GoLynQ Help user guide

GoLynQ Help is a personal safety app. One tap shares your live location with the people you trust and opens your alert to them. It can sound a loud siren, run a safety check-in that raises the alarm if you don't check in on time, and let your circle (family, friends) see you on a map. It runs as an iPhone app, and in any browser at help.golynq.me.

Read this first: GoLynQ Help is not an emergency service and does not replace one. In an emergency, always call your local emergency number first. Alerts depend on your phone, battery, signal, GPS and permissions. They can fail or be delayed, and your phone requires a final tap before any call or text message is sent.

In an emergency: the short version

1. Tap the big red SOS · I need help button.
2. Choose 🔊 Loud (siren, flashing light and vibration) or 🤫 Silent (nothing visible or audible).
3. Your help signal starts right away: your live location is shared, your circle sees you on their map, and (if you chose that in Settings) people nearby using GoLynQ Meet are alerted.
4. Tap 📡 Send live link to text your contacts, then Send in Messages. Add a quick message first if you like (I'm hurt, I'm being followed…).
5. 📞 Call your primary contact if you can talk.
6. When it's over, hold ✓ I'm safe — stop at the top of the screen.

Going out alone? Tap ⏱️ Safety Check-In before you go. If you don't check in on time, your help signal starts by itself.

Hands busy? On iPhone, say "Hey Siri, GoLynQ SOS" (see Siri, widgets and the Action button).

In a life-threatening emergency, call emergency services first. iPhone: hold the side button and a volume button (Emergency SOS). Android: press the power button 5 times.

Getting started

1. Accept the safety disclaimer. The first time you open GoLynQ Help, it explains what it can and cannot do. Tick "I understand that GoLynQ Help is not a substitute for emergency services" and tap I agree. Nothing starts, not even GPS, until you do. You can read it again in Settings › Safety disclaimer.
2. Follow the setup ("Let's get you ready", about a minute):
   • Your name, so people know who needs help. It is required.
   • Who should be alerted first? Your primary contact: type the number with its country code (for example +1 555 123 4567), or tap 📇 Choose from contacts in the iPhone app.
   • Allow location and notifications. On iPhone, choose Allow While Using App, and keep Precise Location on. Notifications let the check-in remind you before it ends.
   • Invite them to your circle: send your contact the circle link (see Your circle).
   • Send a test message, so they know what an alert from you looks like.

You can skip any step and come back with Settings › Run setup again.

1. Check "Ready for an emergency?" under the home buttons. It says Ready, or lists what to fix (no contact, location not allowed or only approximate, notifications off, no one invited, test never sent). Tap it for details and Fix buttons.

GoLynQ Help follows your phone's language (English, Español, Français, Deutsch, Português, Italiano, 日本語, 한국어) and its light or dark appearance. Change the language and units at the top of Settings.

The home screen

From top to bottom:

• SOS · I need help: starts a help signal (Asking for help).
• ⏱️ Safety Check-In: starts a countdown (Safety check-in).
• Ready for an emergency?: what is set up, and what to fix.
• 📍 Your location: your position and its accuracy, and the estimated nearest address (the closest address OpenStreetMap knows, with how far and in which direction you are from it; it can be inaccurate). ↗︎ Share location sends your current location with any app; 🏠 Find Nearest Address looks the address up again.
• The map: you, and the people in your circle who are sharing. People asking for help have a pulsing red SOS sign; tap one to see their name, message and when they were last updated. 🗺️ switches between Map, Satellite and Satellite + names; ⛶ shows the map full screen with the list of people.
• Your circle: the people sharing with you, those asking for help first, then in alphabetical order, with their distance and how long ago they were updated. Tap a name to find them on the map. The list stays at the bottom of the screen while you scroll, and scrolls itself when there are many people. ▦ QR code shows your circle's QR code.
• 🔄 Refresh GPS asks for a fresh position.

The ⚙️ button at the top opens Settings.

Asking for help

Start a help signal

Tap SOS · I need help, then choose:

• 🔊 Loud: siren, flashing light and vibration, to get attention (Loud alerts).
• 🤫 Silent: nothing visible or audible. Your contacts and circle are alerted quietly. Use it if drawing attention could put you in danger.

If you have more than one contact, choose Who to alert first: Primary contact, or Primary + extended.

