What is a wellness check app for seniors?
A wellness check app asks a senior living alone to confirm once a day that she is okay, and tells her family if that confirmation does not come. It is a daily check the family runs from their own phones. It is not the welfare check you request from the police, and it is not an emergency service. Hammock365 is a wellness check app, and the daily check is free forever.
Updated September 19, 2026
Wellness check app, or welfare check by the police?
The two phrases sound alike and mean very different things.
| Wellness check app | Police welfare check | |
|---|---|---|
| Who does it | Your parent, by tapping her phone | A deputy or officer, at your request |
| When | Every day, at a time you picked | Once, when you are already worried |
| Who is told | You and the family, by text | You, after the officer goes by |
| Cost | Free with Hammock365 | No charge, but it uses an officer's shift |
| Good for | Knowing each morning that she is okay | Today, when you cannot reach her at all |
They work together. The app is what tells you something is off. The police welfare check is what you do about it if nobody can get to her. We wrote out how to ask for one in how do I request a welfare check on my elderly parent.
What a wellness check app actually does
- 1You pick the time her check-in is due, usually mid-morning.
- 2She taps one big button on her phone or tablet to say she is okay.
- 3You see the tap on your phone.
- 4If it has not come by that time, one contact gets a text and can call her, or ask a neighbor to knock.
With Hammock365 that contact is whoever set the account up, and it can be a sibling, a friend or a neighbor. On the paid plan every person in the family group gets the text instead of one person.
What families use it for
- The morning call that goes to voicemail, when you live three hours away
- Siblings who all want to know and do not want to call each other every day
- A parent who says she is fine and does not want to be checked on hourly
- A neighbor or a friend who agreed to be the one who gets the text
What it does not do
This is the part worth reading twice before you rely on it.
- It does not detect falls and it does not watch her with sensors or cameras.
- It does not track her location.
- It does not call 911, and there is no call center behind it. The alert is a text to a person you chose.
- It tells you she tapped a button, not that she is well. She can tap and still be having a hard day.
- If she has memory loss, she may tap out of habit or forget the button entirely. A daily tap is not a safety plan then. Talk with her doctor.
- Alert texts go to United States phone numbers.
What it costs
Nothing, for the part that matters. The daily check-in, the missed check-in text to one contact, the I Need Help button, check-in history, the emergency card and medication reminders are free forever, with no card at signup. Siblings and caregivers join free with the family code. One paid plan, $14.99 a month or $140 a year, texts everyone in the family and adds missed-dose alerts, the document vault, family messages, appointments, and Maggie every day.
Weighing this against a pendant, sensors or a call program? See how to choose a daily check-in app for a parent who lives alone.
Try Hammock365 free.
The daily check-in, the missed check-in text and the emergency card are free forever. No card, no trial clock.