Managing a condition on your own? Someone should know to check in
A free, manually-armed countdown for the days you're managing epilepsy, diabetes, a cardiac condition, or any long-term illness by yourself. Set a window, add a few people who care about you, and if the timer runs out they get an email asking them to check on you. It is not a medical device, a fall detector, or an emergency service — just a simple social backstop.
A quiet way to make sure someone notices
Living alone with a chronic condition means most days are fine — and then there's the occasional day where a low blood sugar, a seizure, a cardiac episode, or a hard flare leaves you unable to reach out. Welfare Check does not watch over you, read your vitals, or know that anything is wrong. What it does is far simpler: you arm a countdown, and if you don't stop it in time, the people you chose receive an email telling them to look in on you. That's the entire mechanism. It is a nudge to a human, not a monitor.
Please be clear about what this is not. Welfare Check is not a medical alert system, not a fall detector, not a personal emergency response device, and not a monitoring service of any kind. It cannot detect a seizure, sense a diabetic emergency, call for help on your behalf, or dispatch anyone. If you are having a medical emergency, call your local emergency number (911 in the US). If you want continuous monitoring or a device that can summon help at the press of a button, use a real medical alert system or personal emergency response service — Welfare Check is not a substitute for either.
Think of it as the low-tech backstop that sits underneath your real safety plan. Your doctors, your medications, your emergency contacts, and any medical alert device you use are the plan. This is the extra thread that says: if a day goes by and I've gone quiet, make sure a person actually reaches out. It's free, it never sends any final messages, and it is completely separate from DeathNote's delivery and proof-of-life features.
Why a welfare timer helps here
Living with it solo
When you handle a health condition on your own, a bad hour can pass with no one aware — this gives a few trusted people a reason to reach out.
Not a medical device
Welfare Check never tracks vitals, detects falls, or diagnoses anything; it only emails the people you picked if your countdown reaches zero.
You set the window
Choose a duration that fits the day — a rough stretch, a long night, a solo appointment — and stop it the moment you're back on your feet.
People who already know you
Add family, a neighbor, or a close friend by email; they don't need an account, never sign up, and are never charged.
A backstop, not a responder
For the just-in-case days, it prompts a human to check on you — it cannot call for help, so keep real emergency services and any medical alert system in place.
Separate from anything final
This is standalone and free; it never sends your DeathNote messages, never acts as proof-of-life, and does nothing beyond a single wellness email.
Common questions
Is this a medical alert system or fall detector?
No. Welfare Check has no sensors and monitors nothing — it can't detect a fall, a seizure, or a blood-sugar crash. If you want a device that senses trouble or summons help at the push of a button, use a dedicated medical alert or personal emergency response system. This is only a countdown that emails people you chose.
I'm having a medical emergency right now — can this help?
No, and please don't wait on it. Welfare Check cannot sense an emergency or contact anyone on demand. Call your local emergency number (911 in the US) immediately, or reach your care team. This tool is a slow social backstop for after-the-fact awareness, never a first responder.
Is this the same as DeathNote's proof-of-life check-in?
No. It is deliberately separate. Welfare Check never sends your final messages, notes, or recipients, cannot trigger any final delivery, and is not the proof-of-life verification system. It's a self-contained wellness nudge and nothing more.
Who gets contacted, and does it cost anything?
You add plain email addresses for people you trust — no accounts, no signup on their end. If your countdown reaches zero, each of them gets one email asking them to check on you. Welfare Check is free, with no tiers and nothing to buy.
Set up your Welfare Check
Free, under a minute, and you can stop or restart it whenever you like.