceThe number of smartphone applications to alert and inform the population in a risk situation in France is too large and these solutions are still unknow by the population. This study proposes an evaluation protocol based on various indicators, which take into account the capacity of the applications to send a targeted alert, their attractiveness, the ability of individuals to emit information and number of hazards considered. The results obtained on 50 applications deployed in France show that very few of them meet the objectives of the alert, in the sense defined by civil security, because of a single-risk approach, a unique sense of communication, and the low acceptance of these solutions by citizens