Questions, answered
A little more clarity.
The essentials about how LOWKEY works, what gets shared, and who stays in control.
Getting Started
What is LOWKEY?
LOWKEY helps you notice meaningful changes in your everyday patterns and stay connected to the people who matter most.
With your permission, LOWKEY learns what is typical for you from information your iPhone and Apple Health already collect. When your recent routine looks meaningfully different from your usual pattern, LOWKEY gives you a heads-up. You can use LOWKEY privately or connect with people you trust.
LOWKEY compares you with you, not with population averages or somebody else’s idea of “normal.”
What does LOWKEY notice?
Depending on the permissions you grant and the data available on your devices, LOWKEY may use patterns related to:
- Sleep and daily rhythm
- Movement and activity
- Time at home and changes in routine
- Limited phone activity signals
- Resting heart rate and heart rate variability when available through Apple Health
LOWKEY looks for changes across time. It does not read the content of your messages, listen to calls, or judge what you do.
How does LOWKEY learn what is normal for me?
LOWKEY builds a personal baseline from your own routine. It begins learning when you give it permission to access the information needed to provide your insights.
Your baseline changes gradually as your life changes. A notification does not mean something is wrong. It means your recent patterns look different from what has been usual for you.
How long does it take before LOWKEY works?
LOWKEY begins learning right away, but it needs enough information to understand your usual routine. Insights become more useful as LOWKEY gathers consistent data over time.
Does LOWKEY compare me with other people?
No. LOWKEY compares your recent patterns with your own personal baseline. If 3,000 daily steps is typical for you, LOWKEY does not treat 10,000 steps as the standard you should meet.
Can I use LOWKEY by myself?
Yes. You can use LOWKEY for your own awareness without connecting to anyone else. Inviting other people is optional.
Do I need an Apple Watch?
No. LOWKEY can work with an iPhone. An Apple Watch or another device that writes compatible information to Apple Health may provide additional sleep, heart, and activity data, but it is not required.
Your Sky and Your Connections
What is my LOWKEY sky?
Your sky is the main screen where the people connected to you appear as stars. It gives you a simple view of your own current status and the people you have chosen to look out for or share with.
What types of connections can I create?
LOWKEY supports three types of connections:
Look Out for Each Other
You each share your LOWKEY status and meaningful pattern changes with the other person.
Look Out for Me
The person you invite can see your LOWKEY status and meaningful pattern changes. You do not see theirs.
Look Out for Them
You can see the other person’s LOWKEY status and meaningful pattern changes. They do not see yours.
Does sharing begin as soon as I send an invitation?
No. A connection begins only after the person you invite accepts it. Until then, no LOWKEY information is shared through that connection.
What can someone connected to me see?
What another person can see depends on the connection type and the sharing choices available in your settings. This may include your LOWKEY status, meaningful pattern changes, related wellness notifications, and graphs.
They do not see your messages, raw Apple Health records, or live location.
Who can see another person’s graphs?
You can see another person’s graphs only when:
- You chose Look Out for Each Other, so you can each see the other person’s graphs.
- You chose Look Out for Them, so you can see their graphs, but they cannot see yours.
If you chose Look Out for Me, the person looking out for you can see your graphs. You cannot see theirs.
Can I change or end a connection?
Yes. Sharing is voluntary. You or the other person can end a connection at any time in Settings. Ending a connection stops future sharing between the two of you.
Can I invite more than one person?
Yes. You can create a small, trusted network around yourself and the people you care about. Each person must accept an invitation before a connection begins.
Does someone I invite need LOWKEY?
Yes. The person you invite must download LOWKEY, create an account, and have an active subscription. A subscription begins with a 30-day free trial.
Privacy and Data
Does LOWKEY track or share my location?
LOWKEY may use location in the background to understand patterns such as time at home and changes in daily routine. It is not a location-sharing app.
Your live location is never displayed to another LOWKEY user, and LOWKEY does not show where you go after you leave home.
Why does LOWKEY ask for location access?
Changes in time at home or in a daily routine can provide useful context when combined with other patterns such as movement and sleep. Background access allows LOWKEY to recognize these patterns even when the app is not open.
You control location permission in your iPhone Settings. Limiting permission may reduce or disable insights that depend on time-at-home patterns.
Does LOWKEY read my texts, emails, or private messages?
No. LOWKEY does not read message content, emails, photos, browsing history, or the content of calls on your phone. It also does not read private messages sent inside LOWKEY.
Who controls my information?
You do. You decide what permissions to grant, whether to use LOWKEY on your own, whom to invite, and which connection type to create.
Does LOWKEY sell my personal information?
No. LOWKEY does not sell your personal information or use it for targeted advertising.
LOWKEY uses service providers to operate and secure the app. Details about the information collected, how it is used, and the choices available to you are explained in the LOWKEY Privacy Policy.
