FamPhone is an instant emergency video call system that connects two people — typically a parent and child, or a caregiver and someone they look after — with a single tap. No app download required. It works in any modern mobile browser and triggers SMS, email, and push notification alerts automatically when a call is placed.

FamPhone is designed for anyone who needs a fast, reliable emergency connection with a trusted person. Common setups include:

• Parents and young children
• Adult children and elderly parents or grandparents
• Spouses or partners
• Caregivers and the people they support
• People managing medical conditions and their support network

If you want someone you trust to know immediately when you need help — FamPhone is for you.

No. FamPhone runs entirely in your phone's browser — Safari, Chrome, or any modern mobile browser. You save your personal link to your home screen (takes 5 seconds) and it opens instantly, just like an app. Nothing to download, nothing to update.

A regular call requires unlocking your phone, finding a contact, and dialling — steps that take 10–30 seconds and are difficult if you're in distress. FamPhone with a TapTag wearable triggers a video call with a single tap on the wearable — your camera is already streaming and your location is already broadcasting before you've said a word. Your family member receives an alert on every device simultaneously, even if FamPhone isn't open on their screen.

FamPhone uses WebRTC — the same peer-to-peer technology that powers FaceTime and Google Meet — to create a direct encrypted video connection between two devices. When a call is triggered, a signalling handshake happens via our servers to establish the connection, and then all video and audio flows directly between the two phones. Nothing is routed through or stored on a central server.

1. The caller opens their FamPhone link (or taps their TapTag wearable)
2. Their camera activates and begins streaming
3. Their GPS location is captured and broadcast
4. Your family member receives an SMS alert, an email alert, and a push notification simultaneously
5. They tap the notification or open their FamPhone link
6. Live two-way video and audio connects — usually within 3–5 seconds
7. The caller's location appears on a map on the receiver's screen

The caller sees a capture screen confirming their camera is live and the alert is going out. Once their family member answers, the screen switches to a two-way video call. The caller can see and hear the person who answered in real time.

The receiver sees an incoming call screen showing the caller's name and live location on a map. They tap Answer to connect. Once connected, they see a live video feed from the caller's camera alongside a two-way audio channel. Premium members also see an AI Responder panel providing a real-time situation assessment.

A room is your private connection identifier — a unique code that links your two FamPhone links together. It appears in your personal URL (e.g. famphoneai.com/...?room=mom_k7x2). You never need to manage it directly — it's handled automatically when you create your account.

FamPhone needs four permissions — all are requested only when needed:

• Camera & Microphone — for the video call. Only active during a call.
• Location — to send your GPS coordinates to your family. Only active during a call.
• Notifications — to alert your family member even when FamPhone isn't open on their screen. This is the most important permission for the receiver to enable.

FamPhone never accesses any of these in the background.

During an emergency call, your GPS coordinates are sent automatically to the receiver and displayed on a live map. This allows your family — or emergency services — to reach you without you needing to describe where you are. Location is only active during an active call and is never stored after the call ends.

iPhone (Safari): Open your FamPhone link in Safari. Tap the Share icon (square with arrow) at the bottom of the screen, then tap Add to Home Screen. Tap Add.

Android (Chrome): Open your FamPhone link in Chrome. Tap the three-dot menu in the top right, then tap Add to Home Screen. Tap Add.

This creates a one-tap icon on your home screen that opens FamPhone instantly — just like a native app.

When you first open your FamPhone link as the receiver, tap Enable Alerts when your browser prompts you. If you missed this:

• iPhone: Settings → Safari → Advanced → Website Data — or re-open your link and tap the Enable Alerts button
• Android: Settings → Apps → Chrome → Notifications → enable for famphoneai.com

Without notifications enabled, you'll only receive the SMS and email alert — you won't get the instant push notification.

The person who creates the account (the receiver — typically a parent) completes the signup. Both people then receive their personal links by SMS and email. Each person should open their own link, save it to their home screen, and enable permissions. We recommend running a short test call together to confirm everything is working.

FamPhone works on any browser that supports WebRTC:

• iPhone: Safari (recommended), Chrome, Firefox
• Android: Chrome (recommended), Firefox, Edge
• Desktop: Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari

For the best experience on iPhone, use Safari. Some browsers on iOS restrict camera access for non-Safari browsers.

Each link has a different role:

• Your link (receiver) — opens FamPhone in alert mode. You stay here and wait to receive emergency calls. This is typically the parent or caregiver's link.
• Their link (caller) — opening this link triggers the emergency call. This is the link saved on the child or person being watched over's phone, or programmed into a TapTag wearable.

Keep them separate. Opening your connection's link by mistake will trigger a call to you.

Your links are private. Only share the caller link with the person it's intended for. Anyone with the caller link can trigger a video call to you — treat it like a personal contact number. Do not post either link publicly.

Check the original SMS and email sent at signup — both links are included. If you can't find them, create a new free account at famphoneai.com/signup.html — it takes 60 seconds.

Your FamPhone name is set at signup and appears in your personal URL. To change it, create a new account and update the link saved on both devices. Premium members can manage their profile and add multiple connections from their FamPage dashboard.

FamPhone calls are peer-to-peer with no time limit. The call continues until either party ends it or the internet connection drops. Free and Premium accounts both have unlimited call duration.

If the connection drops — due to a weak signal or the phone going to sleep — the receiver's screen shows a disconnected status. To reconnect: the caller re-opens their FamPhone link (or re-taps their TapTag). A new alert fires and the receiver can answer again. The receiver stays in standby mode automatically.

Free FamPhone supports one-to-one connections — one caller, one receiver. Premium FamPhone supports unlimited family members who all receive alerts simultaneously. Any family member can answer and connect to the call. See famphoneai.com/premium for details.

