What is Chillswitch?
Chillswitch is a safety app that works by silence. You hold a button to check in on a schedule you choose. If you stop checking in, Chillswitch tells the people you picked, in the order you set and with only the details you decided to share. You do not have to do anything at the worst moment; silence is what raises the alarm.
How it works
- Pick your safety contacts. Invite a few people you trust. Nobody can be added without agreeing.
- Set your check-in schedule. Once a day, every few hours, or at set times such as after school or after a night shift.
- Hold the switch. It is a single large button you press and hold for about a second.
- If the timer runs out, your contacts are told. You are warned first and given a grace period. Only then are your safety contacts notified.
If you have no signal when you press the switch, press it anyway. Your phone holds the press and sends it when it can, with the time you actually pressed.
What makes it different
- You never have to act in a crisis. Panic buttons need you to be conscious and holding your phone. Chillswitch expects to hear from you and speaks up when it does not.
- No phone number or email is needed to sign up. Your account is a key held on your phone.
- Alerts are sealed on your phone. What you write for your contacts, and any location you share, is locked before it leaves your phone. Chillswitch's servers pass it along without being able to read it.
- Nobody sees where you are while you are fine. Location is off until you turn it on, and it is never live.
- Alerts are signed. Your contacts can tell a real alert from a fake one.
- No ads, no data sales, no third-party trackers.
Who uses it
Families, people who live alone, solo hikers and travelers, people heading out on a date, night-shift and lone workers, caregivers, and organizers who need to count a group. See use cases.
Look out for others, too
If your friends or family use Chillswitch, you can be their safety contact. You are told when they go quiet. You can also join groups and answer roll calls, which let an organizer see who has checked in. Answering roll calls and looking out for someone is always free.
What Chillswitch is not
- It is not an emergency service. It does not call 911, does not dispatch help, and nobody watches a screen on your behalf. If you need police, fire, or an ambulance, call them first.
- It does not know why you went quiet. A missed check-in means you have not confirmed; it never means you are in danger.
- It cannot guarantee delivery. Alerts depend on phones, connections, and your contacts choosing to act. See Know the limits.
- It never wipes your phone. Despite the name, Chillswitch does not delete or lock anything on your device. See Is it a kill switch?
Cost
The core app is free, not a trial. Individual and Household subscriptions add more room and a closer watch, and organization plans cover teams. See plans overview.
The Chillswitch app is available in English, Spanish, French, Chinese, and Arabic on iPhone and Android.