Questions families ask

No. Brightwend is free for good: the daily outing, and one family member following along, with no trial and no time limit. Your parent is never asked to pay, and never sees a price in the app. Brightwend Family is optional. It brings in the rest of the family and their printed book, and it's bought by family, for your own family or as a gift. If they use Brightwend on their own and want the book, the app shows them how to send the gift page to family. The year goes to your parent's Brightwend, and everyone in their circle can join in.

$139 for a year · holiday launch price through Jan 31. $179 from February 1. One payment, and it never renews. Everything for a year, one payment: a new outing every morning, the whole family following along, the welcome kit, and their hardcover Year of Good Days book. About 38¢ a day. Buy it for your own family or give it as a gift: it's the same Brightwend Family either way. Want to try it first? Start free. Free has no time limit.

No. Brightwend Family is one payment for one year, and it never renews. We won't charge you again. Near the end of the year we'll ask whether anyone wants another year. Nobody is charged unless they choose to buy it.

Everyone in the family follows along and writes back. You can pick places for them, for tomorrow, their birthday or the next sunny Saturday, and even plan a surprise get-together. There's a Sunday family digest, gentle check-in alerts if they turn them on, a map of every place they share, a welcome kit in the mail, and their year in a hardcover book. One Brightwend Family covers everyone in their circle.

The days your parent chooses to share from the last 7 days, with their photos and notes, and they can react to each one. With Family, every shared day is kept, everyone can write back, and the whole family can join.

Your parent turns them on, and chooses after how many quiet days (2 to 7). If they haven't used Brightwend for that long, the family gets one gentle note in the app, and by email if we have one for them. It's a nudge to call, not an emergency or safety service, and Brightwend never tracks location. They can turn it off any time.

Yes, with Family. Pick a place and a day, and that morning it's their suggestion, with "Sam picked this for you" and your note. We check it's open and suits them that day; if it doesn't, they get a different suggestion and we tell you why. For a surprise, add a time and a ride. The rest of the family can say they're coming, while your parent just sees a pick. "Not today" is always fine, and if they say it, you'll hear right away.

Never. It's only ever a suggestion. Only go if you're up to it today. "Not today" is always a fine answer.

Brightwend has named places in 32 metro areas across NC, SC, GA and FL. Elsewhere in those states, and anywhere else in the US, it suggests everyday ideas at home and close by, without named places yet. We'll tell you when we arrive near you.

A person approves every idea and every place. AI helps us word suggestions; it can't add a place or change one. See how suggestions work.

Their Year of Good Days is a hardcover with every day they shared that year. Each day has up to 2 photos, their note, the place on a map, who picked it, and the family's notes printed beside it. Only days they chose to share are printed. It's included with Family, and printed and mailed at no extra cost.

To you, the person paying (or the person who bought the gift), at the address you give when you pay. We'll mail the welcome kit and, at the end of the year, the book to you, so you can wrap it and hand it over yourself. We never ask your parent where they live.

Email [email protected] with the new address. It applies to anything that hasn't shipped yet. Before their book prints, we'll email you to check that the address is still right. The address locks when the book goes to print. If a kit or book comes back to us, we'll reship it once for free.

They can pause for 1 week, 2 weeks, a month, or until they turn it back on. Family only sees "taking a little break", never why. A Family year is 365 days in a row from when Family starts, and pausing doesn't stop it. If they need a long break, write to [email protected] and we'll work it out with you. If they've shared fewer than 20 days by the end of the year, we'll ask you whether to print now or keep adding and print later.

If nobody buys another year, they keep using Brightwend free. They choose the one person who stays in their circle. Everyone else is paused, not deleted, and comes back if Family starts again. Their days stay theirs: everything they've shared stays in their app, and their book pages are kept.

Yes. It's their circle, and only they decide who's in it. If they remove the person who paid, Family keeps running for them, and we'll let you know.

Yes. Full refund within 14 days of purchase, no questions asked, or within 30 days if the gift code hasn’t been used. You keep the welcome kit. Email [email protected].

No, and neither do you. Brightwend works in the web browser on any phone, tablet or computer, and store apps are coming too. Your parent can send you a link to join their circle. You can also set it up for them and send them one link to start. You sign in with Google, Apple or your email.

Texts aren't switched on yet. For now, your parent's morning suggestion comes as an app notification or by email, and it's always free. Their one free family member hears about their days the same way. Once texts start, texts to the rest of the family come with Brightwend Family. Anyone can reply STOP to stop texts.