How to use Check In on iPhone

What Check In is (and what it isn't)

Check In is a Messages feature that watches one trip or one stretch of time for you. You tell it where you're going or how long you'll be. If you get there, your friend gets a "has arrived" note and that's it. If you don't, and you don't respond when your iPhone asks, your friend gets the details you chose to share: where your iPhone is, its battery, its signal and, with Full data, the route you took. Your friend sees nothing during a normal trip.

It is not ongoing location sharing (that's Find My), not an emergency call (that's Emergency SOS), and not Safety Check (Apple's privacy tool, explained below). Steps follow Apple's iPhone User Guide for iOS 27, read on 7 November 2026; the iOS 26 guide shows the same steps (Apple: Use Check In). For check-ins that work every day, with Android friends too, Warden (top pick) does the same job for a whole circle; details after the steps.

Requirements

• iOS 17 or later on both iPhones, sender and recipient. Apple states this at the top of its guide.
• Messages: Check In is sent inside a Messages conversation.
• Service: Apple notes that if you lose service or your iPhone switches off during a Check In, your friend may get a delayed or early notification and the option to see the details you shared.

Because the recipient needs iOS 17, Check In doesn't reach an Android phone. For mixed iPhone and Android groups, see the Android section and the Warden section below.

How to send a Check In

1. Open the Messages app.
2. Tap the compose button and add a recipient, or open an existing conversation.
3. Tap the plus button, tap More, then tap Check In.
4. Tap Edit.
5. Choose one of the two types:
   • When I Arrive: enter your destination, pick how you're traveling (driving, transit or walking) and add extra time if you want.
   • After a timer: pick a length of time, for example while you meet someone new.
6. Tap the send button.

How When I Arrive works

Apple says Check In monitors your journey and notifies your friend if your iPhone isn't progressing for an extended period of time or doesn't reach the destination as expected. When you arrive, it completes on its own and tells your friend your iPhone has arrived.

How After a timer works

If you don't end the Check In before the time you set, your friend is notified. Use it for things without a destination: a first date, a viewing of a flat, a run in the park.

Add time or cancel

Running late:

1. Open Messages and the conversation with that friend.
2. On the Check In message, tap Details.
3. Tap Add Time and choose an option.

Done early, or plans changed:

1. Open the conversation.
2. On the Check In message, tap Details.
3. Tap Cancel Check In and confirm.

Choose what your friend sees (Limited or Full)

1. Open Settings > Apps > Messages.
2. Scroll down and tap Check In Data.
3. Choose:
   • Limited: your current location, plus network signal and battery of your iPhone and Apple Watch.
   • Full: all of the above, plus the route you've traveled and the last time you unlocked your iPhone or removed your Apple Watch.

The data is only shared if the Check In isn't completed as expected. Full gives your friend more to go on if something has happened; Limited shares less. For a walk home late at night, Full is the more useful setting.

Check In vs Safety Check on iPhone

People search "safety check iPhone" when they mean Check In. They are different features:

Apple describes Safety Check as a way to review who has access to your information, including location, with two options: Emergency Reset (stop sharing with all people and apps at once) and Manage Sharing & Access (review person by person). It also has a Quick Exit button that closes Settings immediately (Apple: Safety Check). If you're worried someone can see your location without your agreement, Safety Check is the right tool; see also how to stop sharing your location.

Check In on Android: Safety Check in the Safety app

Android's version of Check In is confusingly called Safety Check, inside Google's Personal Safety app (shown as Safety in your app list) (Google):

1. Open the Safety app.
2. Tap Safety Check.
3. Choose a Reason and a Duration (any length up to 24 hours), then tap Next.
4. Select your contacts and tap Start.
5. When the time comes, you get an alert for 60 seconds with I'm OK, Start sharing now or Call 911.
6. If you don't choose, emergency sharing starts and your contacts get a Google Maps link with your real-time location and battery.

