Both Ends fact sheet

bothends.care · press@bothends.care

What it is

A free, private app where a person's own circle of three to five people looks after them in a hard moment of any kind: panic, low days, grief, trauma responses, urges to use, urges to self-harm, burnout, loneliness or caregiving strain. Tagline: "Every hard moment has two ends. Hold yours."

What it is not

Both Ends is not an emergency service, not therapy, and not a medical device. It does not diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any medical condition. Nobody is watching, nobody is guaranteed to answer, and helpers are ordinary people, not professionals.

The two ends

iAsked is the person's side. On a good day they write their own card. In a hard moment they tap once.
iAnswered is the helper's side. A helper sees the person's own instructions, says "I've got this one", and later sends short check-ins.

What Both Ends does

My card: for each kind of hard moment, what it looks like, what helps, what not to say, and who to contact for what. The person chooses which helpers see each section
I'm having a moment: one tap, choose the kind, and helpers who are on are asked to reach out. 988 sits beside the button. A moment carries only its kind and an optional pre-set ask; there is nothing to type
Nobody has answered: backup helpers are asked after three minutes. After five minutes with no answer, the person is told plainly and shown crisis lines
I've got this one: one helper claims the moment so the others can stand down. "I can't right now" needs no reason. Helpers can ask for backup or hand a moment back
Follow-up check-ins: for eight weeks after a moment (next day, day 3, then weeks 1, 2, 4, 6 and 8), helpers are reminded to send a few words ending "No reply needed."
Be someone's person: join as a helper with nobody attached, read a five-minute guide, and hand someone an offer link or printable QR card ("put me in your circle"). A helper can never add themselves
Front doors: panic and anxiety, grief, urges and recovery, trauma responses, burnout, caregiving, or anything else. Each starts the card with fitting examples and shows helpers fitting guidance. People living with dissociation are pointed to the sister app, iDID
Helper hours: off hours, a backup setting, a day or a week off, and a no-guilt way to step back
A circle of at least two: the moment button stays off until the circle has two helpers, so nobody is anyone's only helper. Three to five is encouraged
Circle, invitations and roles: one-time invitation links sent from the person's own phone, with invite status and reminders; per-person access (view and add, view only, or only selected information); silent removal; handing the circle to the person it is for
Read-only views for a therapist or care team: scoped, explicitly agreed to, always current, and removable at any time
Safety plan and Check on me, a quieter, non-urgent ask for a call, text or visit
Pause and grounding (breathing, box breathing, 5-4-3-2-1, "right now") and a wordless Calm space
Comfort kit of photos, songs, quotes and letters, always private to the person
Appointments and reminders with calendar export, and quiet hours
Gentle check-ins: a private "How are you doing?" nudge that the circle never sees
Find support by ZIP code: crisis lines, helplines, low-cost care and groups, plus saved support contacts
Quick hide and auto-lock; a sample circle to explore first; in-app help guides and a quick tour; works offline

Privacy

Encrypted on the device (AES-256-GCM) with the person's passphrase plus a recovery code
End-to-end encrypted online circle: the server stores only ciphertext. When the owner removes someone, the circle's key is rotated
Honest limit: the server can still see which accounts share a circle and when records change. Both Ends treats that as health data
No ads, no trackers, no data sales. No location, "last seen", read receipts or scores. Notification text is always generic. Both Ends never texts anyone
Download a backup file, or delete everything, at any time
No AI talks to anyone in Both Ends

Accessibility and sensory design

Calm themes including dark and high contrast, larger text sizes, calm-motion mode, a dyslexia-friendly font option, large tap targets, and no sounds or flashing.

What is and is not known

Both Ends is version 0.1.0, an early release that has not yet been tested with real circles. An app that calls on a known person in the moment has never been tested in a trial. The follow-up check-ins are the best-evidenced part: short "caring contacts" have been studied in trials. Helper guidance raises helpers' confidence; it has not been shown to change outcomes for the person helped.

Availability

Free web app at app.bothends.care for phones, tablets and computers (installable to the home screen). For adults 18 and older, in the United States only at launch. English only at launch.

Important

Both Ends is not an emergency service. In crisis in the US, call or text 988, or text HOME to 741741. In immediate danger, call 911.