As soon as you choose, without any further tap:

• your live location link starts (Your live location link);
• your circle sees you on their map with an SOS sign, and members who turned on notifications are notified (Your circle);
• people nearby using GoLynQ Meet are alerted, if your Settings allow it for this kind of alert (Alerting people nearby).

The help signal screen

• Quick message: tap I'm hurt, I'm being followed, I'm lost or Please call me, or type your own. The same message is used for alerts and check-ins.
• 📡 Send live link: opens a text message (or WhatsApp, as set in Settings) to the people you chose, with your message and the live location link. Tap Send. One group text reaches all of them.
• 📍 Send my location: a second message with your current address, coordinates and a map link, for people who'd rather not open a link.
• 📞 Call: calls your primary contact.
• 🔊 Switch to Loud: turns a silent signal into a loud one.
• 📣 Also alert people nearby: turn the nearby alert on or off for this signal.
• Your circle: who in your circle is sharing their location, and how far away they are.
• ↗︎ Share link with anyone: sends your live link with any app. Anyone with the link can follow you until you stop.

Why do I still have to tap Send? Phones require a person to confirm every call and text message: no app can send them silently. That's why your live location, your circle and the nearby alert start without a tap, and why the siren needs none.

Stop

Hold ✓ I'm safe — stop in the bar at the top (on every screen) until it fills. Holding, rather than tapping, means a bump or someone grabbing your phone can't end it. Your live location stops, the link stops working, and your position is removed from your circle's and nearby maps. If the siren is on, Hold to stop siren is next to it.

Loud alerts: the siren

A loud alert sounds a siren, vibrates, and flashes SOS with the flashlight, to draw attention to you: if you are injured and people are nearby, or to scare off a threat.

Set it up in Settings › 🔊 Loud alert settings (used whenever you choose Loud):

• Siren sound: Yelp (fast), Wail (slow), Hi-lo (two-tone), SOS whistle (3 blasts) or Morse SOS. ▶︎ Preview plays it for a few seconds.
• 📳 Vibrate while the siren plays.
• 🔦 Flash SOS with the flashlight.
• ✋ Hold 1.5 s to stop the siren, so it can't be stopped by an accidental tap or by someone grabbing your phone.

In the iPhone app, the siren plays even with the silent switch on and keeps sounding when the screen locks or you switch apps. It plays at the media volume: turn the volume up before you head out. iPhones don't allow the flashlight while the phone is locked; flashing starts as soon as GoLynQ Help is back on screen. In a browser, keep the screen on; the browser asks for the camera, because the camera runs the flashlight.

Safety check-in

Start a countdown before an activity: a hike, a date, a late walk home. If you don't check in on time, your help signal starts by itself.

Start it

Tap ⏱️ Safety Check-In, then:

1. Countdown duration: from 1 minute to 8 hours, or Custom…. Choose your planned return time plus a margin.
2. If I don't check in: 🔊 Loud (the siren sounds at zero: the only alert that needs no tap at all) or 🤫 Silent.
3. Who to alert (with more than one contact).
4. Message: where you're going, what you're wearing, when you'll be back. Example: "Hiking Eagle Trail, blue jacket, back by 6 pm."
5. Tap ⏱️ Start Safety Countdown. You need a position and an emergency contact first.

On iPhone, you can also say "Hey Siri, GoLynQ check in" to start it with your last settings.

While it runs

• A full-screen countdown shows the time left. Tap ✓ I'm safe — cancel timer at any time.
• Running late? ⏱ +15 min adds 15 minutes. You can tap it several times.
• Reminders (iPhone app, with notifications on) come 5 minutes and 1 minute before the end, with I'm OK and +15 min buttons, so you can check in without opening the app.
• On iPhone, the countdown is also on your Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island, with the same buttons.
• In the final minute, GoLynQ Help warns you with a banner, a beep and a vibration.
• In the iPhone app, you can lock the phone. The countdown keeps running, and at zero GoLynQ Help starts your help signal (and the siren, if Loud) by itself. A notification with a siren sound also appears.
• Swiping GoLynQ Help away in the app switcher cancels the countdown: a notification confirms it.
• In a browser, keep GoLynQ Help open on screen (the screen stays awake during a countdown).

