Contacts are the people Kautio notifies, tier by tier, if you don't respond to a check-in. Each contact is someone you invited by phone number who accepted the invitation in the Kautio app. Contacts are mutual: once someone accepts, each of you appears in the other's Your contacts list, and either of you can add the other to check-ins. Kautio notifies only the contacts you choose, and only when a check-in you scheduled reaches their tier. A notification means a timer wasn't stopped, nothing more. Kautio is not an emergency service. You manage contacts on the Contacts tab, one of the four tabs at the bottom of the app (Check-ins, Responding, Contacts, Settings).
How do I invite a contact?
Inviting a contact sends that person a one-time text with a link to accept your invitation in the Kautio app.
Open the Contacts tab and tap Invite.
In Phone number, enter the person's number in international format: a plus sign, the country code 1, then the 10-digit number, for example +14155551234.
Tap Send invite.
Before you send, the Invite contact screen lists What happens next:
They get a text from Kautio with your invite.
They accept and create their account.
They appear in your contacts, ready for check-in tiers.
The same screen notes "Invites expire after 7 days." and links to How Kautio texts work (the SMS Terms at kautio.app/sms-terms).
After the invite is sent, the screen shows Invite sent and "Kautio sends your contact an invite.", with two buttons: Send them a heads-up and Done.
Who you can invite (US and Canadian numbers)
Kautio invitations work only for phone numbers registered in the United States or Canada. The rule follows where the number is registered, not where the person is: a US or Canadian number is accepted even while its owner is traveling abroad.
If a number is outside the US and Canada, the app shows:
Kautio can only notify contacts with a US or Canadian number right now. It can't send check-in messages to this number.
If Kautio can't confirm the number's region, it may show:
Kautio can't verify this number's region right now. It can't send check-in messages to this number.
Other rules for inviting:
You can't invite your own number. The app shows "You cannot invite yourself".
The person needs to be 18 or older to create a Kautio account and accept. See About Kautio › Where can I use Kautio, and who can use it?
The invitation text your contact receives
The invitation text is the only message Kautio sends to a number you invite until that person accepts. It reads:
Kautio: [your name] wants to add you as a safety contact. Tap to respond: [link] Reply STOP to opt out
[your name] is the display name on your Kautio account. If your account has no name, the invitation text says "Someone". It never shows your phone number, because the person isn't your contact yet.
[link] is a kautio.app/invite/… link that opens the invitation.
Kautio sends the invitation text once. It sends nothing further to that number unless the person accepts.
Sending a heads-up message from your own phone
The Send them a heads-up button, on the Invite sent screen, opens your phone's share sheet with a short prefilled message. The message tells the person that you've sent them a Kautio invite by text and what Kautio does. You choose the app and send it yourself, from your own number. Kautio doesn't send this message. It is optional, and it helps the person recognize the invitation text when it arrives.
How long an invitation lasts (7 days)
A Kautio invitation expires 7 days after you send it.
Once 7 days have passed, the invitation can no longer be accepted. If the person taps Accept, the app shows "This invite has expired." (or, after the daily check at midnight UTC, "This invite has already been responded to.").
An expired invitation stays on your Sent list, muted and marked Expired, with Resend, which sends a new invitation to the same number.
You can send one invitation a day to the same number, including one you revoked.
Kautio deletes an expired or revoked invitation about 30 days after it ends. Declined and blocked invitations are kept, so a person who said no is not invited again.
Why won't my invite send?
