Avana Get early access

What Avana does

Every "reached?" answered before you ask

Six things that end the "call when you reach" thread, done carefully. Everything on this page is in the app today unless it says otherwise.

Small answers, all day

The things you would otherwise message, call or worry about. Avana tells the nest quietly, as they happen.

Arrivals, as plain sentences

School, tuition, the office, a grandparent's flat. The nest hears when someone gets there or leaves.

Everyone on one map

Each person, with how old their position is written beside them. An old position looks old.

SOS, held for three seconds

A hold, so it does not go off in a pocket. Call 112 sits right beside it.

Seven days of history

Your nest sees the last week of where everyone has been, and nothing older.

Pause, and everyone knows

Anyone can pause. The nest sees "paused", not a frozen dot.

Everyone on one map

Open the app and see the whole nest. Each person shows how long ago their phone reported, how accurate the fix was and how much battery is left.

  • Positions update about every four minutes while sharing is on
  • Old positions are greyed out and labelled
  • If a phone stops reporting, you are told

Places and arrival alerts

Mark home, school, the office or anywhere else with a circle on the map. When someone in your family enters or leaves it, the others get a notification and it is added to the activity list.

  • Choose how wide each place is
  • Mute alerts for a place without deleting it
  • Alerts carry no names or places through Google's servers
The Activity screen listing arrivals, a departure, a plan reminder and a low battery warning.

A day, as places and times

Tap a person to see where they stayed today and for how long. You get a short list of stops with times, which is easier to read than a trail of dots. History goes back seven days.

  • Stops and time spent at each
  • Step back day by day, up to a week
  • Hidden for 24 hours after sign-in on a new phone

Roles for adults and teenagers

Adults manage the nest, its places and who is invited. Teenagers share and see everyone, but cannot bring new people in. Anyone, at any age, can pause their own sharing, and the nest is told.

  • Join with an invite code from someone you know
  • More than one nest, for example family and in-laws
  • Leave a nest whenever you want
The Nest screen listing four family members by first name, with their roles, and the family calendar.

SOS and emergency contacts

Hold the SOS button for three seconds. Your nest is alerted with your location and can open directions to you. You have one minute to cancel. Keep the numbers of a relative or a neighbour in the app and call them in one tap.

  • A hold, so it does not go off in a pocket
  • A cancelled SOS is shown as cancelled to everyone
  • Call 112 from the same screen
The SOS sheet with a press-and-hold button and a Call 112 button.
The emergency contacts screen with two contacts and call buttons.

A check on someone living alone

If a parent lives by themselves, they can ask Avana to tell the nest when their phone has not moved for a set number of hours. It is their switch to turn on, in their own settings.

  • The person being checked on chooses it
  • Pick how many hours counts as too long
  • Share only between set hours if you prefer
The Settings screen with sharing switched on, and switches for sharing only at certain times and telling the nest if the phone stops moving.

Avana is not an emergency service

An SOS alerts the people in your nest. It does not call the police or an ambulance, and nobody at Avana is watching. In a real emergency, call 112. The app puts that button next to the SOS so you do not have to look for it.

What Avana does not do

A safety app that claims more than it delivers is dangerous. These are things you should not expect from Avana.

  • It does not call emergency servicesAn SOS goes to your nest only. Call 112 yourself.
  • It does not detect crashes or fallsNothing is raised automatically. Someone has to press SOS.
  • It does not listen or recordThe app never asks for the microphone.
  • It does not score anyone's drivingThe Driving tab shows rough distance and top speed worked out from location updates. It is an estimate.
  • It does not track someone secretlyA permanent notification shows on any phone that is sharing.
  • It does not work with location switched offIf a phone is off, out of battery or has no signal, Avana shows the last known position and says how old it is.

Coming next

Early access is about getting the basics right on Android. These are next, and neither exists yet.

Planned

A small 4G tracker

For a grandparent without a smartphone, a school bag or a pet. It joins the same nest as everyone's phones.

Planned

iPhone

Avana starts on Android, the phone most families in India use. An iPhone version follows.

Get early access

Avana is opening a few families at a time, in India and for families who live apart. It is free during early access, and you get a direct line to the person building it.

  • Your family is in India, or part of it is
  • At least two of you use Android
  • You will tell us what does not work
Or write to[email protected]