How it works
One tap, honestly explained.
What Ureka Lantern does automatically, what needs your tap, and what no app on a phone can do.
Coming soon. Ureka Lantern is in development and not yet in the App Store or Google Play. This page describes the planned first version. Details may change before release.
First-time setup
- Add up to three trusted contacts. Type a phone number or email for each, or pick from your contacts if you allow it. Contacts are saved only on your phone, in its secure storage.
- Allow location when asked. The app explains why right before your phone asks. You can use “while using the app” permission; nothing runs in the background.
- Optional: turn on photos. Off by default. If you turn it on, the app asks for camera permission and uses your phone’s normal, visible camera.
- Send yourself a test. A test check-in shows exactly what your contacts would receive.
Each check-in
Tap the button
The first screen is the button. Your phone gets the best location it can, with its accuracy and the time.
Message is prepared
A short message is built: the time, a map link, and the accuracy. If photos are on, they are added after location is ready, never before.
You send it
Your phone’s messaging or mail app opens with the message filled in. You press Send. Then you are done.
What it will tell you, truthfully
| Status you may see | What it really means |
|---|---|
| Location ready | Your phone has a fix. The app shows how accurate it is and how recent. |
| Message prepared | The text and any photos are ready to hand to your messaging app. |
| Handed to your messaging app | The app opened Messages or your mail app. This is what Ureka Lantern can confirm. |
| Cancelled | You backed out. Nothing was shared. |
It will never say “delivered” unless the phone can actually verify that, which standard text and email apps usually cannot.
Why it is two taps, not one
We would love a true one-tap send. But iPhone does not let apps send text messages silently, and Google Play restricts apps from sending SMS on their own. Those rules exist to protect you from apps that text people without your say-so. So Ureka Lantern gets everything ready with one tap, and your phone asks you to confirm the send. We think being clear about that is better than a promise we cannot keep.
Several contacts
A single group text can show your contacts’ numbers to each other. By default the app plans to prepare a separate message for each person, so you may confirm up to three sends in a row. This choice is still being tested.
What it does not do
- It does not call 911 or any emergency service.
- It does not track you over time, run in the background, or send anything on its own.
- It does not secretly use the camera or microphone.
- It does not need cell service to be safe to use, but it does need service to send a message.
- It cannot promise a message will arrive. Carriers, signal and your contacts’ phones are outside our control.