Living alone has long been championed as a marker of independence and personal dignity. In Singapore, where most singles stay with their parents until they get married, it is also a signal of financial and domestic independence.
Yet, for a growing segment of the population, it carries an unspoken, heavy anxiety. The reality of social isolation is becoming impossible to ignore.
There are many government and community initiatives looking out for seniors as Singapore’s demographic shifts rapidly steer the nation towards a “super aged” society. But what about adults who live alone? Who checks in on them?
What Does the Market Currently Offer?
Traditional interventions generally fall into two categories, both flawed. The first involves active alert systems like wearable panic buttons or pull-cords. While well-intentioned, these rely entirely on the individual being conscious, mobile, and actually wearing the device during a crisis,which, as community volunteers often note, is rarely the case. The second category relies on intrusive surveillance, such as indoor smart cameras or motion sensors. While effective, this approach strips away a person's privacy and turns a home into a fishbowl, causing many people to reject the technology outright out of a rightful desire to maintain their autonomy.
A Third Way
Recognizing this fundamental tension, Kevin, a Better.sg volunteer, set out to design a third way. “Presence”, an innovative, open-source application that offers a safety net without infringing on the daily lives of those it protects.
Instead of demanding active daily check-ins, filling out forms, or requiring users to learn a complicated new interface, Presence operates entirely as a passive, non-intrusive "proof-of-life" monitor. It leverages a piece of technology that most people already own and carry everywhere: their smartphone.
How Presence Works
The application works by quietly observing basic, hardware-level interactions that occur naturally throughout the day. It notes the simple, ambient habits that make up a routine, such as the act of unlocking the screen to check a message, plugging the device into a charger at bedtime, or the subtle movements registered by the phone's internal accelerometer. Over a short period, the app establishes a baseline rhythm of life unique to the user.
If the smartphone goes completely undisturbed for an uncharacteristically long stretch of time (typically a customizable 12-hour window)the application recognizes the anomaly. It first issues a gentle, high-priority notification to the user, asking them to confirm they are safe. If that prompt goes unanswered after a designated grace period, the platform automatically escalates the situation, sending an immediate alert to a pre-configured circle of trusted contacts. Whether that circle consists of family, friends, neighbors, or community care volunteers, it provides them with the actionable information needed to initiate a timely physical check-in.
Built to Respect Your Privacy
The true brilliance of Presence, however, lies in its strict commitment to data privacy. The application does not track a user's precise GPS location. It cannot read text messages or listen to calls, and it does not monitor which specific apps are being opened or what content is being viewed. In fact, all the data processing required to detect daily activity happens locally, right on the user's smartphone. No sensitive behavioral data is uploaded to a cloud server, ensuring that the system remains a tool for safety, not surveillance. Raw activity events also auto-delete after 90 days, and all data is hosted in Singapore.
Try It Out Yourself
Presence has just launched on Apple & Google’s app stores, and you can check them out here.
It is currently being piloted and rolled out in community networks across Singapore too, bridging the gap between isolated adult residents living alone and grassroots care networks.
It transforms a piece of everyday consumer technology into a quiet companion, proving that impactful innovation does not need to be loud, expensive, or invasive.
Call for Volunteers (30 Jul 26): Presence is also looking for Product Testers & Marketing volunteers.