Raise the Shade — a metaphor for your own wellbeing — is a simple daily wellness check-in app. Once a day, you let the app know you're okay. If you don't, the people who care about you hear about it.
That's really all there is to it. You set a time to check in each day. If you check in, nothing happens — your day continues normally. If you don't check in and don't respond to a follow-up reminder, the app quietly sends a notification to the contacts you've chosen, asking them to check on you.
Raise the Shade is for anyone who lives alone, travels frequently, or simply wants a low-key way to stay connected with people who care about them. It doesn't track your location. It doesn't require you to answer questions or fill out forms. It just needs to know you're okay — once a day, one tap. (Or, if you have an Echo, one quick word to Alexa.)
Raise the Shade is available in four different forms. Pick whichever fits your daily routine — and feel free to use more than one if that suits you better.
You have one Raise the Shade account, no matter where you check in from. Your check-in time, contacts, and settings are the same across all of them. Check in from your iPhone on Monday, your computer on Tuesday, your Echo on Wednesday — the system doesn't care. As long as one check-in happens each day, you're set.
Raise the Shade doesn't use passwords. Instead, when you sign in, the app sends a one-time sign-in code or link to your email address. You enter the code (or tap the link) and you're in — no password to remember, no password to lose.
Once you've signed in on a device, you'll stay signed in there. You only need to sign in again if you sign out, switch devices, or go a long time without opening the app.
The first time you open the app, a short onboarding flow walks you through the key steps: confirming your time zone, setting your daily check-in time, adding your contacts, and allowing notifications. Take a few minutes to complete it — everything you set up here can be changed later in Settings.
The app will ask permission to send you notifications. Please allow this. Notifications are how the app delivers your check-in reminders. Without them, you may miss your reminder and not realize it.
Once you're inside the app, you'll see five tabs along the bottom of the screen. Here's what each one is for. (The Web app uses the same five sections, arranged similarly.)
| Tab | Name | What it's for |
|---|---|---|
| 🪟 | Home | Your daily check-in lives here. Tap the window to check in. The Alert My Contacts button sits at the bottom of this tab. |
| 👥 | Contacts | Add, edit, confirm, or remove your contacts. Where you assign Daily Monitoring and Alert roles. Scroll down on this tab to see the Message Preview section — showing exactly what your contacts will receive if you miss a check-in or tap Alert My Contacts. |
| ⏱️ | Check | Set a one-time Check On Me timer for any situation where you'd like someone to know you're back safely. See Section 8 for details. |
| ⚙️ | Settings | Your check-in time, grace period, reminder preferences, time zone, and (if linked) Alexa controls. A small red dot may appear here when something needs your attention. |
| ℹ️ | Info | Account details (name, email, phone), the introduction and dedication, "About the App," and links to support and feedback. Also home to Share the Shade — a button that opens your device's share sheet so you can pass the app along to friends or family who might benefit from it. |
Settings and Info are worth a few minutes of poking around once you're set up — between them, they cover almost everything you can adjust or learn about the app. The rest of this guide goes through each piece in turn.
Your contacts are the people the app will reach out to on your behalf — automatically, when you've missed a check-in, or manually, when you tap Alert My Contacts. Choosing the right contacts — and making sure they understand their role — is one of the most important parts of setting up the app.
Each contact has a role, which you set when you add or edit them:
A contact can be one role, the other, or both. Most people set their closest contacts to both, and any wider ring (a more distant relative, a building manager) to Alert only — so they're available when you actively ask, but aren't notified automatically.
Choose someone who:
A close friend, family member, or neighbor you trust are all good choices. You can add more than one contact, and you should — relying on a single person creates a single point of failure.
In the app, go to Contacts and tap Add Contact.
Enter their name, email address, and phone number, then save. The contact is added to your list with a Pending status — meaning they're in your list but won't receive anything from the app until confirmed.
Tap anywhere on the contact's card to open it. From there, choose their role (Daily Monitoring, Alert, or both). While they're still unconfirmed, you'll also see the option to send them an introductory email letting them know they've been added.
Once you and your contact have spoken and they've agreed, return to their record and mark them as Confirmed.
The option to send an introductory email appears only while a contact is still Pending. If you choose to send it, your contact will receive a brief message letting them know you've added them to the app and describing what a notification or alert email from the app looks like. Once you mark them as confirmed, the option goes away — they're now active, and the next message they hear from the app will be a real one. The introductory email is a helpful starting point, but it's not a substitute for a real conversation.
To edit a contact's details or change their role, tap their card. To remove a contact entirely, tap the trash-can icon alongside their card on the Contacts page.
Your check-in schedule tells the app when to expect to hear from you each day. You set this once, and the app takes it from there.
Pick a time that fits naturally into your daily routine — a time you'll reliably be awake and near your phone. Morning works well for many people: right after waking up, with coffee, or during a regular break. The key is consistency.
