Safety

Last updated October 16, 2026

In short

Only take a suggestion if you feel up to it. If you're unwell, tired, or your health makes it unwise, skip it. Use your own judgment every time.
Every suggestion is optional. You know your body and your day best.
Brightwend isn't an emergency or monitoring service. If someone is hurt or in danger, call 911.
We never share anyone's live location. Not with family, other users or anybody else.
Only the people in your own circle see the days you share.
Nobody from Brightwend will ever call, text or email you asking for money, gift cards, gift codes or bank details.

Don't take a suggestion if you're not up to it. A Brightwend suggestion is never an instruction, and never advice that something is safe for you. If you don't feel well, if your health, mobility, eyesight, hearing or medicines make it unwise, or if it just doesn't feel right today, don't do it. Choose "Not today" or the stay-at-home idea instead. You know your body, your health and your day better than we do, so use your own judgment every time.

A word about scams. Nobody from Brightwend will ever call, text or email you to ask for money, gift cards, bank or card details, your Social Security number, your password or a sign-in code, or the code on a Brightwend gift. If you've been given a Brightwend gift, you type its code into the app or at brightwend.com/redeem yourself. We'll never ask you to read it out, pass it on, or buy anything to unlock it. The only place to pay for Brightwend is on brightwend.com or in the app, when you choose to. If anyone asks, even someone claiming to be us, stop and email [email protected].

Before you head out

Check the weather. Brightwend looks at the forecast, National Weather Service warnings and air quality for your area. On bad days it suggests something indoors or at home, and when there's a warning it suggests staying in. It can't see everything, so if it doesn't look right outside, stay in. Summer heat in the South is hard on everyone.
Be home before dark. If you've told us you don't drive at night, we try not to suggest evening outings.
Say how you're feeling, if you like. On some days the app asks. If you're a bit tired or not feeling great, you'll get something shorter or something at home. It's optional, and your answer isn't shared with your family.
Call ahead if hours, paths, parking or restrooms matter to you. When a place lists a phone number, you'll find it on the place card.
Tell someone where you're going, and take your phone, some water, and anything you usually need.
Turn around whenever you like. If something doesn't feel right on the way or when you get there, going home is the right call. It still counts as getting out.
If a place was closed, tell us in the app (Help, then "A place was closed or wrong"). We won't send you back there for 60 days, and someone on our team looks into it.
If you're not sure an activity suits your health, ask your doctor first.

What Brightwend isn't

Brightwend suggests things to do. It isn't a medical, care, emergency, monitoring or transport service, and nobody at Brightwend is checking whether you went out or came home. Family members shouldn't rely on it to know someone is safe. If anyone is hurt, unwell or in danger, call 911.

Location

We don't collect your live location, and the app never asks for it.
We never ask for your home address. We ask your ZIP code (or just your state) to find your nearest city, and which areas you'd like to get out to. We keep only a rough area with your account, about 7 miles across, to suggest places near you and to look up your forecast and warnings. We never keep your ZIP code or street address, and your rough area isn't shared with your family. The weather services we use get that same rough area and nothing else about you. The one exception is your choice: if you give Brightwend Family to yourself, we ask where to mail your kit and book when you pay.
If your family pays for Brightwend Family, they give their own mailing address for the welcome kit and the book. We never ask for yours.
Nothing in the app shows where you are right now, or where you tend to be on a certain day.

Family circles

Family members can see only the days you choose to share, and they can send encouragement. They can't change your settings, see your location, or see days you didn't share.

The person who runs a circle invites people to it with a link they send themselves. Each link works once and lasts 14 days. A family member can also set Brightwend up for you with a set-up link. When you sign in through it, the circle is yours, and the person who made the link is in it with you. You can remove anyone from your circle on the Family tab.

With Brightwend Family, a family member can pick a place for you: they choose somewhere near you, and it becomes your suggestion on a day it's open. It's still only a suggestion. Only go if you're up to it today, and "Not today" is always fine. They can also plan an outing with you and offer a ride. That ride is between you and them. Brightwend doesn't provide or arrange transport.

You can pause Brightwend for 1 week, 2 weeks, a month, or until you turn it back on. Your family only sees that you're "taking a little break", never why.

People who read the app's content

Every suggestion is read by a person before it's published. People on our team also read every report about a place. We keep that work going as the app grows, because keeping people safe is a lasting part of running Brightwend.

Report something

Email [email protected]. For a place, you can also tell us in the app (Help, then "A place was closed or wrong"). If someone is in danger, call 911 first. If you're worried an older adult is being mistreated or exploited, you can call Adult Protective Services in your county.