Help Center

What is Homebound?

Homebound is a personal safety app for outdoor adventurers. Create trip plans with your expected return time, add safety contacts, and if you don't check out on time, your contacts are automatically notified with your trip details and location. It's a simple safety net that gives you freedom to explore while giving loved ones peace of mind.

What can I use Homebound for?

Anything you want! The idea for this app originally was to encourage more people to explore our beautiful Earth, staying safe while doing so. But throughout development, this app has turned into something bigger. Homebound can be used in any situation where you want someone to know where you're going and when you expect to be back/there. For example, college students walking back to their dorms at night, parents tracking kids on field trips, going out to bars with friends, or college students going out to frats/parties. Even just letting a roommate know when you'll be back from grocery shopping. The idea of Homebound is to help you come up with a plan and share it with someone you trust, so that if something goes wrong, they have the information they need to help you.

How do I create a trip?

Tap the "+" button on the home screen to create a new trip. You'll set your activity type (hiking, climbing, skiing, etc.), add your location, set your start time and expected return time (ETA), choose a grace period, and select your safety contacts (up to 2 on the free plan, or 5 with Homebound+). You can also add notes with important details like your planned route or gear you're carrying.

What happens if I don't check out on time?

If you don't check out by your ETA plus your grace period, Homebound automatically sends notifications to your safety contacts. They'll receive your trip details including activity type, location, notes, and your last known position. This ensures someone knows to check on you if something goes wrong.

What is a grace period?

The grace period is extra time added after your ETA before alerts are sent. For example, if your ETA is 5:00 PM with a 30-minute grace period, contacts won't be notified until 5:30 PM. This prevents false alarms for minor delays like traffic or taking a longer break. You can customize the grace period for each trip.

Is Homebound a replacement for calling 911?

No. Homebound is a supplementary safety tool that notifies your personal contacts. It does not contact emergency services or dispatch help. In an emergency, always call 911 (or your local emergency number) first. Homebound is meant to work alongside proper safety planning, not replace it.

What are custom notification messages?

Custom messages let you personalize the notifications your contacts receive. Instead of generic text, you can write your own trip start message and overdue alert message. This is useful for adding personal touches or specific instructions for your contacts. Custom messages are available to all users.

How do I save a trip for reuse?

After creating a trip, you can save it as a template. Saved trips remember your activity, location, contacts, and settings so you can quickly recreate them. You can save up to 10 trip templates.

How do I add safety contacts?

Go to the Contacts tab to add people you trust. Enter their name and email address. Once added, you can select them as safety contacts when creating trips. Free users can add up to 2 contacts per trip, while Homebound+ subscribers can add up to 5.

Do my contacts need to download the app?

No. Your safety contacts receive notifications via email. They don't need to download Homebound or create an account. However, if they do have Homebound, you can add them as friends for additional features like seeing each other's active trips.

What notifications do my contacts receive?

Your safety contacts receive emails when:

• You start a trip (with trip details and your location)
• You check in during a trip (with your current location if enabled)
• You complete a trip safely
• You go overdue (haven't checked out by ETA + grace period)
• You extend your ETA

Can I use friends as safety contacts?

Yes! If you've connected with other Homebound users as friends, you can add them as safety contacts for your trips. They'll receive the same notifications as regular contacts, plus they can view your trip details and live location (if enabled) directly in their app.

How do I add friends?

Go to the Friends tab and tap "Add Friend" to generate an invite link. Share this link with someone you know. When they tap it, they'll be prompted to accept your friend request. You can also accept incoming friend requests from others.

What can my friends see?

You control what friends can see through your privacy settings (Settings > Privacy). You can choose to share or hide:

• Your active trip status
• Check-in locations
• Live location during trips
• Trip notes
• Your achievements and statistics
• Profile information like age and total trips

Can friends request updates from me?

If you enable "Allow Update Requests" in your privacy settings, friends can send you a request to check in during an active trip. You'll receive a notification and can choose to check in. This is useful if someone is worried and wants confirmation you're okay.

How do I remove a friend?

Go to the Friends tab, find the friend you want to remove, and tap on their profile. You'll see an option to remove them. Once removed, they won't be able to see your trips or add you as a safety contact.

What is live location sharing?

Live location sharing lets your safety contacts see your real-time position during an active trip. When enabled, your location is updated continuously so contacts can follow your progress on a map. This is completely optional and must be enabled for each trip.

