Athnova CareQuestions families ask about Athnova Care
Every question we are asked about the daily check-in for elderly parents, answered: price, the free plan, languages, countries, what happens when a parent does not reply, privacy.
Price, plans and the free trial
Is it free?
There is a free plan for one parent: the daily WhatsApp check-in, a reminder and an alert to the family. The full plan, with phone calls, medicine reminders, reports and our care desk, is $12 a month for the whole family, after 14 days free.
How do I pay?
The first 14 days are free and need no card. After that it is $12/month or $99/year, in US dollars, by card. Cancel any time.
Is there a free trial?
Yes, 14 days with everything included, and no card is needed. The trial starts when your parent says yes on WhatsApp. When it ends, the free plan keeps the daily WhatsApp check-in going for one parent; nothing is charged by itself.
Is there a free plan?
Yes. For one parent: the daily WhatsApp check-in in their language, a reminder if they do not reply, an alert to the family when something is wrong, the SOS word and the emergency card — free, with no card and no time limit. The paid plan adds the phone call when they go quiet, daily phone-call check-ins for parents without WhatsApp, medicine reminders through the day, a neighbour asked to look in, reports and the monthly summary, a second parent and our care desk.
What does the plan cover?
Up to 2 parents and 4 family members, daily check-ins, reminder calls, alerts, report reading and trends, refill tracking, the monthly summary and the emergency card.
Which currency do you charge in?
US dollars. Your bank converts the charge if your card is in another currency, so families in the UK, Canada, Australia, the Gulf, Singapore and Europe pay the same $12. Any sales tax or VAT is included in that price. In the Android app, Google Play charges its own price in your local currency (in India, ₹400 a month or ₹3,000 a year).
Is the price the same if my parents live outside India?
Yes, $12 a month. The daily check-in, alerts, reports and the emergency card work wherever your parent uses WhatsApp; tests and refills are arranged in India only.
Can I gift it to my parents or siblings?
Yes. Buy a one-year gift code for $99 and share it on WhatsApp. They start whenever they are ready.
How do I cancel?
From the app in two taps. You keep access until the end of the paid period.
How much is the gift?
$99 for one year of the full plan, the same as the yearly price. There is no gift surcharge.
Can the gift be used for a parent outside India?
Yes. The parent can live in any country where they use WhatsApp; the daily phone call reaches 25 countries. Tests, refills and the chemist are arranged in India only.
What if they already pay monthly?
The code adds twelve months after the period they have paid for. A monthly plan does not pause by itself: they cancel it in two taps (nothing is lost, the gifted year carries on), or write to us and we do it for them.
Is it refundable?
An unredeemed code can be refunded within 30 days; write to us. Once redeemed, it belongs to the receiving family.
Does my parent pay for the call?
No. Incoming calls are free for them.
Does my parent pay the chemist?
Payment is made directly to the chemist, by your parent or by you, in the way the chemist accepts.
Is there a free emergency card?
Yes. The emergency card maker on this site is free and keeps the information on your device.
For the parent: phone, WhatsApp, languages
Does my parent need to install an app?
No. Everything for your parent happens on WhatsApp, plus a normal phone call if they do not reply. You use the app.
Can I set it up without an app or a password?
Yes. Tap "Set up on WhatsApp" (it opens our number with SETUP typed in) and answer five short questions in the chat: what you call your parent, their WhatsApp number, their language, the time, and your first name. Your parent then says yes on WhatsApp, and alerts reach you on WhatsApp too. Send LOGIN in the same chat whenever you want a link to the family page; add an email later if you choose a paid plan.
Which languages do you support?
Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati, Marathi, Bengali, Kannada, Malayalam, Punjabi and English — and, for parents outside India, Urdu, Spanish, Arabic, Portuguese, French, Filipino, Indonesian, German, Italian, Turkish and Romanian.
Does my parent have to agree?
Yes. They tap "Yes, I agree" on WhatsApp (or press 1 on our call) before anything starts, and can stop at any time.
My parent does not use WhatsApp. Can they still use it?
Yes. Choose "phone call" when you add them. We call once a day at the time you pick, in their language, and they press 1 if they have taken their medicines, 2 if not, or 3 if they would like you to call. No answer after three calls an hour apart, and you are alerted. It works on any phone, even a landline, in 25 countries, including India, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
Do I need a smartphone?