When an invitation can't be sent, the Invite contact screen shows a message. Each message and what to do:
Message | What it means | What to do |
"You already sent an invite to this person." | An earlier invitation to this number is still pending. | Wait for an answer, or revoke the pending invite (see Managing your contacts › Cancelling (revoking) an invite) and send a new one a day after the first. |
"You can send another invite to this number in about N hours." | You invited this number less than 24 hours ago. | Wait, then send again. |
"You are already contacts with this person." | This person is already in Your contacts. | Nothing to do. |
"This person previously declined your invite, so you can't send another." | The person declined an earlier invitation from you. This is permanent. | The other person can invite you instead. |
"This invite cannot be sent right now." | Kautio can't send an invitation to this number. The message deliberately gives no reason. | If you think this is a mistake, contact support@kautio.app. |
"This phone number has opted out of Kautio messages and can't receive invites." | The person replied STOP to a Kautio text, so no Kautio text can reach their number. | Ask them to reply START to a Kautio text, then send the invite again. See Got a text from Kautio? › Stopping or restarting texts (STOP, START, HELP). |
"We couldn't deliver the invite text. Check the number and try again." | The text couldn't be delivered. No invitation is left pending. | Check the number and send again. |
A message saying there have been too many attempts | You've tried to send more than 20 invitations within an hour. Failed attempts count too. | Wait, then try again. |
"Kautio can only notify contacts with a US or Canadian number right now. It can't send check-in messages to this number." | The number is outside the US and Canada. | Invite a US or Canadian number. |
A message asking for the full number with its country code | The number isn't in international format. | Start with + and the country code, like +1 415 555 1234. |
"Phone number is required" | The Phone number field is empty. | Enter the number. |
"Couldn't send the invite. Check your connection and try again." | The app couldn't reach Kautio. | Check your connection and try again. |
What do my contacts need to do?
A person you invite needs to install Kautio once and accept your invitation in the app. After that, they don't need to do anything until one of your check-ins reaches their tier.
Install Kautio and create an account with the number the invitation was sent to. Kautio matches the invitation to that phone number, so an account on a different number can't open it.
Accept in the app. Replying to the invitation text, with YES or anything else, doesn't accept it.
No app needs to stay open. After accepting, they don't need the app open or to be online. If a check-in reaches their tier, they get a text, plus an app notification if Kautio's notifications are on.
It's free. Being a contact costs nothing and uses no credits. See Plans, credits, and prices.
They can't stop your check-in. Only you can Snooze or Dismiss your check-in. Contacts can view its details and add notes.
The contact-side steps are in Got a text from Kautio? › Accepting, declining, or blocking an invitation.
Can I add someone to a check-in before they accept?
No. A check-in's tiers can include only contacts who have accepted your invitation. A pending invitee doesn't appear in the contact picker, and Kautio rejects any check-in, or change to a check-in, that lists someone who isn't an accepted contact. Until a person accepts, Kautio sends them nothing beyond the one invitation text.
Checking or cancelling a pending invite
Pending invitations, both the ones you've sent and the ones you've received, are listed on the Pending invites screen.
Open the Contacts tab.
Tap the envelope icon (Pending invites) at the top. A number on the icon shows how many invitations you've received and not yet answered.
Choose Received or Sent.
On the Received tab, each invitation shows "Wants to add you as a contact", an Accept button, and a menu with Decline and Block. On the Sent tab, a pending invitation shows Pending and a Revoke button; an expired one is muted and shows Expired and a Resend button. When a list is empty, the app shows "No pending invites" (Received) or "No sent invites" (Sent).
Cancelling (revoking) an invite
Revoking an invitation cancels it, so the link in the invitation text stops working.
Open Contacts, then Pending invites.
Tap Sent.
Tap Revoke next to the invitation.
Confirm with Revoke. The dialog says: "This removes the invite. The link in the text you sent will stop working."
You can revoke an invitation only while it is pending. Otherwise the app shows "This invite is no longer pending."
If you revoke at the same moment the person accepts, exactly one of the two takes effect.
Kautio doesn't tell the person that you revoked the invitation.
Revoking doesn't stop you sending a new invitation to the same number later.
What do my contacts see when they're notified?
A contact sees nothing about your check-in until their tier is notified. Contacts in later tiers see nothing until their own tier is notified, and contacts in a tier that is never reached never see the check-in.
