Support

How do I start a trip?

Open the Trip tab and sign in. You need an account with a verified email address. Say where you are going, choose how long the journey should take, and pick who should be told: up to 5 trusted contacts, each with a mobile number that can be texted. Then tap "Start safe trip". While the trip runs, your phone sends its location to WakaGuard. When you get there, tap "I've arrived" and the trip ends.

Who is told about my trip, and when?

Only the trusted contacts you pick for that trip. Nobody else is told, and there is no public list of trips.

• When you start: only if "Text them the trip link when I start" is ticked. It starts ticked for long journeys and unticked for short ones, and you can change it either way. You can also send the link yourself with "Share link".
• If you do not arrive: 15 minutes after your arrival time, if the trip is still running, they get a text with your last known location and the trip link.
• When you arrive: only if "Text them when I arrive" was ticked when you started. They get one text when you tap "I've arrived".
• If you press SOS: straight away.
• Afterwards: contacts who were sent an overdue or SOS text get a follow-up text when you add time or end the trip.

The trip card tells you what happened to each alert: that a text was sent to your contacts, or that it could not be sent. The About page shows what each text looks like.

What is the 15-minute wait after my arrival time?

Your contacts are not texted the moment your arrival time passes. At that time the trip shows as overdue and, in the phone app with notifications allowed, you get a reminder asking "Are you okay?". You then have 15 minutes to tap "Add time" (15 minutes, 30 minutes or an hour) or "I've arrived". Five minutes before the end of that wait, a last reminder says your contacts are about to be texted. The reminders have "I've arrived" and "+15 min" buttons on them, so you can answer without finding the app. If the trip is still running when the 15 minutes are up, your contacts are texted. Our server checks once a minute, so the text can follow up to a minute or so later. It is sent by the server, not by your phone, so it goes out even if your phone is off or out of coverage by then.

Can I try it out first?

Yes. Under the start button, tap "Try a 2-minute test trip instead". It works like a real trip with shorter waits: the trip lasts 2 minutes and, if you do not end it, your contacts are texted about 1 minute after that. Every text about a test trip says "WAKAGUARD TEST ALERT. NOT A REAL EMERGENCY." straight after the greeting, the page your contact opens says it is a test, and SOS does not call 112 during a test trip. These are real texts to real phones, so let your contacts know before you try it.

What does my contact see when they open the trip link?

A web page. They do not need the app or an account. It shows a map with the path your phone has reported and its latest position, how long ago that position was received, your expected arrival time, and the name and destination you entered. It says plainly when you are overdue or have sent an SOS, and shows "No recent updates" when your phone has been silent for 10 minutes. There is no planned route, and the map shows where your phone last reported, which may not be where you are now. Anyone who has the link can open it, so send it only to people you trust. The link stops working when the trip ends.

What happens if I have no signal?

WakaGuard only hears from your phone over a data connection, so it depends on when the signal goes:

• Before you start: the trip is saved on your phone and the app says it is not being watched yet. Nobody can be alerted until your phone is back online and the "Waiting for a connection" message has gone.
• On the way: your phone cannot send its location, so the trip page shows the last position received and when. Our server already has your arrival time, so the overdue text still goes out on time, with that last position.
• When you arrive: "I've arrived" is saved on your phone, but our server does not know until you are back online, so your contacts could still be texted. If your journey ends somewhere with poor coverage, tell them beforehand.

Your contacts get the alert as an ordinary text, so they need no data to receive it, only to open the links in it.

Does it keep working with my screen locked or the app closed?

The alert does: once a trip has started, the alert is sent by our server and does not depend on your phone. Location is different. The phone app keeps sending your location with the screen locked or while you use other apps, but it stops if the app is force-closed, and battery-saving settings can interrupt it. In a web browser, location is sent only while the WakaGuard page is open and on screen. The trip card shows when your location was last received.

How does SOS work?

Tap "Emergency SOS" on the Trip tab. "Call 112 Now" opens your phone's dialler on 112 and, if you are signed in, texts your trusted contacts that you need help, with your location when your phone has one and the trip link when a trip is running. If a call is not safe, "Alert by SMS" texts your contacts without calling. An SOS goes to all your trusted contacts, not only the ones picked for the current trip. If you have no signal, the alert is saved and sent as soon as your phone is back online. If a trip was running, end it when you are safe; your contacts then get a text asking them to call you to confirm. Use SOS only when you are in danger.

The app says a text was "sent". Has my contact received it?

Not necessarily. "Sent" means our SMS provider accepted the text for sending. WakaGuard cannot see whether it reached your contact's phone: networks can delay or drop a text, and a phone can be off or out of coverage. If the app says a text could not be sent, or you need to be sure, call your contact or share the trip link yourself.

Is my location shared?

During a trip, yes, with the people you chose. While a trip runs, your phone sends its location to WakaGuard; anyone with the trip link can see it on the trip page, and it goes into the overdue and SOS texts. When the trip ends, your phone stops sending and the link stops working. Outside a trip, WakaGuard does not follow your location. It is used when you press SOS, send an "I'm okay" text, log a checkpoint stop or create a road report, and the location of a road report is public. See our Privacy Policy for more details.