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The growing number of people living alone inspires security and personal well-being software providers to launch innovative solutions. They create caregiving apps, automatic health monitoring systems, and other services that enable people to seek help in risky situations. These solutions are more lightweight than smart locks or monitored security systems that require professional installation. A simple mobile app can substitute complex and costly security equipment.
The variety of solutions for monitoring your home and health enables you to choose the most suitable option. Yet, at the same time, it also considerably complicates the choice. You need to consider too many features, capabilities, uses, pricing, and other factors.
This overview will help you pick a personal wellbeing and self-monitoring security solution. Learn why you and your dear ones need one and what options you have.
Users need personal well-being and self-monitoring security apps in two cases. They either live alone themselves or want to take care of their family members living alone, be it a senior family member, a young adult, or a middle-aged person.
In developed countries, people tend to live solo more and more often. In the US, it’s 27% of adults over 60 years old. The numbers across other age groups are also strikingly high. 28% of all US households are single-person. These are 36 million men and women. They commute to work, travel, go shopping, and do lots of other stuff on their own. As a result, when something bad happens no one is around to help. It may be a heart attack, unexpected fall, burglary, asthma episode, or anything else.
Personal well-being and self-monitoring security apps enable users to quickly ask for help whenever they need it. They can click a panic button to call the police, set inactivity monitoring tracking, monitor night vision cameras from their mobile, and more.
This way, automatic health monitoring systems and security solutions:
Enable seniors living alone to alert emergency services and their relatives in case of health issues;
Allow users to inform emergency services about life-threatening situations, including robbed attack, burglary, or any suspicious activity;
Make professionally monitored systems mobile and easily accessible;
Give caregivers peace of mind since they can be sure that their patients are safe;
Improve the quality of life and well-being of seniors as they always stay in touch with their healthcare team and relatives;
Reduce the anxiety resulting from the risk of health and security issues;
Optimize healthcare expenses for providers thanks to automated alerts, remote monitoring, and more quality healthcare services;
Reduce the severity of healthcare issues due to timely help.
Apart from the listed benefits, convenience is the biggest reason to use a personal wellbeing or self-monitoring security solution--more so if you utilize an app-based automatic health monitoring system. Learn more about the most popular personal well-being and self-monitoring security systems below.
Given a broad range of security and automatic health monitoring systems, use cases and pricing varies. Each option has its pros and cons, unique functionality, and capabilities. Here’s a brief overview that should help to decide what you need.
Camera monitoring apps allow users to see what is happening in another location remotely. You can install a camera for monitoring your home or use a night vision doorbell camera. If you want to check what your senior family members do, camera monitoring solutions also help. Today, these are usually mobile apps with cellular backup connected to an outdoor camera (e.g., Google Nest) or professional security equipment.
Monitored home security systems enable you to check on your home and people inside it anytime. They may also have motion detection, one of the most reliable ways to protect your property from intruders by acting quickly.
Self-monitoring security systems are pricey. Besides, if you want to monitor other people, it’s a pretty intruding option your family members may dislike.
You will pay for a base station from $230 and then keep paying for the month-to-month subscription from $15 approximately.
Panic button apps or devices, like keychains or trackers, enable users to ask for help with a click of a button. Cheap options only work as a siren to attract attention in case of a threat. More expensive solutions allow calling emergency services and activating an alarm system.
It’s an effective solution to enable yourself, the elderly, or children to instantly ask for help.
The main drawback is that you may not be able to activate the panic button.
You will choose from free or subscription-based apps and panic button personal devices. The latter ones start at $20 on average.
GPS-based applications are great for parental control and solo travelers. You can also use them to track elderly with memory issues. Such apps use the location of the connected mobile device to detect where the user is. For example, you can see how a person goes from a grocery store home. Some geo-tracking solutions allow setting up alerts to get notifications when the tracked device leaves a specific zone.
GPS apps detect the exact location of the tracked person, offering an easy way to find them.
It takes time to track a person, and you may miss the critical moment when someone needs help. Besides, most people object to being tracked.
Most GPS tracking apps are free, or a company offers them for an affordable fee starting at $30 annually.
Smart home automation solutions have extensive functionality, including security and automatic health monitoring systems. They allow you to connect and remotely control home devices using an app. You can block specific appliances or see what people do with a remote camera.
Smart home systems are highly customizable and multifunctional. You can connect as many devices as you need and use them for different purposes.
Smart home systems are not designed solely for personal wellbeing and self-monitoring security. Simpler solutions without artificial intelligence and other innovations may cover your needs much better.
Get ready to purchase smart devices, including cameras, and pay a monthly subscription fee of $15 and up.
If you need a personal wellbeing and healthcare monitoring app for seniors, this option can work for you. Such apps simplify the life of caregivers with medicine trackers, refill reminders, reporting, a doctor appointment manager, health measurement tracking for different conditions, etc.
Caregiving apps are designed to help the elderly report about their health. It’s a real catch for caregivers who seek ways to reduce the burden of caring about someone.
They focus on care management and lack many critical features, like inactivity monitoring.
Subscriptions vary, usually starting from $5-15 monthly fees.
AllsWell Alert is a personal safety & emergency alert app for people living, commuting, or traveling alone. It combines the panic button functionality with inactivity monitoring, enabling the app to send your emergency contact an alert with your location even when you’re unable to press a button.
Unlike other personal wellbeing and self-monitoring security apps, AllsWell is universal. You can use it to track people with health issues and get automatic notifications each time they stay inactive for too long. At the same time, AllsWell provides a panic button with GPS tracking for $10/month only.
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