Connected. Cared for.
Zenlyf fall detection can notice a hard fall, an SOS lets you ask the people you trust for help, and a care circle keeps your family within reach, whether they are parents, partners or children. Here is how it works, what is still in testing, and where it stops.
The Zenlyf app is not in the App Store or Google Play yet, and fall detection and SOS are still in testing. Fall checks have not been validated against real falls.
If you fall hard, your phone can ask if you’re okay.1
It reads your phone’s motion sensors, not its microphone. It is designed to ignore a phone that is dropped, tossed or picked up, but we have not tested that on real falls, so it can be wrong either way. For 15 seconds after an impact it keeps watching. If the phone is picked up and moved about, or you use it, the check ends and nothing is asked.
If it still looks like a fall, it asks “Are you okay?” for 30 seconds, with sound and vibration. One tap says you’re fine. One tap asks for help straight away. If you start moving the phone during the countdown, the countdown stops and it asks you directly instead.
If there is no answer, the fall alert is recorded. After an unanswered check on a fall it was sure about, Zenlyf can also send an SOS, but only where that is switched on. It is off by default.
Fall checks run on your own phone, for your own account. You can turn them off in the app’s settings.
What happens when you fall
- ImpactYour phone can notice a hard impact.It is designed to ignore a phone that is dropped, tossed or picked up. Still in testing, not yet checked on real falls.
- 15 sIt checks what happens next.If the phone is picked up and moved about, the check ends. If it lies still, the check goes on.
- 30 sIt asks if you are okay.One tap says you’re fine. One tap asks for help straight away. If you start moving the phone, the countdown stops and it asks you directly.
- No answerThe alert is recorded.Only where an unanswered check is switched on to send an SOS (it is off by default) are people alerted, all at once: up to two emergency contacts by text and email, and the people you share with by notification and email.
In an emergency, tap SOS.1
Tap the floating SOS dot five times quickly, or open the Emergency screen. A three-second confirmation lets you cancel an accidental press. Then Zenlyf alerts people straight away. Everyone is alerted together, not one after another. There is no wait between one person and the next.
- Emergency contacts who have accepted your invitation get a text and an email. Only the first two get one: your primary contact, then the one you added earliest. If you add more, the others are not texted.
- People you share with through your care circle, who have accepted and left SOS alerts on (they are on by default), get a notification in the app, if they have it, and an email.
- Doctors and caregivers linked to your account are alerted by notification, text, email and a phone call, wherever they can be reached.
The texts, emails and calls go out only after you have signed your Care Covenant, the short agreement in the app that says who may be alerted. Your last known location goes with the alert only if you allowed that: in the Care Covenant for texts and emails, and per person for the people you share with.
Afterwards the app tells you plainly what happened: that people were alerted, or that nobody has been yet, for example because no one has accepted your invitation. Either way it shows a button to call your local emergency number. In Nigeria, that is 112.
If a reading looks unusual, you’ll know.
Zenlyf checks each new reading against safety ranges stored on your phone, so it works without a connection, and sends you a notification when something looks off. A reading the sensor clearly got wrong, such as an impossible value, is thrown away rather than shown as an alarm.
These are wellness readings, not a diagnosis. If you feel unwell, speak to a doctor or call your local emergency number.
Your people, by invitation.
You choose who is in your circle, and what each person can see.
- Everyone accepts an invitation first. Until they do, they cannot be alerted and they see nothing. Either of you can stop at any time, and you can see when someone last looked.
- People you add only to be alerted get your SOS and nothing else. They do not see your readings.
- For people you share with, you pick the categories: vitals, activity, sleep, medications, lab results, mood and mental wellness, and your location during an SOS.
- New shares start with vitals, activity, sleep and SOS location on. Mood and mental wellness, lab results and medications start off, and stay off until you turn them on.
Example circle.
What Zenlyf is not.
- It is not a medical device, and it does not diagnose, treat or prevent any condition.
- It is not an emergency service. Zenlyf does not contact the emergency services for you. The SOS screen puts a call button for your local emergency number in front of you, and you have to tap it.
- Fall checks can miss a fall, and they can ask when nothing happened. Phones also limit what an app can do in the background, so a check may not run if the app has been closed or suspended for a while.
- Alerts leave your phone over the internet. If the phone is off, has no signal, or is not with you, nothing can be sent.
- An SOS can only reach people who have accepted your invitation. Texts and emails go to two emergency contacts at most, and only after you have signed the Care Covenant.
In an emergency, call your local emergency number first. In Nigeria, that is 112.
1 Needs: the Zenlyf app on your phone, switched on and nearby, with mobile data or Wi-Fi; at least one contact who has accepted your invitation; and a signed Care Covenant. Zenlyf supports you but is not a substitute for emergency services.
Want the wider picture first? Read fall detection for older adults: what it can and cannot do or how to check on your parents’ health from another city. Questions about how any of this works? Email support@zenlyf.io or read the privacy policy.