Check-ins while you travel
Set a check-in schedule while you travel. If you miss a check-in, we notify the contacts you choose
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What a check-in is
A check-in is a simple confirmation that you are OK. You choose how often to check in, and each time you confirm, the clock resets to your next scheduled time.
If you don’t confirm by your scheduled time, we send a notification to the contacts you’ve selected. We don’t contact emergency services, don’t grant anyone access to your account or documents, and don’t take any other action.
Check-ins are off until you set them up
Setting a schedule
Turn on check-ins
- Open your Whereabouts & Sharing (opens in a new tab) page
- Open the Check-ins tab
- Switch check-ins on
- Enter how many hours you want between check-ins, as a whole number of hours and at least one
- Save. Your next check-in time is shown straight away
Saving a new interval counts as checking in. Your next check-in time is worked out from that moment, so you are never left with a deadline based on your old schedule, and anything already marked overdue is cleared.
Confirming you are OK
You check in from the Check-ins tab on your whereabouts page, which shows your current status and when your next check-in is due.
Each check-in is recorded so you can see when you last confirmed rather than having to guess. The people you share with are not shown that history: they hear from us only if a check-in is missed.
If check-in reminders are switched on in your notification settings, we send you a reminder before the deadline. It arrives a quarter of the way through your interval before the check-in is due, never less than 15 minutes and never more than 24 hours ahead.
If a check-in is missed
Missing a check-in does not trigger anything immediately. There is a grace period first, based on how often you check in, so a short delay does not notify anyone.
After that, notifications go out in order, one step at a time:
- First, the check-in is marked overdue, and you can still confirm it yourself
- Next, the people you are currently sharing your whereabouts with are notified. That happens once you are late by as long as your own interval, up to a maximum of six hours
- Finally, if it is still outstanding, your emergency contacts are notified. That happens once you are late by four times the first wait, up to a maximum of 24 hours
We look for overdue check-ins every 15 minutes, so a notification goes out shortly after the relevant wait has passed rather than at the exact minute.
Nothing happens beyond notifying people
Who gets notified
Notifications go to the people you are already sharing your whereabouts with, and then to your emergency contacts. You control both lists. Someone who was only invited, or who has opened the invitation without accepting it, is never notified: silence on an invitation is not treated as agreement.
Notifying your contacts is something you switch on separately from the schedule itself, in the Permissions tab on your whereabouts page, so you can keep a check-in rhythm for your own use without anyone else being told.
Frequently asked questions
What happens if I miss a check-in?
If you don’t confirm by your scheduled time, we send a notification to the contacts you’ve selected. We don’t contact emergency services, don’t grant anyone access to your account or documents, and don’t take any other action.
How often should I check in?
That is entirely your choice. You set the number of hours between check-ins, and there is no suggested or default value. Pick a rhythm that fits the trip.
Who is notified, and in what order?
The people you are currently sharing your whereabouts with are notified first. If the check-in is still outstanding after that, your emergency contacts are notified. Nothing goes beyond that.
Do I get a chance to check in late?
Yes. There is a grace period after your scheduled time before anyone is notified, and it is based on how often you check in. The people you share with are notified once you are late by as long as your own interval, up to a maximum of six hours; your emergency contacts are notified once you are late by four times that, up to a maximum of 24 hours.
Will you remind me before a check-in is due?
Yes, if you have check-in reminders switched on in your notification settings. The reminder arrives a quarter of the way through your interval before the deadline, never less than 15 minutes and never more than 24 hours ahead.
Can I turn check-ins off?
Yes, at any time, from the same page. Check-ins are off until you switch them on, and switching them off stops any further notifications.
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