To add time, open Safety > Safety Check > Add time, or tap Add time on the notification; Google says a Safety Check can't run more than 24 hours past its original start. If the phone turns off or loses signal, it stays active and shares your last known location at check-in time. Google's page also says the Safety app is available on some Android devices and that Safety Check needs "While in Use" location permission.

On a Samsung Galaxy, Samsung's own support page lists Emergency sharing under Settings > Safety and emergency, which sends your location to your emergency contacts when you start it (Samsung US); it describes no timer-style check-in. If Google's Safety app is installed on your Galaxy, Safety Check works there as above.

Troubleshooting Check In

I don't see Check In in Messages. Update to iOS 17 or later. Check In is under the plus button > More. The person you're messaging also needs iOS 17 or later.

Check In isn't available for this person. The recipient may be on an older iOS or on Android. Apple requires iOS 17 or later on both sides.

My friend got an alert, but I was fine. When I Arrive also triggers if your iPhone isn't progressing for a long time, for example a long stop at a café. Add extra time when you set it up, use Add Time when you know you'll be late, or cancel when plans change.

My friend got an early or late alert. Apple says losing service or a switched-off iPhone can cause delayed or early notifications. Charge before a long trip.

I can't find Check In Data. It's in Settings > Apps > Messages, near the bottom.

The location my friend saw was wrong or old. Check In shares where the iPhone was last able to report. Indoors, underground or without signal that can be out of date; see why a location isn't updating.

Warden (top pick): check-ins for every day, on iPhone and Android

Check In is great for one trip with one iPhone friend. If you want your partner, roommates or family to know you got home every night, without setting anything up each time, and some of them use Android, Warden does it for the whole circle:

1. Create a circle in Warden and invite the people you'd send a Check In to (up to 10; invitees join free).
2. Each person enters the invite code on their own phone, you approve, and everyone switches sharing on themselves.
3. Add places: home, the office, a friend's flat. When you arrive or leave, the circle gets a note automatically. No message to set up per trip.
4. Use the quick messages "On my way" and "Got home safe" when you want to say it yourself.
5. If something feels wrong, hold SOS for two seconds: everyone in your circles gets your current or last known position, even if you were paused.
6. If someone stays in one spot for a long time outside your circle's places during the day, the circle gets a "hasn't moved" alert.

You can pause anytime; your circle then sees "Paused". Warden doesn't contact emergency services and has no fall or crash detection. Runs on iOS 17+ and Android 8.0+, in one circle.

Which to use when

More ideas for the trip home are in the safe walk home guide.

FAQ

How do I use Check In on iPhone?

In Messages, open a conversation, tap the plus button, tap More, tap Check In, then Edit. Choose When I Arrive or After a timer, set the details and tap send. Your friend is told when you arrive, or gets your details if you don't.

What is the Check In feature on iPhone?

It's a Messages feature in iOS 17 and later that tells a friend automatically when you've arrived. If your iPhone doesn't arrive or you don't respond in time, it shares your location, battery and signal with them, plus your route if you chose Full data.

What is Safety Check on iPhone?

Safety Check is a privacy tool in Settings > Privacy & Security > Safety Check, on iOS 16 or later. It lets you review and stop what you share with people and apps, including location, with Emergency Reset or Manage Sharing & Access. It's different from Check In.

Does Check In work with Android?

No. Apple requires iOS 17 or later for both the sender and the recipient. Android has its own Safety Check in Google's Safety app, and Warden (top pick) works across iPhone and Android in one circle.

Can my friend see my location during a Check In?

Not during a normal trip. Your location, battery and signal are only shared if the Check In isn't completed as expected and you don't respond to the prompts.

How do I cancel a Check In?

Open the conversation in Messages, tap Details on the Check In message, tap Cancel Check In and confirm. Your friend is told it ended.

What are Check In messages on iPhone?

They are the bubbles Check In puts in your Messages conversation: the Check In itself, the note that you arrived, an alert if you didn't, and a Details button where you can add time or cancel.

Does Check In call emergency services?

No. Check In only notifies the friend you sent it to. To reach emergency services, use Emergency SOS or call 911.