How Chillswitch works
You press a switch to check in. If you stop, the people you chose are told, but only after you've been warned and given the grace period you set.
You press a switch to check in. If you stop, the people you chose are told, but only after you've been warned and given the grace period you set.
Set it up once. After that, the only thing you ever do is hold the switch.
Invite a few people you trust. Nobody joins a circle without agreeing first, and you decide who hears first.
How often you confirm, how long a grace period you want after a missed check-in, and the hours you'd rather not be asked at all.
Press and hold for about a second, then wait for the app to confirm that the service accepted the check-in.
Chillswitch reminds you before anyone else hears, then waits through the grace period you chose. Check in at any point and no alert is sent.
Once the grace period passes, Chillswitch follows the escalation steps and delays you configured. A step may notify you, one selected circle, or all of your safety contacts.
Hold the switch and everyone already notified gets a signed all-clear. A missed check-in only ever means you haven't confirmed. Chillswitch never guesses why.
A circle you press and hold for about a second. Nothing to read in a hurry, nothing to unlock your way through, and a target big enough for a gloved hand or a phone held one-handed in the dark.
The press-and-hold interaction is designed to reduce accidental check-ins.
Who's counting on you, who has confirmed, and who has gone quiet, all at a glance as simple shapes and color; readable without reading.
Large targets, plain words, a tap you can feel, and nothing that assumes a steady hand or good light.
6 people counting on you · 1 needs a look
Chillswitch alerts the people you choose. It isn't an emergency service.
You are always warned first. Nobody else hears until the grace period you chose is over.
As a check-in comes due, you're reminded. Turn notifications on so you don't miss it.
The countdown reaches zero and you're asked again. The switch keeps showing how long you have left. Check in now and no alert is sent.
You choose the wait: none, 30 minutes, 3 hours, or any length up to 24 hours.
In the order and on the delays you set. By default everyone hears together; on a paid plan you can tell one group first. They see only what you chose to share, and an alert never says “emergency”.
If you still haven't checked in after the delay you chose, every safety contact gets a follow-up. If you set one up, a vault message can be released after a long silence.
Most of what this replaces is a conversation somebody keeps having. Chillswitch turns the answer into one press and then gets out of the way; less time on your phone, not more.
It was always the same question, asked again and again, and it cost both people an evening of half-attention. Here the answer takes a second, needs no reply, and isn’t something anyone has to remember to ask for.
One check-in clears every circle you're in. Being in your family's and your friends' doesn't mean doing this twice, and there's no list of people to work through.
No feed, no streaks, nothing that pulls you in for its own sake. The only thing it ever asks for is the check-in you set up, because the app working looks a lot like you ignoring it.
Being a safety contact is free on every plan. You hear only when someone you look out for goes quiet.
It says someone hasn't confirmed, never that they're in danger. You see what they chose to share: when they last checked in, a note, and where they set out from.
Alerts are signed. Each one is labelled Verified, Identity changed, or Unverified, so you can tell a real alert from a fake.
Tap “I've seen this” or “I'll check on them”, so the other contacts know it's handled and nobody makes the same call twice.
Offer to look out for someone, or answer a roll call, on any plan. They decide whether to accept, and you hear nothing until they say yes.
The help center walks through each step, from your first check-in to how alerts are delivered.
It also explains where our protection ends, so you can decide how it fits into your safety plan.
You get the grace period you chose. Check in during it and no alert is sent. If escalation has started, checking in sends a signed all-clear to everyone already notified.
Press the switch 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 safety contacts are told once your grace period is over. From the outside, a dead battery and real trouble look the same.
Yes. The distress button tells your safety contacts right away, without waiting for a deadline to pass. It is included on every plan.
Yes. While a pause lasts, nobody is told you've gone quiet. Free accounts can pause for up to 12 hours, and paid plans for up to 7 days at a time.
Contacts with the app get in-app alerts, which carry the strongest protection. If a contact never installed it, Chillswitch can text them instead, but only after they agree by replying with a one-time code. Texts are not end-to-end encrypted and never include location.
No. A missed check-in only means you haven't confirmed. Chillswitch never guesses why, and it doesn't call emergency services. Know the limits
Download the app to set your first check-in. It's free to use, and free is not a trial.