Living Alone in London? Stay Safe with Daily Check-ins

Over 1.2 million Londoners live alone. A free daily check-in gives your family peace of mind — across the city or across the country.

Download Free See How It Works

Free forever • No credit card • iOS & Android

I'm Alive app showing the I'm Okay check-in button

The Problem

Sound familiar? You're not alone.

Worrying about an aging parent living alone in London

Daily phone calls are hard to schedule across busy lives

No reliable way to know something's wrong without constant checking

How I'm Alive Solves This

A simple solution that actually works.

One-tap daily check-in takes seconds from their routine

You're notified the moment they miss a check-in — not before

No pendant, no hardware, no GPS tracking — location only in a real emergency, auto-deleted in 72 hours

Why This Works for You

Around 1.2 million Londoners live alone — more than any other UK city (ONS) — from Zone 1 studios to the outer boroughs of Bromley, Havering, Croydon and Enfield.
The capital's high rents push many young professionals into solo one-bed flats, while a large share of over-75s, most of them widowed women, age in place alone in boroughs like Camden, Islington and Southwark.
A big first-time-solo student population at UCL, King's, Imperial, LSE and Queen Mary lives away from family for the first time, often in Zone 2-3 house-shares that empty out over holidays.
A council or Age UK careline pendant typically costs £10-£30 a month plus a £40-£99 setup fee and only helps if it is worn and the button is pressed. I'm Alive flips that: your parent confirms they are okay each day, and silence is what triggers an alert to you — free on iPhone and Android, with no hardware fitted to the home.
Privacy-first for a city that guards it: no GPS tracking and no cameras. An approximate location is captured only during an active emergency escalation and is automatically deleted after 72 hours — the daily check-in itself records no location at all.
In a real emergency your contact can call 999, or NHS 111 for urgent-but-not-life-threatening advice. I'm Alive is the early-warning layer that tells them when to make that call. See more UK-wide detail on our /location/uk page, or the /living-alone guidance written for solo residents.

How It Works

Three simple steps.

Set Your Time

Choose when to check in each day

Tap I'm Okay

One tap confirms you're safe

Auto-Alert

Miss a check-in? Contact is notified

Features

One-Tap Check-In

Large, easy button - done in seconds

Customizable Schedule

Set your perfect check-in time

Smart Alerts (Protect Me)

Escalating notifications to your contacts if you miss a check-in

Check-In Notes

Add context like 'Going hiking today'

History Tracking

See all your past check-ins

Free to Start

Daily self check-in and reminders are always free; add Protect Me for contact alerting

Frequently Asked Questions

I live alone in a London flat. Why do I need this?

In a city of nearly nine million, it is genuinely easy for no one to notice if something goes wrong for days at a time. A daily check-in means the people you chose are alerted within hours of a missed tap, rather than days later, whether you are in a Hackney flat or a Croydon house-share.

My elderly parent lives alone in London.

They tap once each morning to confirm they are okay, and the free check-in sends a reminder if they are running late. On Protect Me, you get escalating alerts if they miss it and can see their check-in history on your own dashboard. It suits older Londoners who want to stay independent in their own home without a pendant.

I'm a student at UCL living alone for the first time?

Set a parent or a close friend as your contact. One daily tap gives them quiet reassurance without the awkward 'are you still alive?' phone calls, and they are only alerted if you actually miss a check-in. It is a low-effort way to keep family calm while you settle into living on your own in a new city.

Is this free?

Yes — the daily check-in and the reminders to you are free forever, with no hidden subscription and no card required. Automatic alerting of your chosen family or friends when you miss a check-in is part of Protect Me ($29.99/year), which also adds up to ten contacts, a caregiver dashboard and SMS alerts.

Does daylight saving affect notifications?

No — the app automatically adjusts for the BST/GMT switch, so there is nothing to change when the clocks go forward in spring or back in autumn. Your check-in window simply follows your local London time, and your contacts are alerted on the same schedule throughout the year.