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WellCheck is a safety check-in app for iPhone. You set a schedule — either a repeating interval (e.g. every 6 hours) or specific times each day — and WellCheck sends you a notification asking you to check in. If you miss one, it waits through a grace period, then automatically sends an SMS alert to your trusted contacts.
No one has to watch a screen. No one has to remember to check on you. The app attempts to handle it automatically — though delivery of alerts depends on network availability, device settings, and your contacts' responsiveness.
Anyone who spends time alone and wants a safety net. Common use cases include:
• Solo parents home with young kids
• People who live alone, especially seniors
• People with medical conditions (epilepsy, heart conditions, diabetes, etc.)
• Remote or solo workers, hikers, and outdoor enthusiasts
• Night shift workers or anyone with an irregular schedule
If there's a chance you could fall, have a medical event, or need help without being able to call for it, WellCheck is designed for you.
No. WellCheck sends an SMS to your trusted contacts — people you choose. It does not contact emergency services directly. Your contacts are responsible for deciding whether to call 911 or otherwise respond.
WellCheck is a best-effort notification tool — it attempts to alert the contacts you choose, but cannot guarantee delivery or response. It is not a substitute for emergency services. If you have a medical condition that may require a rapid 911 response, talk to your doctor about whether WellCheck fits your needs.
Every time you check in, WellCheck pre-schedules your emergency alert in the cloud, timed for the end of your next grace period. If your phone dies, loses signal, or is completely off before your next check-in — your contacts will still be notified when that time arrives. The alert is sent directly from WellCheck's servers, not from your phone.
The one exception: if your phone was never on and you never completed a check-in, no alert is scheduled. WellCheck works because you checked in — silence after a check-in is the signal.
SMS delivery is handled by Twilio, a third-party messaging service. In the rare event of a Twilio outage, WellCheck automatically retries delivery to your contacts for up to 24 hours — so even if the first attempt fails, your contacts will still be notified once the service recovers. If you check in before the retry succeeds, the alerts are cancelled automatically.
WellCheck requires iOS 16 or later.
No. Your contacts never need to download anything. They just need to be able to receive text messages. Any phone — iPhone, Android, flip phone — works fine.
When you add a contact in the app, WellCheck generates a unique consent link and opens your Messages app with a pre-written text ready to send. The message comes from your own phone number — so your contact knows it's from you. They tap the link, confirm they want to receive alerts, and that's it. The whole process takes about 30 seconds on their end.
Their status in your app will show as Pending until they accept. Once they tap the link, it updates to Confirmed automatically.
Before WellCheck can send anyone an emergency SMS, they need to explicitly agree to receiving it. This is both a legal requirement (TCPA compliance) and just the right thing to do — your contacts should know they're being added and have a chance to opt in or decline.
The consent link takes them to a short form where they confirm they want to receive alerts. Once they do, their phone number is kept on file for SMS delivery. Their name is deleted from our servers within 7 days.
They'll stay in your contact list with a Pending status and won't receive emergency alerts until they accept. Consent requests expire after 7 days, at which point the status changes to Expired. You can resend the link from the contact's detail page anytime.
You need at least one Confirmed contact before the check-in button activates.
The alert includes your name, the scheduled check-in time, when the grace period ended, and the time the alert was sent. Your contacts are asked to verify you're safe and given your phone number to call immediately.
If you've enabled location sharing in Settings, your last known location at the time of your most recent check-in is included as a Google Maps link — so your contacts know where to look for you.
There's no hard limit. We recommend adding at least 3 contacts so there's redundancy — if one person misses the message, others will still be notified. All confirmed contacts receive the SMS simultaneously when an alert fires.
Interval mode checks in on a repeating timer — every 1 to 24 hours. You set a start time and an end time for your active day, then choose how many check-ins you want in between. The interval is calculated for you automatically. Any check-in resets the clock, so you can check in early or late and it counts. Requires at least 2 check-ins per day. Good if your schedule varies day to day.
Scheduled mode lets you set specific times each day (e.g. 8:00 AM, 2:00 PM, 8:00 PM). Good if you follow a consistent daily routine. You can check in up to 1 hour before a scheduled time and it counts for that slot — if you try to check in earlier than that, the app will let you know. Scheduled mode also supports a single check-in per day if that's all you need.
You can switch between modes anytime in Settings.
The grace period is extra time after a missed check-in before your contacts are alerted. It's designed to prevent false alarms — if you're in the shower, driving, or just briefly unavailable, you have time to check in before anyone gets an SMS.
You set the grace period duration in Settings (5–30 minutes). During the grace period, your phone receives urgent, repeating notifications prompting you to check in. If you don't respond, the alert fires when time runs out.
Yes — tap the notification action directly from the notification: Swipe or long-press the check-in notification and tap "I'm OK ✓." The check-in is recorded without opening the app.
Just check in as soon as you can — either by tapping the button in the app or the notification action. Checking in during the grace period cancels the alert entirely. Checking in after the grace period ends will clear emergency mode, but the SMS has likely already gone out.
If your contacts do get an accidental alert, just let them know you're fine. It happens.
