Questions and answers
Short answers to what people ask before they try HelpMom.
What is HelpMom?
HelpMom is an app for helping someone with any device in their home, from a distance. The person who needs help presses one big button. The helper sees through their phone camera and shows them what to do, by drawing on the picture and sending large text.
What can I help with?
Anything they can point a phone camera at: the TV and its remote, the router, the washing machine, the printer, a thermostat, or the settings on another screen.
Does my parent need to be good with phones?
No. There is one big button to get help, large text and nothing to learn. There is also a practice mode, so they can try it in peace first. Read more for parents.
Which phones does it work on?
HelpMom is made for iPhone and is in testing through Apple's TestFlight. There is no Android app yet, but HelpMom works in the browser on Android phones. See how to get it.
Is HelpMom on the App Store?
Not yet. Today you install it through TestFlight, Apple's own app for trying apps before release.
What does it cost?
HelpMom is free to use while it is in testing. The price after the App Store release is not decided.
Which languages does it speak?
The side for the person who gets help is available in Swedish, English, Norwegian and Danish. The helper's side is available in English and Swedish.
Do we need accounts or passwords?
No. You pair the two phones once, with a nine-digit code or a QR code. After that there is nothing to log in to.
Can anyone else see the call?
No. A call is only between two paired phones, and each call is verified with keys the phones exchanged when pairing. Picture and sound are encrypted between the phones. More about security.
Is the call recorded?
No. During a call the helper can go back up to 30 seconds to freeze a picture, and can save chosen pictures with drawings as a guide. Guides are stored on the phones, not on our server.
Will my phone really ring when the app is closed?
Yes. On the helper's iPhone, HelpMom rings like a normal phone call, also when the app is closed. The helper can ring the other person too.
What is a guide?
When you have shown the steps in a call, they can be saved as a picture guide for that appliance. Your parent can open it later and follow along, without ringing.
Is HelpMom the same as screen sharing?
No. Screen sharing shows a phone or computer screen. HelpMom shows the world through the camera, so it also works for things with no screen at all, like a washing machine or the cables behind a router.
Does HelpMom use AI?
No. The help comes from a person you know and trust.
Did not find your answer? Write to us through the support page.
Next time, skip the drive
Set it up once, while you are visiting. After that, help is one button away.
Get HelpMom