Is my information secure?
LOWKEY uses administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards intended to protect personal information, including encryption in transit and at rest where appropriate.
No system can promise perfect security. Please review the LOWKEY Privacy Policy for more information about LOWKEY’s data practices.
Statuses and Notifications
What does my LOWKEY status mean?
Your status shows how closely your recent patterns match your personal baseline. A more noticeable status means LOWKEY is seeing a larger or more sustained change from what has been usual for you.
It is a signal of change, not a score of how well you are doing.
Does a change mean something is wrong?
No. A change may reflect travel, illness, recovery, a new schedule, training for an event, the birth of a child, a busy week, or many other parts of ordinary life.
LOWKEY can notice that something changed. It cannot know why. You provide the context.
What happens when LOWKEY notices a meaningful change?
LOWKEY sends a wellness notification to make the change easier to notice. Depending on your settings and connection choices, a person you selected may also receive a notification so they know it may be a good time to check in.
LOWKEY does not automatically contact emergency services, a clinician, or anyone you did not choose.
How does LOWKEY send invitations and notifications?
LOWKEY uses a combination of push notifications, SMS, and email. The channel used depends on the type of invitation or notification and the preferences available in your settings.
What should I do when I receive a LOWKEY notification?
Start with context. Ask whether the change makes sense based on what is happening in your life.
If the notification is about someone you are connected to, a simple call or message is usually the point. Stay curious. A LOWKEY notification does not tell you that something is wrong or require a particular response.
Will LOWKEY always get it right?
No. Phones can be left behind, permissions can change, devices can lose power, data can be incomplete, and ordinary life can look unusual. LOWKEY may notify you about a change that does not matter, and it may miss a change that does.
LOWKEY is designed to support awareness, not certainty.
Can I pause LOWKEY when I am traveling or sick?
Yes. Travel and Illness Pause Modes let you tell LOWKEY that your routine is temporarily different. You can pause related notifications for the period you select, then return to your usual settings when the pause ends.
Is LOWKEY a medical device?
No. LOWKEY is a consumer wellness product. It does not diagnose, treat, cure, prevent, or predict a disease or medical condition. It does not provide medical advice or replace a healthcare professional.
Is LOWKEY an emergency or crisis service?
No. LOWKEY is not an emergency response service, crisis service, safety device, or substitute for professional care. It does not continuously monitor anyone and cannot guarantee that a notification will be sent or received.
If you believe someone may be in immediate danger or needs urgent help, do not wait for a LOWKEY notification. Contact the appropriate local emergency or crisis service.
Technical Questions
Does LOWKEY need to stay open?
No. LOWKEY is designed to work in the background after you grant the necessary permissions. Force-quitting the app, disabling background activity, or changing permissions may prevent some information from updating.
Does LOWKEY use a lot of battery?
LOWKEY is designed to limit battery use, but any app using background activity or location uses some power. You can review LOWKEY’s battery use in your iPhone Battery settings.
What happens if my phone is offline?
Some information may update after your phone reconnects. Notifications and connected features require an internet connection and may be delayed when a device is offline.
What happens if I deny a permission?
You can choose which permissions to grant. LOWKEY may still work with fewer data sources, but some insights may be unavailable or less complete.
How do I delete my LOWKEY account?
Open LOWKEY and go to Settings > Account > Delete Account. Follow the instructions to permanently delete your account and associated personal information, subject to any limited retention required by law or described in the Privacy Policy.
Subscription and Support
How much does LOWKEY cost?
LOWKEY includes a 30-day free trial. After the trial, a subscription is $14.99 per month or $149.99 per year through the App Store. The annual subscription provides about two months at no additional cost compared with paying monthly for a year.
Prices may vary by country or region. The price shown by Apple before you confirm your purchase is the price you will be charged.
Why does LOWKEY charge a subscription?
Privacy should be part of the business model, not just a promise.
Some free services generate revenue through advertising or by using personal information for marketing. LOWKEY does not sell your personal information or use it for targeted advertising.
Your subscription helps LOWKEY employ the people who build and support the service, maintain secure infrastructure, protect your information, and improve the usefulness of notifications.
How do I manage or cancel my subscription?
LOWKEY subscriptions are managed through Apple. On your iPhone, open Settings, tap your name, and select Subscriptions. Canceling stops future renewal. It does not automatically delete your LOWKEY account.
What happens if I cancel?
You can continue using paid features until the end of your current billing period. Your subscription will not renew after that date. To remove your account and personal information, use Delete Account in LOWKEY.
How can I contact LOWKEY?
Email support@lowkeyprotection.com. Please do not send sensitive health information by email.
Still wondering about something?
Send a note directly to the LOWKEY team.