Your first check-in
To check in, press and hold the large switch until it fills. A clockwise sweep fills the circle over about a second, and the app confirms once the service has accepted the check-in.
Step by step
- Open Chillswitch. The switch is the large circle in the middle of the screen. It shows how long you have until the next check-in is due, and the line "Press and hold to check in."
- Press and hold. While you hold, the switch shows "Hold" and "Release to cancel." Let go early and nothing is sent.
- When the fill completes, the switch shows "Sending..." and then "Confirmed," with a short, calm line. Your countdown restarts.
Why you hold instead of tap
A tap is too easy to do without meaning it. The switch says you are all right, and a pocket should not be able to say that for you. The hold takes about a second and gives a small vibration so you can feel it worked without looking. If holding is difficult, a screen reader can send it in one action.
What the switch tells you
- The time shows how long until your next check-in is due, or the clock time it is due by.
- The shape changes as a deadline nears. It is a circle while you have plenty of time, and it gradually sheds sides, ending as a triangle when a check-in is nearly due. Shape and wording carry the status, so it never depends on color alone.
- The row under the switch shows your status (Active), your schedule, your quiet hours, and "Going out?" shortcuts. You can choose which buttons sit there.
If you have no signal
Press it anyway. Your phone holds the press and sends it when a connection returns, carrying the moment you actually pressed. The countdown is kept on Chillswitch's servers, so it keeps running either way. If your phone is off or dead when a deadline passes, your contacts are told; from the outside a dead battery and real trouble look the same.
If you check in late
Checking in during your grace period means no alert is sent. If an alert has already started, checking in sends a signed all-clear to everyone who was notified.