The AI Responder is a Premium feature that activates during a crisis call. It watches the live video stream in real time and:

• Assesses the situation (fall, medical event, threat, etc.)
• Provides the receiver with a calm, real-time situation report
• Guides the caller with clear spoken instructions
• Alerts additional family members via the FamPage
• Can prompt emergency services notification if the situation warrants it

The AI Responder is built on Gemini and trained on emergency response protocols. It only activates during an active crisis call.

Both devices return to standby. The video stream ends immediately and no recording is saved. Premium members receive a brief session summary. The receiver's device returns to alert mode and is ready for the next call.

A TapTag is an NFC-enabled wearable — available as a bracelet, ring, or keychain — that contains your caller FamPhone link. When held near an NFC-enabled phone, it opens the link instantly and triggers the emergency call. No unlocking, no searching for an app. One tap is all it takes.

No. FamPhone works without a TapTag — the caller can open their link from their browser or home screen shortcut. TapTag removes those extra steps in a real emergency, which is why we recommend it — especially for children, the elderly, or anyone who may not be able to operate their phone quickly under stress.

TapTag works with any NFC-enabled phone:

• iPhone: iPhone 7 and later. Hold the TapTag near the top of the phone.
• Android: Most Android phones from 2019 onwards. Hold the TapTag near the centre or top back of the phone.

NFC must be enabled in your phone's settings. On iPhone, NFC is always on and cannot be turned off.

On most Android phones, yes — NFC tags can open links from a locked screen. On iPhone, NFC tag reading typically requires the screen to be on (though not unlocked). We recommend also saving FamPhone to the home screen as a backup, so it's always one tap away whether locked or unlocked.

TapTags are available at famphoneai.com/store starting from $9.11. They come pre-programmed with your caller link — just tap and go out of the box.

Free FamPhone includes everything you need for a solid emergency connection:

• One-to-one emergency video calling — no time limit
• Instant SMS and email alerts to your family member
• Live GPS location sharing during calls
• Your personal FamPhone links
• Push notifications (even when FamPhone isn't open)

Free. No ads. No credit card.

Premium FamPhone adds:

• AI Responder — real-time video analysis, situation assessment, and calm crisis guidance during calls
• Unlimited family connections — alert your entire family simultaneously, not just one person
• FamPage — a live status page your whole family sees and updates during a crisis
• Priority support

See full details at famphoneai.com/premium.

Current pricing is at famphoneai.com/premium. Pricing may vary by region.

Yes. Start free and upgrade any time at famphoneai.com/premium. Your existing connections and links carry over — nothing needs to be set up again.

No. Video and audio travel directly between the two devices (peer-to-peer) and are never routed through or stored on any FamPhone server. The moment a call ends, the stream is gone. Nothing is saved, logged, or accessible after the call.

Yes. Video and audio use WebRTC's built-in DTLS-SRTP encryption — the same standard used by FaceTime and Signal. The signalling handshake (the process that sets up the connection) is transmitted over HTTPS with cryptographic signing. Your call cannot be intercepted or eavesdropped by a third party.

For free accounts, FamPhone collects:

• Your name and FamPhone display name
• Your mobile number and email address (used only to send your links and alerts)

GPS coordinates are shared during active calls only and are never stored after the call ends. No video, audio, or behavioural data is collected. See our full Terms & Conditions.

No. FamPhone does not run in the background and cannot access your camera, microphone, or location when a call is not in progress. The browser enforces this — camera and location access is only granted during an active browser session with an open call. FamPhone uses your phone's native notification system to send alerts when the app is closed.

FamPhone is designed for personal emergency communication, not clinical medical record management. For healthcare or institutional deployments requiring formal compliance documentation, contact us via famphoneai.com to discuss your requirements.

First, check your spam or junk folder — automated messages sometimes land there. SMS is usually instant but can take up to 2 minutes depending on your carrier. If you still haven't received them: your links were displayed on the confirmation screen at the end of signup — check if you saved or copied them there. If not, create a new free account at famphoneai.com/signup.html.

Check these in order:

• Notifications are enabled for famphoneai.com in your phone's Settings
• On iPhone: Settings → Focus (Do Not Disturb) is not blocking alerts
• Your FamPhone link has been opened at least once in your browser (required to register for push)
• You tapped Enable Alerts when prompted

SMS and email alerts fire regardless of push notification status — so you'll still receive those even if push isn't working.

• Ensure both devices have camera and microphone permissions enabled for famphoneai.com
• Check you're on a WiFi or strong mobile data connection (4G/5G)
• Close and reopen your FamPhone link on both devices
• Try a different browser — on iPhone, Safari gives the most reliable camera access
• If on a corporate or school WiFi, WebRTC may be blocked — try switching to mobile data

• Check your phone isn't on silent mode (especially iPhone's Ring/Silent switch on the side)
• Ensure the microphone permission is granted for famphoneai.com in Settings
• Try tapping the speaker icon in the call screen to switch audio output
• If using earphones, unplug and re-plug them or disconnect Bluetooth audio

Location requires permission to be set to Allow While Using App (or Allow on Android) for famphoneai.com. Check:

• iPhone: Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services → Safari → While Using
• Android: Settings → Apps → Chrome → Permissions → Location → Allow

If location is enabled but still not showing, ensure Location Services is on at the system level (Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services → On).

• iPhone: Hold the TapTag near the top edge of the phone. The screen must be on (not necessarily unlocked).
• Android: Ensure NFC is enabled in Settings → Connections → NFC. Hold the TapTag near the centre-back of the phone.
• Remove any thick phone case — some cases interfere with NFC reading
• Try holding still for 1–2 seconds rather than quickly tapping

If it still doesn't work, the TapTag link can be tested by opening the caller's FamPhone link directly in your browser.