How we test KindredMind

The person on the other end of a KindredMind conversation may be confused, frightened, or alone. Every standard we publish is tested before a change reaches families, and tested again whenever anything changes. This page describes that testing.

At a glance

Before any change reaches families, it must pass these safety tests.

The safety layer under every conversation

These checks apply to Voice and Presence, in every care mode.

A safety check before every word

Every reply passes a safety check before it is spoken. We test that check in both directions: it must catch anything unsafe, and it must let kind and honest answers through. In our latest full safety run, 192 replies across Voice and Presence, in both the early memory changes and dementia modes, none were unsafe.

Emergencies in every mode

When someone says they have fallen, have chest pain, or need help, the voice companion tells them to call 911. In the dementia mode, when no family is listed, it also tells them to call 911 when they talk about not wanting to live. For a household emergency, such as a fall, chest pain, a call for help or self-harm, you get a push notification, a text and a phone call. Household backup contacts get a text and the phone call chain. The conversation stays open with no goodbye. If emergency alerts are off, emergency texts and calls are skipped. Self-harm still reaches you, the account holder, as an urgent alert. In a care home, emergencies go to the facility's staff alert contacts. If no one at the facility can be reached, the family caregiver is alerted. We test this in every care mode, on Voice and Presence, before every release.

When someone talks about not wanting to live

If someone says they want to die, do not want to be here anymore, or that everyone would be better off without them, it is treated as an emergency in every care mode, during the conversation. You and your backup contacts get the same alerts as any other emergency, and the conversation stays open with no goodbye. In the early memory changes mode, the voice companion says: "Please call or text 988 now, or call 911. I'm here with you."

We test this on real conversation paths on Voice and Presence, in every care mode, with and without family listed. Each case must raise the alert while the conversation is still open.

When someone says they were hurt

If someone says a person hurt, hit, pushed or mistreated them, the voice companion answers kindly and tells them to tell a doctor, a nurse, or someone they trust. Reports of being hurt, hit, pushed or mistreated alert you and your backup contacts by text only, with no phone calls.

Concerns found after the call

Ordinary distress or money worries found in review after the call alert only you, the account holder, by push notification and text. If you have no push notification set up, email is used too.

Model rules and safety

KindredMind’s dementia mode never corrects the person. This is a product rule, not a rule for human caregivers or proof of better care outcomes. Early-memory mode corrects only the day, date, time, a past event, or whether someone is alive. It does so briefly and kindly, once. There is no special factual-correction rule for medication, money, safety or emergency mistakes. In every mode, emergency and safeguarding steps come first. The companion never gives medical advice, tells someone to take, skip or change medication, or confirms whether medication was taken. A fall or chest pain gets 911 guidance and an alert. It does not call 911.

For money worries, it says: “Thank you for telling me. Please keep your money with you for now. Let’s tell your family so they can help.” The conversation is checked afterwards for money worries, and only the account holder is alerted.

Family notes stay inside the rules

Family caregivers can tell the voice companion about the person they love: favorite topics, family names, routines, a nickname, and the words of a reminder. Everything a family caregiver types that the voice companion uses is checked before it is saved. We test that check with 100 harmful instructions written in wording it has never seen, including medication advice, money, secrets, and pretending to be a relative. All of them are refused, ordinary notes still save, and the safety rules always come first.

Honest and open

The voice companion never claims to be a real person, and never promises to keep a secret from family. In the early memory changes mode, it answers honestly every time it is asked what it is. We test these in every care mode after every change.

Voice

Full conversations, start to finish

We run complete conversations of 150 turns, from hello to goodbye, the same way they happen on a cell phone or a landline. We check that the voice companion stays calm, keeps the person's details straight, follows every published standard, and ends kindly. We also test long pauses, interruptions and dropped calls.

Thousands of test conversations

We test the voice companion with nearly 4,000 scripted requests across Voice and Presence. They range from everyday conversation topics to hard moments: repeated questions, confusion about time and place, asking for someone who has passed away, fear at night, a fall, chest pain, pain, feeling low, a stranger asking for money, someone saying they were hurt, and a request to keep a secret. Each reply is checked against our published standards and our safety rules.

Presence

Full conversations on the tablet

We run complete conversations of 150 turns with the face on a tablet, in every care mode, from hello to goodbye. We check the same standards as Voice, and that time is counted once and only once.

Every screen size and language

We test the Presence screens at tablet and phone sizes, including Android tablets and iPad sizes. We test the voice companion's instructions and language settings in each of the 15 supported languages.

Reminders

Reminders are covered by the same automated test suite as the rest of the service. That includes:

• schedules and quiet hours
• permission before anything is sent
• By text or email, they can reply ALL OK, OK or I’m OK. For reminders only, they can reply DONE or SKIP. They can also reply CALL ME or NOT OK. On a call, press 1 for “I’m okay” or “got it,” 2 to ask their caregiver to call, or 3 to hear it again. CALL ME, NOT OK and key 2 alert you, the account holder, right away. Reminders never alert backup contacts. A reply is what the person says, not proof that a task was done or that they are well.
• If a wellness check gets no answer, we try once more after 15 minutes, then let you know. Alerts go only to the account holder.
• opt-out and opt-in by text
• plans and billing

Behind every conversation

More than 9,000 automated checks cover the rest of the service, from setup and schedules to alerts, privacy, data export and billing. We test every screen at phone and tablet sizes. Our code has also been through repeated independent reviews of safety, privacy, security and billing.

What testing cannot promise

We test before every release and keep testing as the service changes. It is not a guarantee. KindredMind is not a medical device or an emergency service. That is why every reply has a safety check, why family caregivers are alerted when something needs them, and why a human route to help always remains. In an emergency, call 911.

Questions about safety?

We are glad to walk you through how KindredMind keeps your loved one safe. Contact us any time.

Related reading

• How we protect them
• The evidence behind what we say
• Dementia Model Guide
• Early Memory Model Guide

Frequently asked questions