Two Approaches to Supporting Someone Who Lives Independently

While developing MorningHello ☀️, I have realized that I am not alone in asking an important question: how can technology help an older adult who lives independently let their loved ones know that they are safe?

I recently discovered Anbu, an app developed by the South Korean company Averic Lab. It automatically sends a daily signal to family members, displays phone activity and step count, and gradually raises the alert level when no signal is detected. The user does not need to open the app and press a button every day.

MorningHello takes a different approach. I do not want care to become constant monitoring of a person’s steps or behavior. It is important to me that users remain active participants in the process. They tap “I’m OK” to consciously confirm that they are safe and then receive a new, warm postcard with a kind message for the day.

The postcard is more than a decorative part of the interface. It turns a technical safety check into an emotional ritual that can be shared with family and friends. A simple digital action becomes a reason to say hello, add a few personal words, or begin a conversation.

At the same time, I find several of Anbu’s solutions interesting. In the next version of MorningHello, I plan to take the phone’s battery status into account, helping loved ones distinguish between a missed check-in and a phone that has simply run out of power. An emergency help message will also include the user’s location, obtained once at the moment help is requested. There will be no continuous location tracking.

The emergence of other solutions confirms that this is a real problem and that different teams are searching for meaningful ways to address it.

With MorningHello, I am choosing intentional check-ins, respect for the user’s dignity, and emotional connection with loved ones.