User Guide: TapAlert

1. 🔐 First Launch: Permissions

On first launch, TapAlert will walk you through a permissions setup screen. Grant the following for full functionality:

You can grant or skip any permission during setup and adjust them later in your device's system settings.

2. 🏠 Home Screen Overview

The home screen has three pages you can navigate by swiping left or right:

The app always opens on Panic Mode (center page).

3. 🆘 Panic Mode

The central page is designed for maximum simplicity — ideal for emergencies and senior users.

• SOS button — sends an "SOS, I need help" alert with your location.
• I'm OK button — sends a reassuring "I'm OK" status to all contacts.
• Voice buttons — tap the microphone icon next to SOS or I'm OK to record a voice message. Your speech is transcribed to text and included in the alert.
• Emergency Call button — dials your local emergency number (e.g., 112, 911) immediately, based on your country setting.

4. 📋 Situation Alerts Mode

Swipe left from Panic Mode to access Situation Alerts Mode. This page shows a list of 3 pre-configured alert buttons.

You can edit the situation alert text using the edit button on the bottom of the screen and then selecting the message to be edited.

The messages are sent tapping the corresponding button.

If you want to add a voice message to the button text you can use the microphone button besides it corresponding alert.

5. 👥 Managing Recipients

Tap the people icon in the top toolbar to open the Recipients screen.

• Add manually — tap Add and enter a phone number in international format (e.g., +31600000000).
• Add from Contacts — tap the contacts icon to pick directly from your phone's address book.
• Add email — optionally add an email address to each recipient for email redundancy.
• Remove — swipe or tap the delete icon next to any contact.

Free tier: up to 1 recipient. Premium: up to 50 recipients.

iOS tip: If you only see a few contacts, go to Settings > Privacy > Contacts > TapAlert and select All Contacts.

6. 📤 Sending an Alert

1. Open the app (or tap your home screen widget).
2. Tap the alert button (SOS, I'm OK, or a Standard Mode slot).
3. If a countdown is configured, a dialog appears giving you time to cancel.
4. The app fetches your current GPS location and builds the message.
5. The alert sound plays while sending.
6. A status report is shown with per-recipient success or failure details.

The alert message includes:

• Your name (if set in Settings)
• The message text
• A Google Maps link to your current location
• Your battery level

7. ⏱️ Countdown Dialog

Before sending, TapAlert shows a countdown to prevent accidental alerts.

• Default duration: 10 seconds. Adjustable from 0 (immediate) to 30 seconds in Settings > Countdown Duration.
• Cancel: Tap CANCEL any time during the countdown to abort.
• Send immediately: Tap SEND NOW to skip the remaining delay.

8. ⏰ Check-in Timer (Premium)

The Check-in Timer is a dead man's switch: if you don't cancel it in time, TapAlert automatically sends an alert. Useful for hiking, traveling alone, or any situation where you want someone notified if you stop responding.

To start:

1. Swipe left to the Check-in Timer page.
2. Use the wheel pickers to set a duration (hours and minutes).
3. Optionally type a custom message.
4. Tap Start Timer.

While running:

• The timer counts down on screen.
• When less than 5 minutes remain, TapAlert plays a warning sound and shows a dialog:
  • Cancel — dismiss the warning and let the timer continue.
  • Stop — abort the timer (no alert will be sent).
  • Restart — reset the timer to the original duration.
• If the timer reaches zero without being stopped or reset, the alert is sent automatically.

Android: The timer runs as a foreground service and remains active when the app is in the background or the screen is off.

iOS: The timer may not fire if the app is force-closed. Keep the app running in the background.

9. 📜 Alert History

Tap the clock icon in the top toolbar to view your alert history.

• Shows timestamp, message, and delivery method for each alert.
• Tap any entry for per-recipient success/failure details and error information.
• Free tier: stores the last 20 alerts. Premium: stores up to 200.
• Delete individual entries or clear all history from the trash icon.

10. ⚙️ Settings

Tap the gear icon to open Settings.