No. In interval mode you set a first check-in time and a last check-in time for your active day. WellCheck automatically keeps all check-ins within that window — if an interval would land after your last check-in time, it snaps forward to your first check-in the next morning instead. You'll never get a missed check-in alert while you're sleeping.
Activity Mode is a time-bounded check-in schedule designed for solo outdoor activities. Instead of your normal interval (e.g. every 6 hours), you set a shorter interval and a duration — then WellCheck checks in with you more frequently for the length of your outing.
When the timer expires or you tap End Activity, WellCheck automatically reverts to your normal check-in schedule. No manual reset required.
Any time you're doing something solo where the risk of injury is higher than usual and your normal check-in interval is too long to be useful. Common uses:
• Running or cycling alone, especially on trails or roads
• Hiking, especially in remote areas or bad weather
• Skiing or snowboarding alone
• Open water swimming
• Any solo activity where a fall or injury could leave you unable to call for help
If you normally check in every 6 hours but you're going for a 2-hour solo trail run, Activity Mode lets you set a 15-minute check-in interval for just that window — then returns to your normal schedule automatically when you're done.
Activity Mode uses a fixed 5-minute grace period, regardless of your normal grace period setting. If you miss a check-in, your emergency contacts receive an SMS 5 minutes later.
This is shorter than the 5–30 minute grace period available in your normal settings — because in a high-risk solo activity, faster notification is the priority. The setup screen shows your check-in interval alongside a reminder that the grace period is 5 minutes, so you can make sure your interval is realistic before you start.
When you tap Activity Mode in the app, you'll choose:
• Activity type — Run, Hike, Ski, Bike, Swim, or Other
• Duration — how long you'll be out (up to 4 hours), using hour and minute wheels
• Check-in interval — how often you want to check in during that time
The app shows a reminder of the 5-minute grace period next to your chosen interval so you know exactly how much total time your contacts have before they're notified if something goes wrong.
When the timer expires, WellCheck automatically restores your normal check-in mode, interval, and grace period. A notification lets you know Activity Mode has ended. No action required on your part.
You can also end it early by tapping End Activity on the Activity Mode screen. Either way, the transition back to your normal schedule is automatic.
Yes. You can start Activity Mode from your Watch and check in with a tap from the Activity Mode screen that appears on your wrist. The Watch shows a live countdown, your check-in interval, and a reminder that SMS alerts go out 5 minutes after a missed check-in.
If your phone is out of range, an Apple Watch with cellular (LTE) can check in directly over the internet without needing the phone. GPS-only Watch models require the phone to be on the same WiFi network or within Bluetooth range.
The same flow as a normal missed check-in, just faster. Your phone receives urgent, repeating notifications for 5 minutes prompting you to check in. If you don't respond, your emergency contacts receive an SMS with your name, the time, and your last known location (if location sharing is enabled).
If you check in during those 5 minutes, the alert is cancelled and Activity Mode continues normally.
Almost everything stays on your device: your check-in schedule, history, and settings.
The only data stored on our servers is your contacts' phone numbers, which are required to send SMS alerts. Contact names and email addresses are stored temporarily during the consent process (up to 7 days) and then deleted.
See our full Privacy Policy for details.
No. WellCheck does not sell, share, or monetize your data in any way. The only third-party service that receives any data is Twilio, which handles SMS delivery — and they only receive the phone number and message content needed to send the text.
Location sharing is off by default and entirely optional. When enabled, WellCheck captures a GPS snapshot each time you check in and includes it as a Google Maps link in emergency alerts — so your contacts know your last known location.
Your location is never stored on WellCheck's servers. It is captured on-device at check-in time and included in the emergency task payload only for the duration of that check-in cycle. When you check in successfully, the task is cancelled and the location data is discarded.
WellCheck is $4.99/month or $44.99/year (save ~25%). Subscriptions are managed through the App Store.
There is no cost to the contacts you add. They don't download anything, pay anything, or need an account — they just receive a consent link via text and, if needed, an SMS alert.
Not currently. If you're a beta tester on TestFlight, the subscription is bypassed automatically so you can test all features at no cost.
The easiest way is through the app: open Settings → scroll to the bottom → Cancel Subscription & Delete Data. This removes your data from WellCheck's servers in one tap, then opens your App Store subscription settings so you can cancel billing.
You can also cancel directly through Apple without deleting your data: App Store → tap your profile photo → Subscriptions → WellCheck → Cancel. Apple handles all billing; WellCheck has no access to your payment information.
Open the WellCheck app → Settings → scroll to the bottom → Cancel Subscription & Delete Data. This permanently removes your emergency contacts' consent records and phone numbers from our servers, then takes you to App Store subscription settings to cancel billing.
Your check-in history and settings are stored only on your device and are removed when you delete the app.
WellCheck requires iOS 16 or later. Any iPhone that supports iOS 16 will work — that's iPhone 8 and newer.
Currently, WellCheck is US-only. Emergency SMS alerts are sent via a US toll-free number (Twilio), so contacts must have US phone numbers to receive them.
If you're a US-based user traveling abroad temporarily, the app will continue to work as long as your phone has internet access — but your contacts still need US numbers.
International support is on the roadmap.
WellCheck uses iOS's built-in notification scheduling system rather than running a background process continuously, so battery impact is minimal. The app does no significant background work between check-ins.
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