Help and how-to guides

1. Tick what's going on for your family and add your children's first names. You can change these any time in More, under Your family and privacy.
2. Open the Log tab and tap "Add entry". Write one thing that happened recently, in your own words. Messy is fine.
3. Open the Safety tab and start a grab sheet for each child. Fill in what you can. You can come back to it.
4. If you have a meeting coming up, add it on Today, under Coming up.

You don't have to do it all at once. One thing at a time is enough.

1. iPhone or iPad: open SafeHold in Safari, tap the Share button, then "Add to Home Screen".
2. Android: open SafeHold in Chrome, tap the three dots, then "Install app" or "Add to Home screen".
3. Computer: in Chrome or Edge, click the install icon at the right of the address bar.

The icon says SafeHold. If someone might look at your phone, you can keep using it in the browser instead.

1. Open More, then "Reminders and calendar".
2. Tap "Turn on reminders on this device", and allow notifications when your phone asks.
3. Choose "Remind me the day before" and "Remind me an hour before".
4. To see appointments in your own calendar, tap "Make my private calendar link", then Google Calendar, Apple Calendar or Outlook.

1. Open the Log tab and tap "Add entry".
2. Choose what kind of thing it was, for example an incident, a contact from a professional or a good day.
3. Check the date and time under "When". Change it if it happened earlier.
4. Fill in the four parts: What happened, What I did, How they responded and How it ended. Leave any part blank if you need to.
5. Tap "Save entry". SafeHold gives it a reference number, like L-0001, so you can point to it later.

Write it as soon as you can, while you still remember the words people used.

1. Open the Round tab and tap "Add a person". Add their name, role and organisation.
2. Under their name, tap "Add a promise". Write what they said they'd do, when they agreed it, and when it's due by.
3. When it goes overdue, SafeHold shows it in red. Tap "Write a chase email" for a polite email you can copy and send.
4. Add an update each time you chase or hear back, so the whole story is in one place.

1. On Today, under School today, tap In, Late, Not in or No school for each child.
2. If they were late, add the time they arrived. If they were not in, add why.
3. Add any notes about this morning, such as how they were before school.
4. Tick "Also add this to the Log" if you want it in your Log too.

Doing it every day, even on good days, gives you a clear record for school meetings.

1. In More, under Your family and privacy, tick "Separated or co-parenting". The Co-parenting tab then appears at the bottom of the screen.
2. Tap "Add the other parent's name" and put what you call them, such as their first name or Dad. You can leave it as "the other parent".
3. Tap "Add" at the bottom right and choose what to add: dates for the schedule, a handover, a message, an expense, an agreed change or something you shared. Or tap the "Add" link under any section.
4. For handovers, put the planned and actual time, what happened, and how the children seemed before and after.
5. Expenses keep a running total of who owes who. This isn't financial or legal advice. Child maintenance is separate.
6. In Who said what, tap "Help me reply calmly" to get a short, polite reply to a difficult message. Read it through before you send it.

It's private to you. The other parent never sees any of it. Keep it factual, and please don't add family court documents, orders or case numbers.

1. On Today, under Coming up, tap "Add appointment". Add what it is, when, who with and where.
2. Before the meeting, tap "Get me ready" on the appointment. SafeHold puts everything since the last meeting on one page.
3. Check it, add anything missing, then tap Copy, Print or "Save as PDF".
4. In the meeting, tap "Open Meeting mode" to keep notes as you go.

1. Open You. Under Who can help or Your local support, find the service you spoke to.
2. Tap "Add a contact".
3. Add when, how, who you spoke with, what you talked about, what they said they'd do and what happens next.
4. Tap Save. It goes in your Log as a professional contact, and the service shows when you last spoke to them.

Tap Edit on any of Your local support to add who you deal with, their phone, email and website.

1. Open the Safety tab. Under Missing-child grab sheets, tap your child's name.
2. Add a recent photo and fill in what you can: what they look like, what they usually wear, their phone number, friends and places they go.
3. Update it every few weeks, and whenever something changes, such as a new haircut or phone number.
4. Tap "Share as PDF" or Print to keep a copy somewhere safe.

Fill it in on a calm day. If your child ever goes missing, everything the police will ask for is in one place.

1. If they're in danger, ring 999 now.
2. Open the Safety tab and tap "[Name] is missing". SafeHold records the time and walks you through it.
3. Ring 101 (or 999 if they're in danger). Give them the grab sheet, and write down the reference number.
4. When they come home, tap "home safe" in missing mode, so it's all on record.

There are more steps in More, under "What do I do if…".