SMS Method

Android:

• Direct SMS — sends via your SIM card, no internet needed. Preferred when cellular is available.
• Twilio — sends via the Twilio API over internet (Wi-Fi or data). Used as automatic fallback if Direct SMS fails.

iOS:

• iOS Messages (Manual) — opens the native Messages app pre-filled. You tap Send manually. No Twilio account needed.
• Twilio (Automatic) — sends automatically via the Twilio API. Requires a Twilio account.

For Twilio setup instructions, see the Twilio Guide in the Help menu.

Email Redundancy

Configure SMTP email to send alerts via email in addition to SMS. Useful when SMS is unavailable but Wi-Fi is connected.

1. Go to Settings > Email Redundancy.
2. Enable Email Redundancy.
3. Select a preset provider (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, iCloud) or enter custom SMTP details.
4. Enter your email address and an App Password (recommended over your main password).
5. Tap Test Email Connection to verify before relying on it.

Emails are sent to any recipient in your list who has an email address saved.

Location

• Include Location — appends GPS coordinates (Google Maps link) to every alert.
• Include Address — also attempts to resolve a street address from your coordinates.

Trigger Method

• Tap to Send — a single tap starts the countdown.
• Press and Hold (5s) — you must hold the button for 5 seconds. Recommended to prevent accidental sends.

Alert Countdown

Set the delay before the alert sends (0–30 seconds). A longer countdown gives you more time to cancel if triggered by mistake.

Sound Settings

• Choose between Plain Sounds or Rich Sounds (or None).
• Sound Pattern — select from Fast Alert, Short Beeps, Musical Chime, Wailing Siren, Pulse Ringing, Pipe Organ, Metallic Ring, or Electronic Hive.
• Sound Pitch — Low, Standard, or High.
• Volume — adjust with the slider.
• SOS and I'm OK alerts have independent sound patterns.

Other Settings

• Your Name — included in outgoing messages so recipients know who sent the alert.
• Countdown Duration — delay before sending (see above).
• Number of configured alerts — how many text slots appear in Standard Mode (3–7).
• Auto-Start on Launch — triggers the countdown immediately when the app opens. Only enable this if you launch TapAlert via a physical button shortcut.
• Flash on Alert — flashes the screen and torch when an alert is sent.
• Home Country — ensures local phone numbers are formatted correctly.
• App Language — override the interface language (default: device language).
• App Theme — Light, Dark, or System Default.

11. 🧩 Home Screen Widget (Android)

Add a TapAlert widget to your Android home screen for one-tap access without opening the app.

To add:

1. Go to Settings > Widget > Add Widget.
2. Choose Standard (1x1) for a compact icon or Large (2x2) for higher visibility.
3. Follow the on-screen instructions to place it on your home screen.

How it works:

• Tapping the widget opens the app and immediately starts the alert countdown.
• The sound plays and the countdown dialog appears — you can still cancel if triggered by mistake.

12. 🔔 Making Alerts Stand Out on Recipients' Phones

Your recipients can configure their phones to give TapAlert messages a special ringtone or bypass Do Not Disturb.

iPhone recipients:

1. Open Contacts and find your entry.
2. Tap Edit > Text Tone.
3. Enable Emergency Bypass — this bypasses Silent mode and Do Not Disturb.
4. Choose a loud, distinctive tone.

Android recipients:

1. Open the Messages app and find the conversation.
2. Tap the menu > Details > Notifications.
3. Set priority to High or Urgent.
4. Enable Override Do Not Disturb.

Using Twilio? Your contacts will receive messages from your Twilio number or sender ID (e.g., TapAlert). They should add that number/ID to their contacts for the above settings to apply.

13. 🔗 Remote Setup (Magic Link)

A family member or caregiver can configure TapAlert on your device remotely using a Magic Link.

The caregiver opens TapAlert, selects Set Up for Someone Else, fills in the contacts, message templates, and optional Twilio/email credentials, then generates a setup link. When you tap that link on your device, TapAlert applies the full configuration automatically.

This means a tech-savvy family member can set everything up without needing to be present — you just tap a link.

14. ⭐ Premium Upgrade

Some features require a one-time Premium upgrade (no subscription):

Tap Upgrade from the recipients screen or the timer page. If you have already purchased Premium on another device, tap Restore Purchases.

15. 🔧 Troubleshooting