SafeSpace Hacks

Overview

SafeSpace Hacks is an online challenge hosted by SafeSpace, encouraging participants to build solutions that enhance safety and peace of mind. The hackathon focuses on creating anything that helps people, communities, or systems stay safer by addressing small moments of uncertainty. The competition seeks innovative projects that can prevent harm, understand risk, protect what matters, or enable more confident responses. This includes a wide range of applications, from cybersecurity and privacy tools to scam awareness, safer communities, emergency readiness, trustworthy information, secure habits, and accessible safety tools. Participants do not need to be security specialists. Projects can take many forms, including apps, websites, games, hardware, AI tools, and low-code solutions. The emphasis is on building a working prototype that demonstrates a practical improvement in safety for a specific situation. Thoughtful simplicity and clear articulation of benefits are valued over complex features. Participants are required to build a working prototype, name the intended user, identify the situation or risk, and describe the practical improvement. Submissions must clearly distinguish new work from pre-existing components and include a completed Devpost project page with a pitch, team members, explanation of the solution, demo, screenshots, and source code link where possible. Judging will be based on safety benefit, practical functionality, trust and responsible design, and clarity and user experience.

What to build

Participants should build anything that helps people, communities, or systems stay safer. Projects should focus on preventing harm, understanding risk, protecting what matters, or responding with more confidence. This can include, but is not limited to, solutions for cybersecurity, privacy, scam awareness, safer communities, emergency readiness, trustworthy information, secure habits, and accessible safety tools. Examples include browser companions for suspicious messages, games for safer digital habits, privacy tools for understanding permissions, preparedness checklists, respectful community reporting workflows, safer device prototypes, or clearer ways to share essential information. Projects can be apps, websites, games, hardware, AI tools, or low-code projects.

Prizes

Key dates

• Build Period Start2026-10-17
• Submission Deadline2026-11-22T17:00:00-05:00
• Judging Period2026-11-23 to 2026-11-24
• Results Scheduled2026-11-25

Eligibility

Eligible students above the legal age of majority can join solo or as a team. Companies/professional organizations are excluded from participation. All countries/territories are eligible, excluding standard exceptions.

How to enter

1. Join the hackathon on Devpost.
2. Build a working prototype that makes a situation safer, connected to security or safety.
3. Prepare a completed Devpost project page including a name, short pitch, and all contributing team members.
4. Provide a clear explanation of the problem, solution, technologies used, challenges faced, and lessons learned.
5. Include a working demo link, downloadable build, or recorded walkthrough demonstrating core functionality, with simple setup instructions.
6. Submit screenshots of the user experience.
7. Optionally, include a short demo video of about 2–3 minutes.
8. Provide a source-code or project-file link where possible, along with credits for libraries, datasets, assets, AI assistance, and pre-existing work.
9. Include one example of the safer outcome and one limitation of the project.
10. Use synthetic examples, sample accounts, or systems you own or have explicit permission to test; do not expose private data, credentials, or live vulnerabilities.
11. Ensure all judging links are accessible through November 24, 2026.
12. Submit one final entry per project by November 22, 2026 at 5:00 PM Eastern Time.

Submission requirements

• Build something that makes a situation safer.
• Create a working prototype connected to security or safety.
• Name the intended user, the situation or risk, and the practical improvement.
• Any technology stack is welcome.
• Clearly distinguish work built during October 17–November 22, 2026 from pre-existing components.
• A completed Devpost project page with a name, short pitch, and all contributing team members.
• A clear explanation of the problem, solution, technologies, challenges, and what you learned.
• A working demo link, downloadable build, or recorded walkthrough that demonstrates core functionality, with simple setup instructions.
• Screenshots of the experience.
• A short demo video of about 2–3 minutes is encouraged but optional.
• A source-code or project-file link where possible, plus credits for libraries, datasets, assets, AI assistance, and pre-existing work.
• Include one example of the safer outcome and one limitation.
• Use synthetic examples, sample accounts, or systems you own or have explicit permission to test. Do not expose private data, credentials, or live vulnerabilities.
• Keep all judging links accessible through November 24, 2026.
• Submit one final entry per project by November 22, 2026 at 5:00 PM Eastern Time.

Judging criteria

• Safety Benefit: Does the project address a clear security or safety problem for an identifiable user? Assess the practical benefit and credible evidence of a safer outcome, not the size of the claim. (Score 1–5; equal weight)
• Practical Functionality: Does the core workflow work in the demo? Assess reliability, thoughtful implementation, and a sensible response to errors or failure. Complexity alone earns no bonus. (Score 1–5; equal weight)
• Trust & Responsible Design: Does the project respect privacy, use appropriate data, explain uncertainty, and avoid creating new risks? Reward thoughtful safeguards and honest limitations. (Score 1–5; equal weight)
• Clarity & User Experience: Can the intended user understand and use the solution? Assess accessibility, clear guidance, and a demo that explains the problem, event contributions, credits, and limitations. (Score 1–5; equal weight)

Sponsors & partners

Resources

• Hackathon Rules