FamilyTalk
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Safety & trust

You are considering letting a stranger into a lonely parent's week. That is a serious thing to ask, so here is exactly what stands behind it — and exactly where we stop.

Privacy

Families never read transcripts. Ever.

Your parent's conversations belong to your parent. We designed the family side to answer “how is he doing?” and deliberately not “what did he say?” — those are different questions, and only one of them is yours to ask. This is a policy, not a feature we haven't built yet: there is no screen, no export and no support ticket that will hand you a transcript.

What you see

  • A plain-language summary of how the call went
  • A wellbeing signal, measured against your parent's own baseline
  • Topics covered, and moments that landed well
  • A short note written by the companion
  • Anything our safety review decided you should know

What you never see

  • The audio recording
  • The transcript
  • Quotes of what your parent actually said
  • Anything they marked private — the one exception being a situation where they are in danger, and they are told that rule out loud when they agree to start

How a companion gets approved

Every companion clears all six steps before their first call. Roughly a quarter to a third of applicants make it through.

  1. Identity

    A government ID and a live selfie check, so we know exactly who will be on the call. Any mismatch ends the application.

    In the United StatesGovernment photo ID plus selfie liveness check.

    In IsraelPassport or teudat zehut plus selfie liveness check.

  2. Background check

    A criminal and watchlist screen appropriate to where they live, against a disqualifying-offence list reviewed by counsel.

    In the United StatesNational criminal, county records, sex-offender registry and global watchlist — plus continuous re-checking after approval.

    In IsraelPolice certificate (te'udat yosher) supplied by the applicant and reviewed for authenticity, plus a global watchlist screen.

  3. References

    Two references, each on a structured form and followed up by a real phone call. One weak reference means harder questions at interview; two ends it.

    In the United StatesTwo references, contacted directly.

    In IsraelTwo references, contacted directly, in market language.

  4. Interview

    A 25-minute recorded video interview in the language they would work in, scored against a fixed rubric: warmth, listening, boundaries, and how they answer real situations — “the person you call asks you to buy him something”, “the person you call seems confused today”.

    In the United StatesConducted in English.

    In IsraelConducted in Hebrew or Russian, as relevant.

  5. Training and a quiz

    Modules on talking with older adults, boundaries and scope, recognising financial scams, emergency steps, and privacy rules. They must score 85% or better, with one retake.

    In the United StatesSame curriculum, US emergency protocol.

    In IsraelLocalised, Israeli emergency protocol.

  6. Probation

    Their first five calls are sampled and reviewed by a person, with a lower threshold for raising anything unusual, before they're fully active.

    In the United StatesReviewed at call five.

    In IsraelReviewed at call five.

Approved companions are re-checked every year and re-sign their agreement. If a check lapses, their calendar closes automatically until it's resolved.

What holds during a call

Vetting is the front door. These are the rules that stay in force every single week.

  • Everything happens inside the platform. Phone numbers, addresses, emails and social accounts are not exchanged — in either direction — and attempts to exchange them are flagged.
  • No money and no gifts move between your parent and their companion, ever, in either direction.
  • Both people see a recording indicator for the entire call.
  • Companions have a safety button, and an emergency card with the local emergency numbers for where your parent lives. They are told plainly: if you witness a medical emergency, call local emergency services first, then us.
  • Companions are protected too. Your parent's address and contact details are never shown to them, and harassment ends a match in either direction.

Consent, taken seriously

Recording an older person's conversations is only defensible if they genuinely agreed. So we make that agreement real, and we keep it.

  • Your parent agrees themselves, out loud, in their own language, guided through a spoken script before the first call — and that agreement is recorded and kept.
  • We ask everyone on the call, in every market, even where local law would let us ask only one person.
  • The recording indicator is on screen for the whole call, every call.
  • They can withdraw at any time. Calls then run without recording, and your update becomes attendance plus the companion's note.

What happens to the recordings

  • Audio is encrypted, kept for 30 days, and then deleted.
  • Opening a transcript requires a named role, a written reason and a case number. Every access is logged, and the log is reviewed monthly.
  • We hold no medical records and we are not part of anyone's healthcare.
  • You can export or delete your family's data whenever you want.
  • Everyone we rely on to run the service is listed publicly, with a data-protection agreement in place.

What this is not

This is companionship, not care. We are not a medical service and we do not give medical advice. The wellbeing signal is a read on mood and engagement over time — never a health score, and never a statement about anyone's condition. If you are worried about your parent's health, please speak with their doctor.

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