A Walk-Home Check-In With No Location Tracking
Pick a time, send one message, tap “I'm home”. Home Safe (Walk-Home Timer) writes the message for you and sounds an alarm if you don't check in, and your location never leaves your phone because it is never collected.
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The problem
Walking home alone at night worries a lot of people. The usual fix is to share your live location with someone for as long as you are out, which is a big privacy price for a 20-minute walk. The old fix is “text me when you get there”, which only works if you remember. Home Safe sits in between: you set a time, it writes the message “if you haven't heard from me by then, please call me”, and the person you send it to is the real safety net. Home Safe is not an emergency service: it cannot call anyone or send anything by itself, and if you lose your phone or cannot tap, nothing is sent.
How Home Safe (Walk-Home Timer) works
- Choose when you will be home: in 15, 30 or 45 minutes, or at a clock time, and a grace period of 5, 10 or 15 minutes.
- Pick the person to tell. Home Safe writes the message in their language and opens WhatsApp or SMS with the text ready. You press send there.
- A full-screen countdown runs on your phone's real clock. When you arrive, tap “I'm home” and send the second message in one tap.
- If time runs out, you get a loud alarm, a red screen, your local emergency number to call yourself and a “not home yet” message ready to send.
What you get
- One message, written for youIt says when you expect to be home and when to start worrying, with your name for the person and, if you like, where you are going. Pick the language your contact reads, from 15.
- A countdown on the real clockThe timer follows your phone's clock, so locking the phone for ten minutes and coming back shows the right time. You can keep the screen on while you walk.
- Alarm, red screen, local numberAt the deadline there is a siren, a red screen and a button that opens your phone's dialler with your country's emergency number. Numbers can change, so check the one for where you are.
- A back-up alarm in your calendarDownload a calendar file with an alarm at the deadline. It rings even if this page is closed, which helps because browsers cannot run in the background and some phones pause sound when locked.
- Pro, for $1 oncePro adds up to 5 people to tell, your own wording for the messages, a “home safe N times” history, a choice of alarm sounds and no Home Safe line at the end of messages.
Private by design
Your contacts, times and trips are kept only in this browser on this device. There is no account, no server and no location: Home Safe never asks for it. When you tap WhatsApp or SMS, your own messaging app opens with the text, and what happens next is between you and that app. Clearing site data or losing the phone without a backup file removes everything, so save a backup now and then.
Free vs Pro
FAQ
Is Home Safe free?
Yes. The whole check-in, the timer, the alarm and one person to tell are free, forever. Pro is $1 once, not a subscription, with a 7-day refund.
Does it call the police or emergency services?
No. Home Safe is not an emergency service and cannot call anyone. It shows your local emergency number so you can call it yourself. If you are in danger, call that number first.
What if my phone dies or I cannot tap?
Then nothing is sent. The app has no server that could warn anyone for you. That is why the message goes to a person you trust first: they know to call you if they have not heard from you.
Does it track my location?
No. It never asks for your location and does not use GPS. You can add a few words about where you are going, but only if you want to.
Will the alarm work with the screen locked?
Not always. Browsers cannot run in the background and some phones, iPhones in particular, pause sound when locked. Keep the page open if you can, and use the calendar alarm as a back-up.
What does Pro add?
Up to 5 people to tell, your own wording for the messages, a history of safe trips, a choice of alarm sounds and no Home Safe line at the end of messages. One payment of $1.