An App That Alerts Your Contacts If You Don't Check In
What fires when you miss a check-in: the timing per protocol type, the alert your contacts receive, email and SMS delivery, and what they can do next.
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TL;DR
When a scheduled check-in is missed, all your designated contacts are alerted by email, and by SMS on Survival, simultaneously: within a few minutes on a daily protocol, after a grace of at most 30 minutes on a heartbeat, and after the delay you set on a one-off protocol. The alert carries a link, and they open your pre-written message with their PIN. This article covers the timing, content, and delivery of the alert, and how it compares to manual alternatives.
Who is this for?
Anyone evaluating check-in apps who wants to understand what happens when a check-in is missed. This guide explains the alert pipeline in detail, for people who live alone and check in for themselves, and for those who help a parent or someone they care for set up their own account.
What Happens When You Miss a Safety Check-in?
The steps below run from the reminders to the contact alert.
T-15 and T-5 min · Check-in reminders sent
15 and 5 minutes before the scheduled time, you receive a reminder: push in the iPhone app, email everywhere. Nothing is sent at the scheduled time itself. One tap to confirm you're okay.
T+2 min · Check-in marked missed
No confirmation received. The server marks the check-in missed after a two-minute tolerance for a tap that is still syncing.
T+2 min to T+delay · Delayed Delivery, one-off protocols only
A one-off protocol can hold the alert for the delay you set, minutes or hours up to 48. Confirming before it ends cancels the alert. Daily protocols skip this step, and heartbeats have their own grace of 0 to 30 minutes.
T+2 min, or T+delay · Alerts sent to all contacts
All designated contacts are alerted together: email on every plan, SMS as well on Survival. Each alert holds a link to your emergency page, where their PIN opens your pre-written message.
How Does a Missed Check-in Alert Work in Practice?
How Do Automatic Alerts Compare to Manual Check-ins?
What Do Your Contacts Receive When a Check-in Is Missed?
Email alert
[Name] has not confirmed their scheduled check-in.
Protocol: [protocol name]
Missed at: [time]
Button: Access Emergency Information
SMS alert (Survival)
[Name] missed their check-in.
Use your PIN to access emergency info: [link]
Emergency page, opened with their PIN
Your pre-written message, for example:
📍 Home address, or the place written in when the message was created
💊 Medical notes (if configured)
🔑 Access instructions
📞 Emergency doctor contact
The message is entirely customizable. You write it in advance, and your contacts reach it through the link in the alert. The alert email or SMS itself never carries the message, your files, an address or a position.
See how Safety Checkpoint handles living alone safety →Explore daily check-in routines and alert protocols for independent living.