The check-in text and app notification
When a check-in reaches a contact's tier, Kautio sends that contact a text:
Kautio: [your name] didn't check in for "[title]". They added you as a contact. Details: [link]
If you have another Active check-in at the same moment, the text adds how long ago this check-in started, for example "(started 45 minutes ago)", after the title. This lets a contact on both check-ins tell them apart.
The text contains no description, location, or start time. The link opens the details in the Kautio app.
[your name] is your display name. If your account has no name, the text shows your phone number instead, as the app shows it, for example "+1 (404) 555-0101" (see Your account › What do my contacts see if my account has no name?).
Contacts who have the app with notifications on also get an app notification. Its title is "[your name] needs a check-in", and its text is Tap to view "[title]".
What the Check-in details screen shows your contacts
The Check-in details screen shows a notified contact what you added to the check-in:
the title and description;
the location you entered;
the photos you attached;
the Activity log, which shows counts of people notified, never names (your snoozes are never shown);
the Location trail, only if you turned on location sharing for that check-in;
Notes, which contacts can also add while the check-in is Active.
The full contact-side walkthrough, including the status labels, is in Got a text from Kautio? › Seeing the check-in's details.
What contacts never see
Kautio keeps some things from your contacts at all times:
Your snoozes. Snoozing is silent. It never appears in a text, a notification, or the Activity log.
Check-ins their tier wasn't notified for.
Other contacts' names. The Activity log shows only how many people each tier notified, and notes show their author as "Responder" or "Check-in owner".
Your phone number on the Check-in details screen. Check-in texts show your phone number only if your account has no display name.
Your contacts do see your phone number in their Your contacts list, just as you see theirs, because contacts are mutual.
If a contact changes their phone number
A contact who changes their phone number keeps getting your check-in texts: Kautio sends them to the number currently on the contact's Kautio account, not the number they had when you scheduled the check-in. You don't need to edit your check-ins after a contact changes their number. The number shown under their name in Your contacts also changes to their new number once they change it in Kautio.
How do I remove a contact?
Removing a contact ends the contact relationship for both of you.
Open the Contacts tab.
Tap the menu next to the contact (Contact options).
Tap Remove contact.
In the Remove [name]? dialog, tap Remove, or Keep contact to cancel. The app shows "Contact removed." If the app says the removal didn't go through, try again.
Removal is mutual. Either of you can remove the other, and you both leave each other's Your contacts lists.
Removal is silent. Kautio doesn't notify the other person.
You can invite the person again later. Unlike a declined invitation, removal doesn't block a new invite.
Does removing a contact affect check-ins already scheduled?
Yes. Kautio checks each contact at the moment it sends, and skips anyone who is no longer your contact. A removed contact gets no check-in text, no app notification, and no follow-up text from any of your check-ins, including check-ins you scheduled before the removal.
You're told, and the contact is marked. If one of your contacts removes you or deletes their Kautio account, you get a "Check-in contacts changed" notification: "Someone on an upcoming check-in is no longer available. Tap to learn more." It opens the check-in if only one is affected, or the Check-ins tab if more are. In those check-ins the person stays listed, greyed out with a warning: "No longer a contact — won't be notified". Kautio doesn't say which of the two happened. When you remove a contact yourself, the same marking appears, without a notification.
A tier can end up reaching no one. If every contact in a tier has been removed, that tier notifies no one when it's reached, and you get the "Contacts not reached" notification. After removing a contact, open your scheduled check-ins and make sure each tier still has a contact. See Changing or cancelling a check-in › Editing a check-in.
One exception: "all good". If a check-in already notified someone you later removed, and you then send "all good" for that check-in, that person still gets the "all good" text.
Repeating check-ins drop removed contacts from future check-ins in the series, and Kautio sends you a "Recurring check-in contacts changed" notification. See Presets and repeating check-ins (Pro).
The Remove [name]? dialog says the same: "This removes you from each other's contacts. Neither of you can add the other to a check-in, and neither is notified by the other's check-ins, including ones already scheduled. If they were already notified, your all-good message still reaches them."
