Securus Mobile

Review by eFreeware

Most communication apps assume both people can pick up a phone whenever they like. Securus Mobile is built for the opposite situation: keeping contact with someone who is incarcerated, where calls are funded in advance, visits happen on a schedule and messages pass through a system rather than a normal phone line. The developer, Securus Technologies, works in corrections technology, and this app is the account side of that service on Android.

That makes it a utility rather than a social app. You use it to top up a calling balance, join a video session, exchange messages and photos, and send money to an account the person can spend on media and communications. If you already deal with Securus by phone or through a website, the app is the same set of tasks in a smaller format. If you have no connection to the corrections system, there is nothing here for you.

Built for families keeping in touch across a distance

The people I would expect to get the most from this are the ones already juggling several errands to stay in touch: a parent checking a balance before a call, a partner sending a photo, a sibling arranging a video session around a work schedule. The app puts those jobs in one place instead of spreading them across phone calls to a support line and separate web pages. Anyone managing contact on behalf of someone else, such as an older relative who finds the process confusing, is in the same group.

It also fits people who support someone from another country. International funding and connections are part of what the app handles, which matters when the person you are supporting is far from where you live. The app is rated Teen.

One thing to keep in mind before you build a routine around it: the developer notes that services vary by location. What is available for one facility is not necessarily available for another, so the app is best approached as a front end to whatever your particular situation supports.

Funding calls and depositing money

Prepaid calling is the core of the app. You add money to a calling account so the person can place calls, and you can set up autopay and balance alerts so the account does not run dry at an inconvenient moment. For anyone who has ever missed a scheduled call because a balance expired, those two settings are the quiet workhorses here.

Deposits work along the same lines. Securus Debit lets you put money into an incarcerated account, which the person can then spend on things like media and communications. The app describes this as a few clicks from a phone or tablet, and that matches the general shape of the feature: pick the account, choose an amount, confirm.

Because both of these involve moving money, the practical value is in having the record in one place. Balance alerts, autopay and deposits sit alongside the rest of the account tools rather than in a separate billing screen, which is the main argument for using the app instead of a browser.

Video sessions, messages and shared media

Video calling is the second pillar. The app lets you schedule a session and join it, which is a different rhythm from a spontaneous call: you plan a time, both sides show up, and the session runs through the service. That structure suits people who need to coordinate around work, school or childcare rather than call on impulse.

Alongside text, you can share photos, video and eCards. That combination covers most of what people actually want to send: a picture of a child's first day at school, a short clip, a card for a birthday. The developer pitches the app as a way to stay in touch regardless of distance, and the mix of scheduled video and everyday messages is where that claim has something to stand on.

Account management ties these together. You can add contacts, turn notifications on or off, and adjust the personal settings that control how the app reaches you. None of it is glamorous, but it is the layer that makes the rest usable week after week.

What you pay, and what the app itself costs

Communication apps in this space often have a confusing mix of free features and paid unlocks. Here the download itself is not the thing you pay for.

The money side sits in the services rather than the app: prepaid calling balances and deposits into an incarcerated account. Those are transactions you choose to make, and the app is the tool for making them. The developer directs people to securustech.net for details on what is available where, which is the right place to check before assuming a particular service applies to your situation.

How it compares with the alternatives

The obvious alternative is a general messaging app. Those are free, familiar and good at sending photos and video, but they do not fund a calling account, schedule a video session through a corrections system or deposit money for someone to spend on media. For the specific jobs this app handles, a normal chat app is not a substitute.

The second alternative is the website or a phone call to the service. Both work, and neither requires installing anything. The app's advantage is convenience: account settings, contacts, alerts, deposits and sessions in one place on the device you already carry. If your contact is occasional and you would rather not keep an app installed, the browser route is reasonable.

A third comparison is a banking or payment app. Those move money, but they cannot direct a deposit into an incarcerated account or connect that payment to calling and messaging services. The overlap is small.

A practical tool for an awkward set of tasks

Securus Mobile does a narrow job and does not pretend otherwise. It is free, has no ads and no in-app purchases, and it has been installed more than five million times with a 4.7 average from over 42,000 ratings, which suggests a large base of people using it as part of a regular routine.

My recommendation is straightforward. If you already use Securus services to stay in contact with someone who is incarcerated, installing the app is the sensible way to handle balances, deposits, messages and scheduled video sessions from your phone. If your contact runs through a different system, or you only need to send the occasional message, this app is not the tool for that. Check what your location supports before you plan around any single feature.

What's new in version 5.3.0 (build 3)

User improvements and minor bug fixes.