The daily check-in, now both ways.
Companion mode is an opt-in upgrade to the Check-in Member's screen. The one big button she's used to stays exactly as it is. Around it, the family can now say hello, share photos, see how she's feeling, and ring her back when she asks.
Included in the £4.99 family plan. The Coordinator turns it on per Check-in Member when they're ready. Off by default.
Why Companion mode exists.
For a year, the daily check-in was a single button. It worked. Families finally had a quiet way to know that Mum was up and well each morning.
And then a quiet pattern came up in customer conversations. The one button worked for the family, but it left the person being looked after feeling a bit monitored. The signal went one way. They tapped; the family was reassured; nothing came back.
Companion mode is the answer to that. It keeps the same one big button for the people who want exactly that, and adds a small, calm two-way layer for those who are ready for it. The Coordinator chooses which Check-in Member is ready, per person. Mum at 88 stays on the simple version forever. Uncle Bob at 68 recovering from a stroke might be on the richer one for a while.
Two modes. Same calm core.
Both modes lead with the same tap. Companion mode just adds warmth around it. You can flip between them any time from the Circle settings.
Eight small things, in one place.
None of these are loud. Each adds a quiet, two-way moment to the day.
Hellos from the family
A one-line message with an optional photo, sent from the family. Lands as a calm card on Mum's screen.
Tomorrow's visit card
On the morning of, or the day before, the next scheduled visit appears with the visitor's name and time.
How are you feeling
After the I'm-well tap, three big emoji buttons appear: Great, Fine, A bit low. Skippable.
Voice notes back
Tap to start, tap to send. Up to 60 seconds. Designed for older parents — same mental model as iPhone Voice Memos, no "hold" gesture to learn.
Ask the family to ring
One tap fires a quiet push to every Coordinator and Support Member. Whoever rings marks it done.
Photos from Mum
A photo button that opens the camera. Family receives the image with a quiet notification.
Audio prompt
The app gently reads the morning prompt aloud. Helpful for parents who don't always have their reading glasses on.
Family room (Coordinator side)
A separate chat thread for the family to talk about how Mum's doing. Not visible to her. Stops fragmentation to WhatsApp.
Real signal, not noise.
Companion mode adds new information without adding new chores. Everything new on the family side either replaces a phone call or surfaces a pattern you would have missed.
- Mood signal woven through. Mood lands on the dashboard next to Mum's name, in the weekly digest as a 3 great · 2 fine · 1 a bit low line, and in the analytics page as a 30/60/90-day grid.
- Inbound feed on the home page. Open call requests pulse at the top. Voice notes have inline play + download + delete. Photos arrive as a thumbnail grid. Long-press to manage.
- Family hello ranking in analytics. See who's sending hellos and who's gone quiet over the last 30 days. The sibling-engagement signal the visitor ranking doesn't catch.
- Median call response time. A small KPI showing how quickly the family responds when Mum asks for a call. Below an hour is brilliant; over four is the conversation to have.
- Audit trail of everything. Every hello, voice note, photo, call request and deletion is logged. Coordinators see it in Recent Activity; admin sees it on the customer page.
How to turn it on.
Open the Circle tab
You'll see every member with their current role. Anyone with the Check-in Member role has a Companion toggle next to their row.
Flip the toggle for the right person
Off by default; the existing one-button experience stays for everyone else. Flip it for the Check-in Members who are ready, person by person.
They'll see the new screen on next open
No new app to install. The Check-in Member's existing screen will simply be richer the next time they open Getwello. Same one tap to check in; everything else is optional and below.
Turn it off any time
If it's not landing, flip it back off. Mum returns to the simple one-button view; no data lost; no fuss.
The toggle is recorded in the audit log so the family can see who turned it on or off and when.
Common questions.
Will Mum lose her simple one-button screen if I turn this on?
No. Companion mode adds layers around the same button. The I'm-well tap is the first thing she sees on the screen, just like before. Everything else (visit card, family hellos, action row) sits below it and never demands attention. You can turn Companion mode off any time and she's back to the one-screen view exactly as it was.
What if she only ever wants to tap the button and never the other things?
That's completely fine and quite common. The hellos and visit cards are read-only — she doesn't have to interact with them at all. The voice note, photo, and call buttons sit at the bottom and never need pressing. Companion mode is calmer than it looks if you ignore everything below the check-in card.
Is there any cost for Companion mode?
No. It's part of the £4.99 a month family plan. No premium tier, no add-on.
Who can turn it on?
Only the Coordinator. The toggle sits next to each Check-in Member's row on the Circle settings page. Support Members can't flip it; the Check-in Member can't flip their own. That's deliberate — the Coordinator is best placed to judge readiness.
Can I have one Check-in Member on Companion mode and another on the simple view?
Yes. The flag is per Check-in Member, not per Circle. So Mum at 88 can stay on the simple view while Dad at 72 uses Companion. Each is independent.
What happens to the voice notes and photos she sends? Where are they stored?
On UK-region Supabase storage with private access. The family side gets a 1-hour signed URL when they open the inbound feed. Files are never publicly addressable. Deletion (by Mum or by a Coordinator) wipes both the row in the database and the file in storage.
Can the Check-in Member see what we say about her in the family room?
No. The family room is Coordinator and Support Member only. The Check-in Member's app surface has no way to reach it. It's specifically the place for the family to coordinate without fragmenting to WhatsApp.
Will this work on iPhone and Android?
The full Companion view is live on the web today. Mobile parity is in progress with our app developers; the iPhone app is shipping the screen shortly with Android to follow. All the data and the API surface are already mobile-ready.
The reason we exist.
Hover any quote to pause. Read at your own speed.
Before GetWello, our family WhatsApp was constant confusion about who'd seen Dad and when. Now everyone can see the plan instantly. It's removed so much stress.
Mum only has to press one button each morning, which means she actually uses it. The simplicity is what makes it brilliant.
The missed check-in alerts are gentle rather than alarming, which we really appreciate. It gives us peace of mind without making everything feel medical.
I live three hours away from my nan, and this app helps me feel connected without constantly worrying. I can quickly see she's checked in and who's visiting.
We tried shared calendars before, but nobody kept them updated. GetWello feels like it was designed specifically for families caring for older parents.
The best thing is that everyone finally shares the responsibility. It's no longer all falling on one sibling.
My dad is not good with technology at all, but he understood GetWello immediately. That says everything.
Such a thoughtful app. Calm design, no unnecessary noise, and genuinely useful for coordinating care as a family.
The coverage gap reminders have stopped those awkward moments where nobody realised Mum would be alone for three days.
£4.99 for the whole family is honestly a bargain considering how much mental load it removes.
You can tell this was built by people who understand real family dynamics, not just software.
We started using it after Dad's fall last year, and it's become part of our daily routine. Simple, reassuring, and easy for everyone.
The daily check-in, both ways.
Optional. Always.
Companion mode is on by your choice, off in one tap. Included in the £4.99 family plan. First month free.
