How it works
One tap, one deadline and a calm plan B
You decide when you check in. If your check-in doesn’t arrive, Ondira reminds you first. Only if that goes unanswered too do the people you chose get an email. Here is exactly what happens, and when.
Free version · Plus CHF 3 a month or CHF 30 a year
The four steps at a glance
Setting it up takes about five minutes. In everyday life, what’s left is a single tap.
Choose a rhythm and a deadline
On the free version you check in every 1 to 7 days; with Ondira Plus also every 8 or 12 hours, or on a weekly schedule.
Tap “I’m here”
Open the app, tap once, done: your next interval starts and nobody gets a message.
You get reminded first
Ondira reminds you 60 and 15 minutes before the deadline and once more shortly after, by push notification and by email.
Then your contacts, tier by tier
If the reminder goes unanswered too, your trusted contacts receive a calmly worded email, in the order you set.
Deadline, grace period and quiet time
Every rule in Ondira has a deadline: the point by which your check-in should have arrived. Tap “I’m here” before then and that’s it. The next interval begins and your contacts hear nothing from the app.
When the deadline passes, Ondira doesn’t raise the alarm straight away. A grace period follows, two hours by default, which you can adjust in the settings. During that time only you are reminded. A forgotten tap stays between you and the app. And during your quiet time, when you’re normally asleep, Ondira sends no alerts: the grace period only starts afterwards.
If you can’t get into the app, you can also check in through the web check-in link, which you open from the app or from the reminder email. A check-in needs a brief internet connection. If you’ll be offline for longer, on a mountain hike in the Alps for instance, set your rhythm wide enough beforehand.
The escalation chain: who hears, and when
You decide who sits at which tier. Ondira Plus allows up to 20 contacts in three groups; the free version has one contact. Ondira only writes to people you added yourself, and only for this one reason.
0. A reminder to you
Before the deadline and shortly after: push notification and email to you. Then a two-hour grace period. Nobody else knows anything yet.
1. “Notify first”
After the grace period, the people closest to you get the first email. Usually one phone call from them clears everything up. In the free version, that’s your one contact.
2. “Notify next”
With Plus: if nobody has confirmed you’re okay after 24 hours, the next group follows, a sibling or a friend nearby, for example.
3. “Further help”
With Plus, after 72 hours: the last group, for people who can look in on you in person, such as a neighbour or the building caretaker.
What the email says, and what a contact can do
The email is deliberately calm. It says when you last checked in and that no check-in arrived for the agreed period. It says plainly that this may well be nothing: a flat battery, a hectic day. And it asks them to get in touch with you.
A link in the email opens a status page, where the contact can see whether the case is still open. If they’ve reached you and you’re fine, they tap “Person reached – they are doing well” and confirm once more. That closes the alarm case, and you are told about it. Importantly, simply opening the link confirms nothing. Nobody can give the all-clear by accident.
Afterwards, you should check in yourself. Only your own check-in starts a new interval. Contacts need no app and no account for any of this, just an email address.
Location: only if you want it, only at check-in
Ondira only asks for your location if you switch that on in the app, and then only at the moment you check in. Nothing runs between two check-ins. There is no live tracking, no background tracking and no movement history. The app doesn’t use the camera or the microphone.
Your contacts only see your location in an emergency: if your check-in doesn’t arrive, the place you last sent at check-in appears as a map link in the email to them. This works in the free version too.
And if something fails technically?
An app that is meant to tell people when something is wrong has to stay reliable when a service has a hiccup. That’s why every notification in Ondira is its own job. If the delivery service temporarily turns it down, Ondira tries up to five times, at growing intervals. Every attempt is logged, and a single pending or failed delivery triggers an alert to our team. A delivery counts as done once the email provider has accepted it. Nobody can guarantee the message is read. That’s why there are several groups and the confirmation on the status page.
Ondira is not an emergency service and does not call a control centre or an ambulance. If someone needs help now in Switzerland, call 144 for an ambulance, 112 for the European emergency number or 1414 for Rega air rescue.
Frequently asked questions about how it works
How does a check-in app work?
You check in on a fixed rhythm with a single tap. If no check-in arrives by the deadline, Ondira reminds you first. If you don’t respond to that either, your trusted contacts get an email asking them to get in touch.
What is a dead man’s switch app?
A dead man’s switch triggers something when a regular action stops happening. Ondira works on that principle, but more gently: it informs people you trust, only after a reminder to you, and one tier at a time.
What happens if I miss my check-in deadline?
First, only reminders to you, by push notification and email. If you check in during the grace period, two hours by default, nobody hears anything. Only after that are your “Notify first” contacts informed.
How does a contact end the alert?
Through the link in the email they open a status page and explicitly confirm “Person reached – they are doing well”. Opening the page on its own confirms nothing. You should then check in yourself so a new interval begins.
Can I check in without the app?
Yes, with the web check-in link, which you open from the app or the reminder email. You need a brief internet connection for it.
Do my contacts need the app?
No. They only need an email address. They can use the app as well if they like.
Will Ondira call an ambulance in an emergency?
No. Ondira only emails your contacts and is no substitute for emergency services. In an acute emergency call 144 or 112. If you want to call for help yourself after a fall, a personal alarm is the better fit; see our personal alarm comparison.
Five minutes to set up, then one tap
Choose your rhythm and add one or two people you trust. Or set Ondira up together with someone you care about.
Setting Ondira up for someone else? Install it together on the phone of the person who checks in.
Free version, no credit card. Plus can be cancelled for the end of the term.
Feedback & news
Want to hear what changes in Ondira? Leave your email address. Feedback and wishes are welcome at support@ondira.app.