How it works
Go quiet, and it speaks for you.
Countdown Trigger is a check-in with a message attached. You choose how often you’ll check in, write what the right people should know, and pick who they are. As long as you keep checking in, nobody hears a thing. Miss a check-in, and your message goes out on its own.
- check in
- every hour
- reminder
- 15 minutes before, by email
message
Trail run on the Ridge Loop from the Pine Creek trailhead, back by 7. My car is the grey Subaru in the north lot. If I haven’t checked in, call me, and if I don’t pick up, call 911 and read them this.
A reminder email reaches you before each deadline.
- Checked in: the clock starts over and nobody hears a thing.
- No check-in by the deadline: it fires.
Nothing reaches your people unless you go quiet.
Arm a countdown
Decide everything once, while it’s easy.
Arming a countdown takes a few choices, made once and in your own words. After that it runs by itself.
- how often
- How often you’ll check in: every few hours, once a day, once a month.
- or a date
- A single deadline instead, like the evening you’re due back from a trip.
- the message
- What the reader should know: where you are, what to do, who to call.
- who hears it
- The people you choose, by email or text message, and a webhook if your own systems should act.
Write the message for someone reading it on a bad day. Lead with what they need first: where you went, when you planned to be back, and what to do if they can’t reach you.
Nothing is locked in. Change the schedule, the message or the people on it whenever your plans change.
What it means for you
Nobody has to make decisions on the worst day. You made them ahead of time, calmly, so the people you chose get your instructions instead of a guessing game.
Check in to reset
Check in, and it knows you’re fine.
Before each deadline, Countdown Trigger emails you a reminder with a check-in link. Open it and press Check in, with no login, and the clock starts over. The Check in button on your dashboard does the same.
- reminders
- Go to you by email, never to the people on your countdown.
- when
- A daily check-in is reminded 6 hours and 1 hour before its deadline; a monthly one, 3 days and 1 day before.
- your timing
- Up to three reminder times of your own, set in Settings.
- how
- Open the link in the reminder and press Check in, or press Check in on your dashboard.
Each check-in starts a fresh window. Check in once a day and your next deadline is always a day away, and the people on your countdown never hear that a reminder went out.
A single deadline works a little differently. Checking in records that you’re fine, but the deadline stays where you set it, so stop the countdown when you’re back and nothing is sent.
Done with it, say home after a run? Use Stop on your Countdowns page, and Restart arms it again whenever you need it. A countdown armed from one of the outing starters (Heading out alone, Meeting someone new, Closing up alone, Showing a property) can also end from its check-in link: press “I’m back — end it” and confirm, and nothing is sent.
What it means for you
No false alarms for your people, and nothing for them to watch. Silence is the only thing that sets it off, and every reminder is a chance to break the silence first.
Go silent, it triggers
Miss the deadline, and your message goes out.
When a deadline passes without a check-in, your message goes to everyone you chose, automatically. Nobody has to notice you went quiet first.
- Your message, in your words, in each person’s inbox.
- text
- A text message to each phone number.
- webhook
- A request to a URL you set, so your own systems can act too.
- for them
- No app and no account. Each alert links to a page that explains what it is and what to do.
- for you
- Every delivery shows in the countdown’s trigger history.
A countdown fires once, then stays off until you arm it again.
It isn’t an emergency service, and it never sees your location. It knows one thing: a check-in was expected and didn’t arrive. So it delivers the words you left for that moment, to the people you picked.
What it means for you
The people who need to know find out on time, from you, with your instructions in hand, instead of piecing it together hours later.