When it reaches zero

1. Your help signal starts: live location, circle, and the nearby alert if your Settings allow it.
2. The siren starts, if you chose Loud.
3. Your alert opens with your check-in message, ready to send: tap Send.
4. If your phone can't send (switched off, broken, out of battery, or you can't tap), GoLynQ texts your contacts for you about 90 seconds later, with your name, the time the check-in ended, your last known position and your live link.

For that last step, GoLynQ Help keeps your contacts' numbers, your name and your last position on its server for the duration of the check-in. They are deleted when you check in, cancel, or send the alert yourself.

Your live location link

A plain message tells your contacts where you were. The live location link lets them follow where you are, as it updates. It is on by default (Settings › Advanced › 📡 Include a live location link in my alerts).

• It starts by itself with every help signal, and when a check-in runs out.
• Your alert includes "Follow my live location: https://meet.golynq.me/?track=…".
• Anyone who opens it sees a map with a red 🆘 NEEDS HELP banner, your name, your message, your battery level, how long ago you were updated, the path you took since it started, and walking directions. They don't need an app or an account.
• They can also tap 👥 Join their circle to join your circle: then they see each other, and you see them coming.
• Your 🩺 medical info (Settings › Advanced), if you entered any, is shown on the link only, end-to-end encrypted.
• In the iPhone app, your position keeps being sent while the phone is locked or you use another app. In a browser, keep GoLynQ Help open on screen.
• The link stops when you hold ✓ I'm safe. Otherwise it ends about 24 hours after the last position.

With the live link turned off, alerts contain only your position at the time you send them, and nothing is shared live.

Your circle

Your circle is the people who see you on a map: family, friends, a partner. They see you when you ask for help, or always, if you choose. It is private: only people with your invitation are in it.

Add people

In Settings › Your circle › Add people to your circle:

• 💬 Send invite: send the invitation link with Messages, Mail, AirDrop or any app.
• ▦ Show QR code: the other person scans it with their phone's camera, or from GoLynQ Help or GoLynQ Meet.

They join once, in GoLynQ Help or GoLynQ Meet. People who joined stay in your circle: next time you need help, they already see you.

Join someone else's circle

In Settings › Your circle › Join someone else's circle: 📷 Scan QR code, or 🔗 Paste invite link. That circle then replaces yours in GoLynQ Help. Go back to my own circle switches back.

Example: a family uses one circle. A parent creates it and shares the QR code; each child scans it once.

Always share (iPhone app)

📍 Always share my location with my circle (no alert): your circle sees where you are, all the time, without any alert unless you ask for help. A banner on the home screen shows it is on.

• It keeps going when GoLynQ Help is closed, if location access is set to Always (Settings › Privacy & Security › Location Services › GoLynQ Help). The Ready check reminds you.
• It is designed to save battery: GPS runs only while you move. When you stay put, the phone checks about once an hour that you're still there.
• Your circle sees you in blue while you're updated, and in gray after a while without news.

Get notified (iPhone app)

🔔 Notify me when someone in my circle asks for help: a notification that breaks through Focus when anyone in your circle starts a help signal. In GoLynQ Meet, members turn on notifications in its settings.

Other options

• Open in GoLynQ Meet: see your circle on GoLynQ Meet's map, with chat.
• Reset my circle (new link): makes a new circle (you choose its name). Old invitations stop working, and you'll need to invite people again.

Alerting people nearby

Settings › 📣 Alert people nearby lets people near you who use GoLynQ Meet see a red HELP signal at your exact position, with your name and message, so someone close by can come and help:

• With loud alerts (the default): only when you choose Loud.
• With loud and silent alerts.
• Never.

Strangers see exactly where you are. Use Never if someone nearby could harm you. You can also switch it off for one signal on the help signal screen. It is removed from their maps when you stop.

When a check-in runs out, people nearby are alerted only if you turn on Settings › Advanced › ⏱️ Also alert them when the check-in timer runs out.

Settings

Tap ⚙️ at the top. "Settings" and ✕ stay at the top while you scroll.