The app uses your time zone to schedule your check-in time and grace period correctly. During onboarding, the app will detect your current time zone automatically — confirm it's correct before continuing. You can review or change your time zone at any time in Settings → Schedule. If it's wrong, your reminders will fire at the wrong time of day. This is especially important if you travel across time zones.
After your check-in time passes, the app gives you a grace period — a window of additional time before your contacts are notified. The default grace period is one hour. You can adjust it in Settings → Schedule to anywhere from 30 minutes to 4 hours. If you check in at any point during the grace period, you're all clear and no notification is sent.
You can update your check-in time, timezone, and grace period at any time in Settings → Schedule. Changes take effect starting with the next day's check-in.
Once you're set up, your daily routine with the app is simple.
At your scheduled check-in time, you'll receive a reminder notification on your device.
Tap the notification, or open the app directly.
Tap Check In. That's it — you're done for the day.
The app's main screen shows your check-in status for the day: whether you've checked in, whether your grace period is still open, or whether you're past your window. You can check in anytime during the day — you don't have to wait for the reminder.
The app has three distinct ways it communicates — two that go to you, and two that can go to your contacts. It helps to understand the difference.
The app uses a two-step reminder system designed to give you every reasonable opportunity to check in before anyone is notified.
At your scheduled check-in time, the app sends a push notification to your device. This is your primary reminder. Tap it and check in, and the day is complete.
If you haven't checked in after Reminder 1, the app sends a second reminder before your grace period closes. You can configure how far in advance of the grace deadline this reminder fires — in Settings → Reminders. This is your last chance to check in before your contacts are notified.
If your grace period ends and you still haven't checked in, the app sends a notification email to each of your confirmed contacts. The email lets them know you've missed your check-in and asks them to reach out to you. This happens automatically — you don't do anything to trigger it.
Your contacts receive a straightforward email letting them know you've missed your check-in and asking them to reach out when they can. The email includes your name so they know who it's about. It does not include your location or any other personal details.
Separate from the automatic notification system, the app has an Alert My Contacts button fixed at the bottom of the Home tab, just below your check-in window. Tap it any time — even if you haven't missed a check-in — when you'd like someone to reach out to you. The app sends an immediate message to your designated alert contacts asking them to get in touch. This is a manual, on-demand feature. It is not an emergency service — for life-threatening emergencies, always call 911.
Here's the full automatic flow in one view:
Your daily check-in covers your regular routine. Check On Me is for everything else — a one-time timer you can set any time you're heading into a situation where you'd like someone to know you're back safely.
Going out for an evening alone? Heading to an appointment and planning to drive home after? Taking a solo walk? Set a Check On Me before you leave. If you don't disarm it when you're back, your contacts are notified. If you are back, one tap and it disappears.
Go to the Check tab (the stopwatch icon).
Choose the time you expect to be back and tap Set Check On Me. You can also add an optional context note — a short description of where you're going or what you're doing. This note is included in the message your contacts receive if the timer fires.
By default, all your confirmed contacts will be included. Uncheck any you'd like to leave out for this instance.
Once set, the Check tab shows a countdown to your deadline. A green dot appears on the Check tab icon so you can see at a glance that something is active.
Open the Check tab and tap Disarm. The timer clears, no messages are sent, and the green dot disappears. If you need a little more time, tap Extend to push the deadline forward without starting over.
The Alert Now button on the Check tab sends an immediate message to your contacts without waiting for the deadline — the same way the Alert My Contacts button works on the Home tab. Use it if you'd rather not wait.
If your deadline passes without you disarming it, the app sends an automated notification to your selected contacts letting them know you set a check-in and haven't responded. The message includes your context note if you provided one. This is a passive notification — it tells your contacts to reach out, not that anything has definitely happened.
If you have an Amazon Echo — or any other Alexa-enabled device — you can use Alexa as another way to check in. Voice check-in is fast, hands-free, and useful first thing in the morning when you're still warming your hands on your coffee cup. It's an optional add-on; you don't need Alexa to use Raise the Shade.
Two things, both designed to fit naturally into your morning routine:
Setting up Alexa happens in two places — first in the Alexa app, then back in Raise the Shade. Plan for a couple of minutes.
In the Alexa app on your phone (or at alexa.amazon.com):
Search for the Raise the Shade skill and tap Enable to Use.
Alexa will prompt you to link the skill to your Raise the Shade account. Sign in using the same email you use for the app — that's what connects Alexa to your account.
You'll see a confirmation that account linking succeeded. Alexa setup is done.
Back in Raise the Shade, you'll find a new Alexa section in the Settings tab:
Open the app and go to Settings.
If you don't see the Alexa section yet, pull down on the Settings screen to refresh. The section appears once the app sees that you've linked the skill. Closing and reopening the app also works.
