Nära has two sides. The senior gets a simple screen with large buttons on their iPhone or iPad. The family sets everything up remotely from their own iPhone, iPad or Mac. This manual covers both.
Want to look around first? Choose Try with Example Data, then As Family or As Senior. The example lives only on that device and never sends real alerts. End it in Settings with End Example.
Nära requires you to be signed in to iCloud. A device can be in one family circle at a time.
A new family circle starts in setup mode. No alerts go off, so nobody worries while the senior’s device is being paired and the times are set. The overview shows the card Setting up the family circle with three steps:
Watching also starts by itself the first time the senior taps All Well. That shows the senior’s device is paired, so you don’t have to remember to start it.
Only the person who created the family circle can start watching. Others in the family see that the circle is being set up.
Every morning the senior taps the big All Well button. The family knows at once, and the senior sees when the family was told. If no check-in comes, the family is alerted in steps. The default times are:
Change the times in Settings › If All Well Doesn’t Come. They always stay in order; move one and the others follow. Alerts are time-sensitive and show up even when a Focus is on.
The overview shows today’s status, from waiting to the whole family being alerted, and Past Week shows when the senior checked in each day.
How alerts work: Nära has no server of its own. Each family member’s device schedules the alerts itself, and a check-in cancels them through iCloud, even when the app isn’t open. If your device is offline when the senior checks in, an alert can still come. Open Nära to see the actual status. Open the app now and then, as alerts are scheduled one week ahead.
The senior’s screen has Call the Family with a large card per person: Call makes a normal phone call and Video starts FaceTime. Choose who appears in Settings › Call buttons for …. At least one person must stay selected.
The family calls the senior with Call and Video on the overview.
Under Ask for Help the senior has a few large buttons, such as I need help with shopping or The TV isn’t working. One tap and a confirmation sends it to the whole family as a notification. Whoever can help taps I’ll Handle It on the overview, and the senior sees who is on it. For emergencies, always call 112.
Choose the buttons in Settings › Ask for Help (up to six). The notification says that help is needed; open Nära to see what it is about.
On the senior’s device, Siri can do the same things without looking at the screen:
Under News the family shares small things from everyday life. Tap New Post, write what happened, add a photo if you like and tap Share. On a Mac you can also drag in a photo or press ⌘N.
The senior sees News from the Family, one post at a time in large text. Read Aloud reads the text out loud, Send ❤️ sends a heart and Call … calls whoever wrote it.
The Photo of the Week is shown as a framed photo on the senior’s screen. Pick it with Make Photo of the Week on a post or under Photos. Otherwise the newest photo is shown. Removing a post removes it for the whole family.
Under Reminders the family adds medicines and appointments for the senior:
Write it the way you would say it; the text is shown large on the senior’s screen. The reminder arrives as a notification on the senior’s device, and the senior confirms with I’ve Taken It or I’ve Seen It. The family sees Done with the time, or Not confirmed once the time has passed.
Movement complements All Well and only appears on the overview when there is something to show. Only the latest time is kept, no history.
Turn on Settings › Movement › Phone movement. The senior approves it on their phone. The family then sees when the phone was last carried around on foot. Car and bus journeys don’t count. iPhone only, and iOS decides how often it updates (at most every 30 minutes).
If the senior has Hue motion sensors at home, Nära shows when someone was last in each room. Connect them while you are at the senior’s home, on the same Wi‑Fi:
The senior’s device reads the sensors while it is at home and needs permission to use the local network. Disconnect with Disconnect.
In Settings › …’s screen the family chooses:
Buttons give sound and vibration (the sound follows the silent switch). Colours are high contrast and get darker still with Increase Contrast. Dark mode, VoiceOver and large text are supported.
In Settings › Family Circle:
Signing out of iCloud also removes the family circle from the device.
The app is available in Swedish, English and German and follows the device language.
Nära has no accounts, no analytics and no ads. Everything is shared only within the family circle through Apple’s iCloud, which INNOMEGA cannot access. Read more in the privacy policy.
Questions? Email tech@innomega.se.