Four reasons alarms get ignored
- A noise carries no meaning. By the time the beeping stops, the reason has gone with it, and nothing remains on screen to explain what it was for.
- They go off regardless. An alarm that fires on a day it doesn't suit teaches the habit of dismissing it, and after a fortnight it means nothing.
- Someone has to maintain them. Alarms need editing, silencing and re-setting on the phone itself — which means whoever visits ends up doing it.
- They report nothing. The carer is no better informed than before, so the daily phone call still happens.
Smart speakers have the same gap
A spoken reminder is said once, into whatever room the speaker is in. If she's upstairs, in the garden, or the radio is on, it simply didn't happen — and there's no way for anyone to know that. Setting them up by voice also tends to fall to family, which puts you right back in the middle of it.
What works better: a message, not a noise
A short message arrives at a time you chose, on the days you chose, worded in a way you shaped. It stays on the screen, so it can be read at nine minutes past as easily as on the dot. And it has one button on it.
That button is the whole difference. One tap, and a confirmation appears on your dashboard with the time it landed. Nothing to install for them, nothing to log into, nothing to maintain.
What we won't claim
No reminder service can promise a message always arrives — networks, carriers and providers all get a say, and anyone telling you otherwise is overselling. What we can do is make each reminder mean something, and show you when it was seen.