Living Alone in Vancouver? Stay Connected and Safe

Vancouver's high cost of living means more people live alone than ever. A free daily check-in keeps your family informed without intrusive calls.

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 Vancouver

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

Vancouver has one of the highest rates of single-person households in Canada, from West End and Yaletown apartments to homes in Kitsilano, Burnaby and out across the Fraser Valley.
The city's outdoor culture means many solo residents hike the North Shore mountains, ski at Whistler and run the seawall alone — activities far safer with a check-in behind them.
Coastal rain, winter storms and real earthquake risk on the Cascadia fault make a daily safety habit sensible for anyone living on their own here.
Telus Health Medical Alert / Lifeline is the dominant pendant service at roughly $30-$65 a month plus equipment, and only helps if worn and pressed — useless on a Grouse Grind trail. I'm Alive is free on iPhone and Android, goes wherever you do, and raises the alarm from a missed check-in.
Privacy-first: the daily check-in collects no location at all. Only during an active missed-check-in escalation is an approximate location shared with your contact, and it is auto-deleted after 72 hours — no continuous tracking like Life360.
Canada's emergency number is 911. If a check-in is missed you decide what to do next. See /location/canada for the country-wide picture and /living-alone for solo-living safety guidance.

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 hike alone on the North Shore trails. Can this help?

Set a check-in for when you expect to be back within cell range on a trail like the Grouse Grind or the BCMC. On Protect Me, if you miss it your emergency contact is alerted automatically, so a slip or a wrong turn does not go unnoticed for hours. Because it triggers on silence rather than a button, it works even if you cannot reach your phone.

My mom lives alone in a Vancouver apartment.

She taps once a day to confirm she is okay, and the free check-in reminds her if she is running late. On Protect Me you get escalating alerts if she misses it, with her check-in history on your own dashboard. It works well for seniors in apartments and condos where a neighbour would not notice a quiet day for a long time.

Does it work in areas with poor cell coverage like the Whistler backcountry?

The app needs connectivity only at check-in time, not continuously, so set your daily window for when you expect to be back in range. If you miss it, alerts go out automatically. The check-in retries if the first attempt fails, and a grace period stops a spotty mountain signal from ever triggering a false alarm.

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 family when a check-in is missed is part of Protect Me ($29.99/year), which also adds up to ten contacts, a caregiver dashboard and SMS alerts alongside push and email.

I live alone and Vancouver gets earthquakes. How does this help?

On Protect Me, if a quake or its aftermath prevents you from checking in, your emergency contact is alerted automatically. They can then try to reach you, call a neighbour, or contact 911. In a seismically active region where the phone lines may be jammed, that early warning is a genuinely useful extra layer for someone living alone.