◇ Magna Tether

The invisible line home.

Schedule check-ins with your loved ones. Tap to acknowledge. If you go silent, the right people are notified — in the right order, at the right time.

$0 device · runs on the phone in your pocket · 30-second setup · days of battery in check-in mode
Three steps · no hardware

Every hiker tells someone their route.

Every parent says "text me when you get there." We just made it automatic — for the trail, the peak, the crag, the water, the road.

01 · Plan

Add your spouse, your mom, a friend — up to a handful of contacts. Each gets their own escalation tier: try-calling first, emergency second, full alert last.

02 · Check in

Every hour or two, the app asks you to check in. Tap the green button. Or just move — any position ping counts as an implicit check-in. Takes two seconds.

03 · Or don't

If you go quiet past your window, we notify your people automatically. Email. SMS. In escalating severity. With your last-known position and a live tracker link.

Going alone, on purpose

Or the line runs back to you.

Some people head out to be alone — and want it that way. No one watching, no live map, no location shared. Just a quiet check-in with yourself, and one person told only if you go silent.

Just you · private

Nobody watches — no live map, no shared link. A tether against yourself.

On your schedule

We quietly check on you, on your own cadence — hours or days between check-ins.

Only on silence

Miss a check-in, and only the one person you choose is ever told.

Location stays private

Off by default — even from us. Your position is never shared unless you turn it on.

How it compares

Different from a satellite beacon.

Magna Tether covers the 80% of trips where you've got cell or wifi at some point in the day. For true off-grid — deep backcountry, offshore, alpine — carry a PLB too.

Satellite beacon
$400 device + $30/mo
  • Works anywhere — including the deep ocean
  • Press a button when in trouble (if you can)
  • Dedicated hardware you carry
  • 14-day battery in tracking mode
  • Doesn't notice if you're unconscious or lost the device
Magna Tether
$0 device · free beta
  • Works wherever your phone has cell or wifi
  • Notices automatically when you stop being fine
  • Uses the phone already in your pocket
  • Days of battery in check-in-only mode
  • Live tracker link your family can open from anywhere
Why we built it this way

We flipped the panic button.

"Press this button if you're in trouble" only works if you're conscious, mobile, and holding the device. We flipped it. Magna Tether notices when you stop being fine — on its own.
— The reverse check-in model

Ready to go out there?

One trip. Up to ten contacts. No signup fee.

Start your first trip →
Not SAR-rated. Magna Tether is a safety net for the people waiting at home. It's not a replacement for a PLB, EPIRB, satellite messenger, or registered distress beacon. For remote or high-risk trips, always file a plan with a real authority and carry proper distress gear.