Questions & answers

A free personal safety app that runs in your phone's browser. Press the big red Help Me button, or shake your phone, and the people you trust are told you need help, with a live map of where you are.

iGuard 999 is not an emergency service and does not contact the police for you. If you are in immediate danger, call 999.

Yes. It is free for everyone and always will be. It is self-funded, so if you find it useful a donation is welcome, but it is never required.

1. Sign up with your name, email and mobile number.
2. Add up to 5 family or friends.
3. Add your Help page to your home screen (we show you how).

Once it is on your home screen it is always ready to go.

No. Your Help page is added to your home screen straight from your browser, so there is nothing to install from an app store.

Your chosen contacts are sent a message with a private link. The link opens a live map showing where you are, your battery level, and buttons to call you or call the police. You can also send a photo or voice message from the Help page.

Yes. Shake your phone to send an alert without tapping the screen. You can also set a duress code, a second PIN that looks like it cancels the alert but quietly keeps your contacts informed.

Enter your cancel PIN on the Help page. Your contacts are told straight away that you are safe and the map stops showing your location.

Keep the Help page open while an alert is live for the most reliable tracking. Phones can pause web pages that are in the background. A dedicated phone app, which can keep tracking with the screen off, is planned.

A way to let chosen contacts follow you on the way home, in a taxi or on a night out. Pick who can see it and give it a title, such as "Taxi journey shared". Your contacts see your live location and can message you. End it when you arrive and they are told you got there safely.

You set a time. If you have not checked in as safe by then, your contacts are told so they can make sure you are all right.

Nothing to install and nothing to sign up for. They get a welcome message explaining why they were chosen. When you ask for help they get a link that opens in their browser. They can sign up themselves if they want to, and can remove themselves at any time.

Yes. Sign in and open My account to change your number or edit your contacts. New contacts are sent a welcome message automatically.

Only the contacts you chose, and only while an alert or shared journey is live. When it ends, the map stops showing you. Your data is never sold or used for advertising. See our privacy policy for the full details.

It works anywhere you have a phone signal or internet connection, but text messages to contacts depend on your contacts' phone networks.

Sign in, open My account and choose delete. It is immediate and permanent, and your location history, photos and voice messages are deleted with it.

An optional extra. You upload a photo and we make a QR code that is unique to you. Put the photo and QR code on your phone's lock screen. If you are in an accident, anyone can scan the code with their own phone and see your photo, your first name and one-tap buttons to call your family. Your phone does not need to be unlocked.

Anyone who scans your QR code. You choose what it shows: your photo, first name or full name, up to 3 family numbers, and any important information you type. Only add what you are happy for a stranger to see. You can switch it off at any time.

Yes. It points to a private address with a long random code that belongs only to you. Nobody can guess it. If you lose your phone or share the picture by mistake, make a new code and the old one stops working at once.

If you leave "Tell my family when it is scanned" ticked, your chosen contacts get an email. The person who scans can also tap a button to send their location to your family.

A QR code for your dog, cat or suitcase. Print it or put it on a collar tag or bag tag. If it is lost, whoever finds it scans the code with their phone and sees what you chose to show, such as your pet's photo and name, your name, and a call button.

Only what you tick: a photo, your first name or full name, a phone number, your email address, and a short message. You can also let finders send you a message without showing your email or number at all.

No. A QR code cannot track anything by itself. But when someone scans it they can press a button to send you the place where they found it, and you can choose to get an email whenever it is scanned.

Up to 10, each with its own unique QR code. If a code leaks, make a new one and the old one stops working at once.