• 🌐 Language and 📏 Units (Metric, or US: feet and miles).
• You and your contacts
  • Your name (required): shown to the people who see your location.
  • Primary contact: gets every alert and your calls.
  • Extended contacts (optional, up to 5): ＋ Add them one at a time; they get alerts when you choose Primary + extended.
  • Send alerts by: Text message (a group text) or WhatsApp (you pick the chat).
  • Contacts are stored only on this device.
• Your circle: see Your circle.
• 📣 Alert people nearby: see Alerting people nearby.
• 🔊 Loud alert settings: see Loud alerts.
• GPS & Permissions: whether location is allowed. 🔓 Request / Re-enable GPS (in the iPhone app it opens GoLynQ Help in the Settings app) and 📡 Restart GPS Tracking.
• Device: ☀️ Keep Screen Awake, 🧭 Run setup again, ⚠️ Safety disclaimer.
• Advanced
  • 📡 Include a live location link in my alerts (Your live location link).
  • ⏱️ Also alert people nearby when the check-in timer runs out.
  • 🩺 Medical info (optional): allergies, medication, conditions, blood type; shown only on your live link, encrypted.

What your alert messages contain

📡 Send live link:

🚨 EMERGENCY SOS! I need help.
I'm hurt. Hiking Eagle Trail, blue jacket          ← your quick message
Follow my live location: https://meet.golynq.me/?track=…

📍 Send my location:

🚨 EMERGENCY SOS! I need help.
I'm hurt. Hiking Eagle Trail, blue jacket
Location: https://maps.google.com/?q=45.83260,6.86520 (Accuracy: ~12 m)
≈ 120 m NE (45°) of 12 Mountain Road, Chamonix     ← estimated nearest address
Altitude: 1043 m
Battery: 76%

The map link opens the exact point in any maps app. Lines that aren't available are left out.

Siri, widgets and the Action button (iPhone)

Siri

Say "Hey Siri", then one of these. "GoLynQ" is said "Go Link"; "GoLynQ Help" works too.

• If your help signal is already on, Siri just opens the app.
• A check-in started by Siri waits up to 20 seconds for your location. If there is still none, or you have no emergency contact, the check-in screen opens so you can finish it yourself.
• Siri can mishear. If a signal started by mistake, hold ✓ I'm safe — stop.
• The phrases work in English. In another language, open the Shortcuts app, add a shortcut with the GoLynQ Help action, and give it your own name: saying that name to Siri runs it.

Shortcuts, Spotlight and the Action button

The three actions (I need help, Loud alarm, Safety check-in) are in the Shortcuts app and in Spotlight. On an iPhone with an Action button: Settings › Action Button › Shortcut › GoLynQ Help, then the action.

Widgets and Control Center

• "I need help" widget (Home Screen and Lock Screen): opens GoLynQ Help on the Loud / Silent choice. Nothing starts until you choose, because a widget is easy to touch by accident.
• Control Center (and the Lock Screen buttons, iOS 18): add I need help from GoLynQ Help. It works like the widget.
• During a check-in: the countdown on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island, with I'm OK and +15 min. When it runs out, it shows the SOS sign.

To add a widget: touch and hold the Home Screen or Lock Screen, tap Edit (or Customize), then Add Widget, and search for GoLynQ Help.

iPhone app or web version?

Both have the same alerts, check-in, siren, live link, circle map and settings. The web version (help.golynq.me) works on any phone, but a browser can't do some things:

Getting the most reliable results

• Run the setup, and test. Send the test message; start a 1-minute check-in and see what happens.
• Tell your contacts and circle that you use GoLynQ Help and what an alert from you means.
• Location: Precise on, and Always if you use Always share (Settings › Privacy & Security › Location Services › GoLynQ Help).
• Notifications on, for check-in reminders and circle alerts.
• Choose Loud for a check-in when you can: the siren is the only alert that needs no tap at all.
• Charge your phone, and consider a power bank for long outings.
• Don't swipe GoLynQ Help away during a check-in or a help signal. In a browser, keep it on screen.
• Signal: texts and calls need mobile signal; the live link, WhatsApp and the circle need data.
• Open it once before you go. The web version then opens without a connection, and map areas you've viewed stay available offline.

Troubleshooting

"Location permission denied" or "Location is off"

• iPhone app: Settings › GPS & Permissions › Request / Re-enable GPS opens the Settings app. Set Location to While Using the App (or Always), and turn Precise Location on.
• Browser: allow location for help.golynq.me in the browser's site settings, then tap Restart GPS Tracking. The web version doesn't start a help signal without a position.

Stuck on "Acquiring GPS Signal…"

Move outdoors or near a window. Indoors, the first position can take a minute.

The position is off by hundreds of meters

On iPhone, turn on Precise Location for GoLynQ Help.