How do I enable live location?

When creating a trip, toggle "Share Live Location" to enable it for that specific trip. You can also set a default preference in Settings > Privacy > "Allow Live Location Sharing." Live location only activates when you check in to start your trip.

Does live location drain my battery?

Live location sharing does use more battery than normal since it requires continuous GPS access. We recommend starting your trip with a full battery or bringing a portable charger for longer adventures. You can disable live location at any time to conserve battery.

How accurate is live location?

Accuracy depends on your device's GPS capabilities and environmental conditions. In open areas with clear sky view, accuracy is typically within a few meters. In canyons, dense forests, or indoors, accuracy may be reduced. Live location should be treated as an approximate guide, not a precise tracking system.

What is the safety score?

Your safety score is a 0-100 rating computed from your trip history. It's based on three factors:

• On-time rate (40%): Did you check out before your ETA plus grace period expired?
• Check-in rate (30%): Did you check in during trips where you enabled check-in reminders?
• Contact coverage (30%): How many safety contacts did you assign to your trips?

Scores are graded as: A+ (90-100), A (80-89), B (70-79), C (60-69), D (50-59), F (below 50).

How does check-in rate work?

Check-in rate only applies to trips where you enabled check-in reminders (set a check-in interval). If you don't use check-in reminders, this factor doesn't affect your score negatively.

When you do enable check-in reminders:

• Checking in at least once during your trip gives you full credit for that trip
• Skipping all check-ins on a trip where you enabled reminders counts as 0% for that trip
• Your overall check-in rate is the average across all trips with reminders enabled

Trip length tiers: To keep scoring fair, trip length is capped based on duration:

• Under 1 hour: capped at 60 minutes
• 1-4 hours: capped at 120 minutes
• 4-8 hours: capped at 240 minutes
• 8+ hours: capped at 480 minutes

Formula: rate = (check-ins ÷ capped length) × 1200, maxing out at 100%.

Examples:

• 6-hour hike (240 min cap), 3 check-ins: (3 ÷ 240) × 1200 = 15 → caps at 100%
• 2-hour trip (120 min cap), 1 check-in: (1 ÷ 120) × 1200 = 10 → caps at 100%
• 2-hour trip (120 min cap), 0 check-ins: (0 ÷ 120) × 1200 = 0%

What is the weekly recap?

The weekly recap summarizes your adventure activity for the current week. It shows your trip count, total adventure hours, whether all trips were completed safely, any overdue incidents, and your busiest day of the week.

Is my safety data sent to your servers?

No. Your safety score and weekly recap are computed entirely on your device using trip data already stored locally. No additional data is collected, transmitted, or stored on our servers for these features.

How can I improve my safety score?

Check out on time before your ETA plus grace period expires, check in regularly during trips that have check-in intervals set, and complete your trips rather than cancelling them. Consistent safe habits will raise your score over time.

What are group trips?

Group trips let you create a single trip with multiple participants. Perfect for group hikes, ski trips, or dive excursions. All participants can check in, and you can configure how checkout works (anyone can end the trip, voting required, or owner-only). Each participant's location can be shared with the group.

How many participants can join a group trip?

A group trip supports up to 20 participants, including the trip owner.

How do I invite someone to a group trip?

When creating a trip, add participants by searching for friends who use Homebound. They'll receive an invitation notification and can accept to join your trip.

Are group trips free?

Yes. Group trips are available to all users regardless of subscription status.

What are achievements?

Achievements are badges you earn by completing trips and reaching milestones. There are over 40 achievements covering categories like first trips, streaks, night adventures, weekend warriors, and more. View your badges in the History tab.

How long is my trip history available?

Free users can access the last 30 days of trip history. Homebound+ subscribers get unlimited access to their full trip history.

Can I search my trip history?

Yes. The History tab includes a search function to find past trips by name, activity type, or location.

What widgets are available?

Homebound offers home screen widgets that give you quick access to your trips. You can start trips and check in without opening the app. To add a widget, long-press your home screen and tap the "+" button to find Homebound widgets.

What is Live Activity?

Live Activity shows your active trip status on your iPhone's lock screen and in the Dynamic Island. You can see your countdown timer, trip name, and quickly check in or mark yourself safe without unlocking your phone.

