Set a check-in. Miss it, and the people you choose are alerted by email, SMS, and an automated voice call — even if your phone is dead. No location tracking, no dispatcher, no surveillance.
Yes — Beacon Safe does exactly that. Set a daily check-in; if you miss it, the contacts you choose are alerted automatically by email and SMS, then by an automated voice call about five minutes later. The deadline runs on our servers, so alerts fire even if your phone is dead, off, or lost — and the app never tracks your location.
How It Works
You're searching for an app that alerts your family if you don't check in — one that texts your contacts, calls someone, or notifies the people you trust the moment you go silent. That is exactly what Beacon Safe is built to do. Here's the whole setup.
Choose how often you check in — daily, every 48 hours, or every 72 hours — and a time that fits your routine. A push reminder nudges you before the deadline so you don't forget.
Up to 3 contacts on the free tier, 10 on Plus. They opt in before any SMS or voice calls reach them, and you set the exact order they're notified in.
That's the whole job. Miss the deadline and a short grace period passes first; then alerts escalate through your contacts, one at a time, until someone responds.
The Three Alert Channels
When you don't check in, Beacon Safe doesn't send a single quiet notification and hope it lands. It escalates across three channels, contact by contact, until a real person responds — so the alert actually reaches your family.
A detailed alert with your last check-in time and the missed deadline goes to every contact, even on the free tier. They can confirm you're safe with a single tap-link.
"Alex hasn't checked in. Last seen: 9:00 PM yesterday. Missed deadline: 9:00 PM today."A text lands on your contact's lock screen the moment the grace period ends. They reply to confirm you're safe or that they're checking on you. Most people read a text within minutes.
"Beacon Safe: Alex hasn't checked in. Reply 1 to confirm safe, 2 if you're checking on them."If the email and SMS go unanswered, an automated voice call rings about 5 minutes later. Calls cut through silenced phones and Do Not Disturb. Your contact presses a key to respond.
"This is Beacon Safe. Alex hasn't checked in. Press 1 to confirm they're safe, press 2 if you're checking on them."If no one has responded, Beacon Safe follows up again about 4 hours later, then re-alerts after 24 hours. The escalation keeps going so a missed message doesn't mean a missed alarm.
"Reminder: Alex still hasn't checked in or been confirmed safe."Your contacts can respond by tap-link, SMS reply, or voice keypress — whichever reaches them first.
The Part That Actually Matters
Most "safety" features are useless in the scenario you're actually afraid of, because they depend on your phone being awake and reachable. If your phone is dead, off, lost, broken, or out of signal, an app running locally has no way to raise the alarm — which means it can't alert your family when you most need it to.
Beacon Safe is built the opposite way. Your check-in deadline is tracked server-side. When the deadline passes without a check-in, our servers notice and start notifying your contacts — whether or not your phone is on, charged, or even in your hand. That's the entire point: the alert fires precisely in the situation where you can't.
This is also why Beacon Safe works as a true dead-man's-switch: you never have to do anything to trigger help. Not checking in is the trigger. Your data is encrypted in transit and at rest, and your location is never part of it.
Who It's For
Anyone who wants their family or friends to be alerted automatically if they ever can't check in — without trading away their privacy to a tracking app.
No roommate or partner to notice if a normal day stops being normal. Silence becomes the signal that reaches your contacts. More for living alone →
A simple one-tap daily check-in, with email, SMS, and voice alerts to adult children or caregivers if it's missed. No wearable, no monthly monitoring fee. More for seniors →
Heading off-grid, traveling alone, or working in the field? Your contacts get alerted if you don't make your check-in window. More for solo travelers →
No location permissions, no GPS pin, no movement history. Beacon Safe knows one thing: whether you tapped the button on time. Read the security details →
Pricing
Start free with email alerts and unlimited check-ins. Upgrade to Plus when you want SMS, automated voice calls, more contacts, and faster escalation.
Available on iPhone, iPad, and Android, in English and Spanish. See the full pricing details →
FAQ
Yes. Beacon Safe does exactly this. You set a daily check-in (or every 48 or 72 hours) and tap once to confirm you're okay. If you miss the deadline, the family members and friends you chose are alerted automatically by email and SMS, then by an automated voice call about 5 minutes later if no one has responded. You pick every contact yourself and set the order they're notified in.
Yes. On the Plus tier, Beacon Safe places an automated voice call to your contacts about 5 minutes after the first email and SMS go unanswered. The call cuts through silenced phones and Do Not Disturb, and your contact can press a key on the keypad to confirm you're safe or that they're checking on you. If the situation stays unresolved, Beacon Safe follows up again about 4 hours later and re-alerts after 24 hours.
Yes. When you don't respond to your check-in, Beacon Safe sends an SMS text to the contacts you chose (on the Plus tier), alongside an email alert. The text lands on their lock screen and they can reply to confirm you're safe. Contacts must opt in before they receive any SMS, so nobody gets surprise-added. The free tier sends email alerts to up to 3 contacts.
Your contacts still get alerted. This is the most important part of how Beacon Safe works. The check-in deadline is tracked on our servers, not on your phone. If your phone is dead, off, lost, broken, or out of signal when the deadline passes, the server still notices you didn't check in and still notifies your contacts by email, SMS, and voice call. A safety tool that only works while your phone is on can't help in the exact situation you're worried about.
No. Beacon Safe never collects, stores, or shares your location and never requests location permissions. Your check-in is a single tap that confirms you're safe — no GPS pin, no map, no movement history. When an alert fires, your contacts learn only that you missed your check-in and the relevant times. They never see where you are. Your data is encrypted in transit and at rest.
Beacon Safe has a free tier that sends email alerts to up to 3 contacts, with unlimited check-ins and response tracking. The Plus tier is $19.99/month (or $199.99/year) and adds SMS and automated voice-call alerts, up to 10 contacts, and faster escalation. Beacon Safe is available on iPhone, iPad, and Android, in English and Spanish.
Beacon Safe is not an emergency service and does not contact 911 or any emergency dispatcher. In any life-threatening emergency, call 911 directly. Beacon Safe alerts the personal contacts you choose as a supplemental check-in tool. Alert delivery depends on network availability and cannot be guaranteed.
Beacon Safe is live on iOS and Android.