The estimated address is wrong

It is the nearest address in OpenStreetMap, which can be some way off, or missing in remote areas. The coordinates and the map link are what count.

My circle doesn't see me

They must have joined your circle (or you theirs): compare the circle name at the top of the list. Always share needs the iPhone app; to keep going when GoLynQ Help is closed, location must be set to Always.

I don't get circle notifications

Turn on 🔔 Notify me when someone in my circle asks for help, and allow notifications for GoLynQ Help.

The siren is silent

Turn up the volume. In a browser on iPhone, the silent switch mutes it; the iPhone app is not affected.

The flashlight doesn't flash

Some devices have none, and it is unavailable when the phone is hot or the camera is in use. iPhones don't allow it while locked.

The check-in didn't open my alert

iPhones don't open messages on a locked phone; the alert opens when you unlock it. Your live location, circle and siren start at zero anyway, and the server texts your contacts if you can't send.

"Couldn't send the position — retrying"

There is no data connection; it retries by itself.

Frequently asked questions

Is GoLynQ Help free? Yes. The app has no ads, no in-app purchases and no subscription.

Do I need an account? No.

Does it call emergency services for me? No. It alerts the people you choose. Always call emergency services yourself in an emergency.

Can it send a text without me tapping Send? Your phone can't: it always asks for a final tap. Your live location, your circle, the nearby alert and the siren don't need one, and when a check-in runs out and your phone can't send, GoLynQ's server texts your contacts.

Does it track me all the time? No, unless you turn on Always share my location with my circle, and then only your circle sees you.

Can my whole family use one circle? Yes: one person invites everyone, or shows the QR code, and the others join it once.

Do the people in my circle need GoLynQ Help? No. They can use GoLynQ Help or GoLynQ Meet in any browser.

Does it work without mobile signal? GPS works without signal, and the siren always works. Texts and calls need signal; the live link, WhatsApp, the circle and the address lookup need data.

Privacy

GoLynQ Help keeps as much as possible on your phone.

No account. GoLynQ Help has no sign-up and never asks for your email address. Your name is only shown to the people who see your location.

Stored only on your device:

• your emergency contacts;
• your name, quick message and medical information;
• your settings and your circle's invitation link;
• in the web version, a copy of the app and the map images you've viewed.

Deleting the app (or clearing the site's data in your browser) deletes them.

What leaves your device:

Each help signal uses a new, random anonymous account: it isn't tied to your phone number or your contacts. A live link is a long random code that can't be guessed; anyone who has it can follow you until you stop.

How long it is kept:

• Live link: deleted when you hold I'm safe, otherwise about 24 hours after the last position.
• Help signal on your circle's and nearby maps: removed when you stop, otherwise after 4 hours.
• Always share: your last position disappears from your circle a few hours after it stops updating.
• Check-in: deleted when you check in, cancel or send the alert, and right after the server texts your contacts.
• Anonymous accounts with no activity for 30 days are deleted.

Your choices:

• Turn off the live link (Settings › Advanced) and Always share, and set Alert people nearby to Never.
• Deny location access: GoLynQ Help then can't show or send your position (the siren still works).
• Reset my circle to stop everyone who had your invitation from seeing you.
• Delete the app, or clear its data, to remove everything stored on your phone.

Questions about privacy: see the GoLynQ privacy page, or contact us.

Disclaimer

• GoLynQ Help is not an emergency service and does not replace one. In an emergency, always call your local emergency number first.
• Alerts can fail or be delayed. They depend on your phone, battery, mobile signal, data connection, GPS and permissions. Your phone requires a final tap before any call or text message is sent, and phones may pause or close apps in the background.
• Locations can be inaccurate. GPS positions and estimated addresses may be off, especially indoors, among tall buildings, or in remote areas.
• The siren and flashlight may not work on every device, in every mode, or at every volume setting.
• Sharing your location with strangers (alerting people nearby) reveals your exact position to people you don't know. Only use it if that is safe for you.
• Test GoLynQ Help before relying on it, and make sure your contacts know what an alert from you means.
• GoLynQ Help is provided "as is", without warranty of any kind, express or implied. Vidēre Research, LLC is not liable for any loss, injury, death or damage resulting from its use, from its failure to work, or from delayed or inaccurate information.

The full software disclaimer also applies. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors; address search by Nominatim / OpenStreetMap.