A safety switch apparatus for disabling operation of a hand-carried appliance, e.g., a hair dryer, during periods of nonuse such as when the appliance is put down on a prescribed surface or placed in a non-functional position such as being held under a user's arm. In preferred embodiments, a sensor, e.g., a hall effect sensor, a magnetoresistive sensor, a reed switch, or the like, is coupled to control circuitry within the appliance to remove power from portions of the device, e.g., its motor and/or heater, when the appliance is proximate to an externally-provided magnetic field preferably provided from a magnetic element typically contained within a pad placeable on a work surface, within the work surface, or a wearable piece of clothing. In a further feature of a preferred embodiment, power is restored when the apparatus is removed from the magnetic field. However after a sustained detection period, operation ceases.