Safety and emergencies

In an emergency, call 911.

If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide or self-harm, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, any time. You can also visit 988lifeline.org.

What Text From Home is

Text From Home is an AI assistant that sends friendly check-in texts to an adult, set up by a family member or trusted contact. It’s there for everyday conversation and staying in touch.

What Text From Home isn’t

• It isn’t a person. It’s an AI.
• It isn’t a medical, monitoring, or emergency service. It doesn’t diagnose, treat, or give medical advice.
• No one watches the texts in real time.
• It can’t call 911 or send help.

What happens if a worrying message comes in

• If a message suggests someone may hurt themselves, we reply right away with a message that points them to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (call or text 988) and to 911 for emergencies. That reply goes out at any hour, even late at night, and we don’t continue casual conversation in it.
• If a message suggests someone has fallen or is hurt, we reply right away and ask them to call 911.
• If a message suggests someone took the wrong medicine or too much, we reply right away with Poison Control’s number (1-800-222-1222) and tell them to call 911 if they feel very sick.
• Our AI is instructed never to encourage or describe self-harm, and never to pretend to be a person.
• The family member who set us up sees the flag in their account. If they turned on safety alerts, we also alert them right away by text. The alert doesn’t include the message itself.
• If a message asks about taking more medicine or says they feel very unwell, the family member who set us up sees it in their account. If they turned on safety alerts, we also text them a heads-up right away.

For families

• Heads-ups (if you’ve turned on insights) are automated and updated once a day. They may be late, wrong, or miss things, so they aren’t a way to get help fast.
• Safety alerts (if you’ve turned them on) go out right away, but they’re automated and may be late, wrong, or miss things. They don’t replace calling 911.
• If you’re worried about your loved one, call them. In an emergency, call 911.

Questions

Email admin@textfromhome.com. See also our Privacy Policy and Terms.