Are widgets and Live Activity free?

Yes. Both widgets and Live Activity are available to all users at no cost.

What is Homebound+?

Homebound+ is our premium subscription that increases certain limits. With Homebound+, you get up to 5 safety contacts per trip (vs. 2 free), unlimited trip history (vs. 30 days free), and Family Sharing support on the annual plan. All core features like group trips, custom messages, contact groups, Live Activity, Trip Map, widgets, achievements, safety insights, and data export are available to all users for free.

What features are free?

All core safety features are free, including:

• Trip creation with any activity type
• Up to 2 safety contacts per trip
• Group trips with multiple participants
• Custom notification messages
• Contact groups
• Live location sharing
• Live Activity and Dynamic Island
• Trip Map, widgets, and achievements
• Safety score and weekly insights
• Data export
• 30 days of trip history

How do I subscribe to Homebound+?

Go to Settings > Homebound+ to view subscription options. We offer monthly and annual plans. The annual plan includes Family Sharing through Apple. Subscriptions are processed through the App Store and can be managed in your Apple ID account settings.

How do I cancel my subscription?

To cancel Homebound+, go to your iPhone's Settings > Apple ID > Subscriptions > Homebound and tap "Cancel Subscription." You'll retain access to premium features until the end of your current billing period. We cannot process cancellations directly.

Can I get a refund?

Refunds are handled by Apple since they process all payments. To request a refund, visit reportaproblem.apple.com or contact Apple Support. We don't have the ability to issue refunds directly.

Does Homebound+ support Family Sharing?

Yes, the annual Homebound+ plan supports Apple Family Sharing. The family organizer can share the subscription with up to 5 family members. Family Sharing is not available on the monthly plan.

Does Homebound track my location continuously?

No. We only collect location data when you explicitly choose to share it: when setting a trip location, checking in with location enabled, or using live location sharing. We do not track your location in the background when you're not on an active trip with live location enabled.

What data does Homebound collect?

We collect only what's necessary: your email, name, age, trip details, safety contacts, and location (when you choose to share it). If you use social features, we store your friend connections and visibility preferences. We don't sell your data or share it with advertisers. See our Privacy Policy for complete details.

How do I delete my account?

Go to Settings > Account and tap "Delete Account" at the bottom. This permanently deletes all your data including your profile, trips, contacts, friends, location history, and any other information. This action cannot be undone. Note: If you have an active Homebound+ subscription, you must cancel it separately through the App Store.

Can I export my data?

Yes, all users can export their data. Go to Settings > Account > Export Data to download a copy of your trips, contacts, and profile information.

I'm not receiving notifications

Make sure notifications are enabled for Homebound in your iPhone's Settings > Notifications > Homebound. Also check that you haven't enabled Do Not Disturb or Focus modes that might block alerts. If your safety contacts aren't receiving emails, have them check their spam/junk folder.

My location isn't accurate

Location accuracy depends on GPS signal strength. Try moving to an area with clear sky view. Make sure Location Services are enabled for Homebound in Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services. If using live location, note that accuracy may vary in areas with poor GPS coverage like canyons or dense forests.

Can I use Homebound offline?

Yes, partially. Your trip details are cached locally so you can view them without cell service. However, you need an internet connection to check in, check out, or send notifications to contacts. If you're going somewhere without service, consider setting your ETA for when you expect to be back in coverage.

I accidentally triggered an overdue alert

Check out as soon as possible to stop further notifications. Your contacts will receive an update that you've marked yourself safe. For future trips, consider setting a longer grace period to account for potential delays.

How do I extend my ETA during a trip?

If your trip is taking longer than expected, open the active trip and tap "Extend ETA." You can add additional time (up to 4 hours) to your expected return. Your safety contacts will be notified of the updated ETA so they know not to worry.

How do I clear the app cache?

Go to Settings > Resources and tap "Clear Cache." This removes locally cached data like trip details stored for offline access. Your account data on our servers is not affected.

How do I report a bug?

Go to Settings > Help Make Homebound Better > Report a Bug, or visit our bug tracker at homebound.canny.io/bugs. You can also email us at feedback@homeboundapp.com. We appreciate every report!

How do I request a feature?

Visit our feature request board at homebound.canny.io/feature-requests to submit and vote on feature ideas. You can also email feedback@homeboundapp.com.