1. On Today, open "Help with letters and questions", or open Files and tap "Add a letter".
2. Take a photo of the letter, or paste in the words of the email.
3. Tap "Decode it". SafeHold explains what it means, what you need to do, and by when.
4. It's kept in Files. Add your own notes under "My notes on this letter".

You can also forward emails straight into Files. In Files, under Letters and emails, tap "Set it up".

1. Open Files. Printable pages are at the top.
2. Tap Print next to the page you want. You can also tap Print on the Log, Round, To do, Coming up and Safety screens.
3. Choose "With my details" or "Blank sheet", and which child.
4. Tap "Save as PDF" to save a file, or Print to print it. On a phone, "Save as PDF" lets you save it to Files or send it.

Printed pages can be seen by anyone who picks them up. Keep them somewhere private and safe.

1. Open Files and tap Reports at the top (it is in ☰ More too).
2. Choose the dates: This week, This month, or Choose dates for your own From and To.
3. Choose which child, and tick what to include, like your log, contacts with services, promises or missing episodes.
4. Tap Print, Save as PDF, or Send to share it with whoever you choose. Each part starts on a new page.

Read it through before you send it. Family court items are left out unless you choose to include them for a named person.

1. Open More, then "Share your timeline".
2. Choose which child and the dates. Tick "Include outstanding promises" to add what professionals still owe you.
3. Copy it into an email, or tap "Save as PDF".
4. Read it through before you send it. Only share what you're happy for them to see.

Please don't share family court documents, court orders, reports or case numbers. Sharing them can break court rules.

1. Tap Quick exit, at the top right of any screen. It covers SafeHold straight away if someone walks in, with a plain cover like a shopping list. It never asks "are you sure?".
2. In a web browser, Quick exit also opens Google in a new tab, and the SafeHold tab turns into the cover and locks. Pressing Back won't go back to what you were looking at.
3. To get back in, tap the small ··· in the corner of the cover. If you've set a PIN, SafeHold asks for it. In a web browser with no PIN set, you'll need to log in again.
4. On a computer, pressing Esc twice does a quick exit too, even when a pop-up is open.
5. To close a pop-up, tap Close at its top right. Close never covers SafeHold.
6. Quick exit can't wipe your browser history. If someone might check it, use a private window or clear your history.
7. Open More, then "Your family and privacy". Under Privacy, turn on "Discreet mode", so SafeHold hides itself whenever you switch away.
8. Under "What the cover looks like", choose the cover you want.
9. Set a PIN under "Unlock PIN", so only you can open it again.

1. Open More, then Your account.
2. Under 2-step log-in, tap "Switch on 2-step log-in". You'll need a free authenticator app, such as Google Authenticator. Scan the code, then type the 6 digits it shows.
3. Under "Where you're logged in", check the devices you see. If you don't recognise one, tap "This wasn't me". If Today shows "New log-in on…" and it wasn't you, tap "Lock my account".
4. If you've lost a phone or think someone knows your password, tap "Log out on all devices", then log back in and change your password.

When someone logs in on a device SafeHold hasn't seen before, we email you and show a notice on Today.

1. SafeHold is only ever at app.safehold.org.uk. If the address is different, it isn't us. We'll never ask for your password.
2. Before you type your password, check the address bar says app.safehold.org.uk.
3. If an email or message asks for your password, or sends you to a different address, don't click anything. Forward it to hello@safehold.org.uk if you're not sure.
4. If you see "New log-in on…" on Today and it wasn't you, tap "Lock my account". Everyone is logged out straight away. Then log back in and change your password.

Our emails come from hello@safehold.org.uk and end with the same line about app.safehold.org.uk.

1. Check the time on your phone is set automatically. Codes don't work if the clock is wrong.
2. Use the newest code. Codes change every 30 seconds.
3. If you've lost your phone, email hello@safehold.org.uk from the email address you use for SafeHold.
4. We'll check it's really you, then switch off 2-step log-in so you can get back in. Switch it on again with your new phone.

1. Open More, then Your account.
2. Under Download my data, tap "Save a readable copy (PDF)" or "Download everything (JSON file)".
3. To delete everything, tap "Delete my account" and type DELETE. This can't be undone.

If you don't use SafeHold for 2 years, we email you first. If you still don't log in within 30 days, your account is deleted.

1. Open More, then "Your plan: SafeHold Plus".
2. Tap "Change card, switch or cancel". You can change your card, switch between monthly and yearly, or cancel.
3. If you cancel, you keep Plus until the end of the time you've paid for. Your records are never deleted.