The Alexa section shows a note confirming your Echo reminder is active. Your Echo will speak a reminder at your scheduled check-in time each day.
There are two ways to check in with Alexa. Use whichever feels more natural:
Direct command — a single sentence that does the whole thing:
You"Alexa, tell my daily check-in I'm fine."
Alexa"Your shade is raised. Have a great day."
Open the skill — useful if you'd rather have a brief conversation. (The exact wording Alexa uses may vary slightly from the example below — the substance is the same.)
You"Alexa, open my daily check-in."
Alexa"Good morning. Would you like to check in?"
You"Yes."
Alexa"Your shade is raised. Have a great day."
Either way, your check-in is recorded the same as if you had tapped Check In on the app — your contacts won't be notified, and you're done for the day.
At your scheduled check-in time, your Echo will speak a short reminder out loud — something along the lines of "Time to raise your shade. Open the daily check-in skill to check in." This is in addition to your phone's push notification. The reminder fires at your check-in time regardless of whether you've already checked in via the app — it only stays silent if you checked in by voice through Alexa.
If you change your check-in time in the app, Alexa's reminder will be updated to match — typically the next time you interact with the skill. If the app and Alexa are momentarily out of sync, you may see a small indicator on the Settings tab letting you know. Opening the Alexa skill (or saying any phrase to it) refreshes everything.
If you'd like to silence the spoken reminder on your Echo, say "Alexa, cancel my reminders" to your Echo. You'll still be able to check in by voice; the daily spoken reminder just won't fire.
If you'd like to disconnect Alexa entirely, disable the Raise the Shade skill in the Alexa app. The rest of Raise the Shade keeps working normally — Alexa is an add-on, not a requirement.
Here's a quick reference to where things live in the app and what each setting controls.
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Time zone | Your local time zone. Detected automatically during onboarding — confirm it's right. Determines when your check-in time and grace period fire. |
| Check-in time | The time of day you want to check in. Reminder 1 fires at this time. |
| Grace period | How long after your check-in time the app waits before alerting your contacts. Default is 1 hour; configurable from 30 minutes to 4 hours. |
| Daily Check-in Active | Turn your daily check-in on or off. Use this if you'll be out of touch for several days and don't want alerts to fire. |
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Reminder 2 | How far before the end of your grace period the second reminder fires. Configurable from 15 to 60 minutes before the grace deadline. |
| Email reminders | If enabled, your reminders are also sent to your email address — in addition to the push notification on your device. Useful as a backup if you sometimes miss push notifications. |
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Text Size | Choose Small, Medium, or Large to scale the text throughout the app. Useful if the default size is hard to read. |
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Alexa Reminder | Once you've linked the Raise the Shade Alexa skill, the Settings tab shows a note confirming that your Echo reminder is active. To silence the spoken reminder, say "Alexa, cancel my reminders" to your Echo. This section only appears once you've enabled and signed in to the Raise the Shade skill in the Alexa app. See Section 9 for setup details. |
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Add contact | Add a new person to receive notifications and/or alerts. Newly added contacts are inactive until confirmed. |
| Open a contact | Tap anywhere on a contact's card to open it. Inside, you can edit the contact's details, send an introductory email, set their role (Daily Monitoring, Alert, or both), confirm them, or pause them temporarily. |
| Daily Monitoring / Alert role | Toggles inside a contact's record that define what they receive. Daily Monitoring contacts receive notification emails when you miss a check-in. Alert contacts receive messages only when you tap the Alert My Contacts button. A contact can be one, the other, or both. You can also use these toggles to temporarily pause a specific contact while they're unavailable. |
| Confirm contact | Mark a contact as confirmed and active. Only confirmed contacts receive notifications and/or alerts. |
| Remove contact | The trash-can icon next to a contact's card removes them from your list. They will no longer receive any messages from the app. |
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Set Check On Me | Arms a one-time timer. Choose your return time, select which confirmed contacts to include (all are selected by default), add an optional context note, and tap Set. The timer runs until you disarm it or the deadline passes. |
| Disarm | Clears the active Check On Me timer. No messages are sent. Available while a timer is running. |
| Extend | Pushes the deadline forward without cancelling the timer. Useful if you need a little more time before you can check back in. |
| Alert Now | Sends an immediate message to your selected contacts without waiting for the deadline — the same as tapping Alert My Contacts on the Home tab. |
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Your name | The name that appears in notification emails sent to your contacts. Editable. |
| Email address | Where sign-in codes and links are sent. This identifies your account and cannot be changed. |
| Phone number | Your phone number, captured at sign-up. Reserved for future SMS support. |
Your experience matters. If something doesn't work as described, feels confusing, or could be better — please let us know.
Reach out at support@raisetheshade.app with any questions, bug reports, or feedback. There's no such thing as a report too small.
Thank you for being part of this.