If a contact deletes their account
When a contact deletes their Kautio account, Kautio treats them as removed. They disappear from Your contacts, and every check-in skips them when it sends, including check-ins scheduled before the deletion. Check that each tier of your scheduled check-ins still has a contact.
Reporting a contact
You can report a contact from the Contacts tab: tap the menu next to the contact (Contact options), then Report. Reporting doesn't remove anyone and doesn't change who gets notified. After the report is sent, Kautio offers Remove contact as a separate step. See Reporting misuse.
Contact Groups (Pro)
A Contact Group is a named, reusable set of your contacts that fills a tier in one step. Contact Groups are a Kautio Pro feature. They are a convenience only: on any plan you can add the same contacts to a tier one by one, and every plan's check-ins notify contacts in the same way.
Without Kautio Pro and with no saved groups, the Contact groups row on the Contacts tab shows a Pro chip, and tapping it opens the Unlock with Pro screen. See Plans, credits, and prices. If you had Kautio Pro and saved groups, see Managing your contacts › What happens to my Contact Groups if Pro ends?
Creating, editing, and deleting a group
To create a Contact Group:
Open the Contacts tab and tap Contact groups.
Tap New contact group.
Enter a Name (1 to 40 characters), for example "Family".
Select the contacts to include.
Tap Save.
Contact groups are edited and deleted on the Contact groups screen. To edit or delete a group, tap the menu next to it on the Contact groups screen, then Edit or Delete. The delete dialog says: "This only removes the saved group. Check-ins you already scheduled keep their contacts."
Messages you may see:
"Give the contact group a name." The Name field is empty.
"Invite contacts first." You have no accepted contacts to add.
Adding a group to a tier
Contact Groups are added to a tier from the tier editor when you schedule or edit a check-in. With Kautio Pro, Add from contact group appears once you have at least one group.
In a tier (Tier 1 or later), tap Add from contact group.
Choose the group.
Members already in the tier are skipped.
People who are no longer your contacts are left out, and a notice says how many were skipped, for example "Added 3 from 'Family'. 1 former contact skipped."
A tier holds at most 10 contacts. If the group has more people than the tier has room for, you choose which ones to add. If the tier is already full, the app asks you to remove someone first.
Adding a group copies its people into the check-in. Later changes to the group don't change check-ins already scheduled.
To save a tier's contacts as a new group, tap Save these N as a contact group (or Save this recipient as a contact group for one person) in that tier.
What happens to my Contact Groups if Pro ends?
When Kautio Pro ends, your Contact Groups are kept, so they're ready if you subscribe to Kautio Pro again.
Your groups stay listed. On the Contacts tab, the Contact groups row reads "N saved — Kautio Pro is needed to use them" and opens the Contact groups screen. The screen lists your groups with a lock icon under the note "Kautio Pro is needed to use contact groups. Your saved groups are kept." and a See Kautio Pro link.
No creating or editing. The Contact groups screen has no New contact group button, and a group's menu offers only Delete. Tapping a group opens the Unlock with Pro screen.
New check-ins can't use them. In the tiers of a new check-in, Add from contact group shows locked, with the same note, and tapping it opens the Unlock with Pro screen. Saving a tier's contacts as a group isn't offered. You add contacts to a tier one by one, exactly as before.
Check-ins already scheduled are unaffected. They keep the contacts that were copied into them from a group, and they notify those contacts as usual.
Subscribing again restores them. When you subscribe to Kautio Pro again, your groups work as before.
Presets follow the same rule (see Presets and repeating check-ins (Pro) › What happens if Pro ends?). See also Managing your subscription › What changes when Kautio Pro ends?
Contact limits at a glance
The limits that apply to contacts and invitations:
Item | Limit |
Invitation lifetime | 7 days |
Invitations you can send | 20 per hour |
Invitations to the same number | 1 per 24 hours |
Contacts per tier | 10 |
Contact Group name | 1 to 40 characters |
Phone numbers | US and Canada only |
For the number of tiers per check-in, see Scheduling a check-in › Choosing who is notified: tiers.