For the WhatsApp check-in, yes. Without WhatsApp, the full plan can phone you every day instead — any phone works, including a landline, in the 25 countries our call reaches.
Does the patient need a smartphone?
WhatsApp needs one; the daily phone call does not. Either way nothing is installed and no account is created for the patient.
Which languages?
21: Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati, Marathi, Bengali, Kannada, Malayalam, Punjabi, English, Urdu, Spanish, Arabic, Portuguese, French, Filipino, Indonesian, German, Italian, Turkish and Romanian.
Our clients speak Kannada and Malayalam. Does it work?
Yes. 21 languages, including ten Indian ones; the client replies in their own words or with buttons, and the call is in the same language.
Does the client need to install anything?
No. WhatsApp, or any phone for the daily call. No app, no password, no account for the client.
Do the seniors need a smartphone?
No. WhatsApp on any phone, or an automated daily phone call that works on any phone, even a landline, in the countries our calls reach (India included). There is no app and no password for them.
How do the seniors agree?
Your team explains it in person and confirms in the app that they agreed; each senior then gets a question on WhatsApp and must tap yes before the first check-in. A senior can reply STOP at any time.
Our seniors speak different languages. Does it work?
Yes: 21 languages, including ten Indian ones. Each senior gets their own language, set on their line of the list.
Does my parent need to install anything?
No. With WhatsApp on their phone they get one message a day; without it, choose a daily phone call and they answer by pressing a key. There is no app, account or password for them.
Which languages are the calls in?
The same 21 as the WhatsApp check-in: Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati, Marathi, Bengali, Kannada, Malayalam, Punjabi, English, Urdu, Spanish, Arabic, Portuguese, French, Filipino, Indonesian, German, Italian, Turkish and Romanian.
Can two parents have different languages?
Yes. The language is set for each parent.
My parent mixes Hindi and English. Will replies be understood?
Yes. Mixed-language replies are understood.
When something goes wrong
What happens if my parent does not reply?
We send a gentle reminder, then call them. If they still do not answer, we alert you and then the local contacts you choose.
Can the family and our coordinator both be alerted?
Yes. The family is alerted first; your coordinator is added as a local contact, next to a neighbour if the family wants one, and is asked to check when the family cannot reach the client.
Who sees the answers?
Only the people on your organisation’s account, and a local contact you named for a senior when that senior cannot be reached. Data is stored in India with phone numbers and notes encrypted, and it is never sold or used for advertising.
Can my siblings abroad and in India both get alerts?
Yes. Up to four family members, in any country.
Will the neighbour be messaged every day?
No. Local contacts are messaged only when an alert reaches them.
What if I see the alert and everything is fine?
Acknowledge it in the app and the escalation stops.
Who can see the emergency card?
Family members on your plan, and anyone you choose to send it to.
Countries and time zones
Where can employees and their parents be?
Employees can be anywhere. Parents can live in India or in any country where they use WhatsApp; the daily phone call reaches 25 countries today.
Where is the data stored?
On our own servers in India (Oracle Cloud, Mumbai), with sensitive fields encrypted. The family and your team see only their own patients. Consent is recorded on WhatsApp before the first message.
Can it run outside India?
The WhatsApp check-in works in any country; the follow-up call reaches 25 countries. Medicine refills through a chemist are India-only.
Privacy and data
Who can see my parent’s health information?
Only the family members on your plan. It is stored on our servers in India, phone numbers, addresses and notes are encrypted, and it is never sold or used for advertising. Two named people in our team can open an account only to help you, and every such action is logged.
Who owns the data?
The client and their family. During a pilot your agency hears about its enrolled clients only, and the family can remove your contact at any time. Data is stored in India with sensitive fields encrypted.
Medicines, reports and the doctor
Is this medical advice?
No. We track, remind and coordinate. Doctors diagnose and prescribe. In an emergency, call the local emergency number (112 in India).
Are tests, medicines and consults included?
No. Those are paid to the lab, pharmacy or doctor at their price, which you approve before anything is booked.
Is this medical care?
No. We track, remind and coordinate; doctors diagnose and prescribe. In an emergency the parent should call the local emergency number.
Is this a medical service?
No. It is a daily signal that you are reachable. It does not diagnose, prescribe or replace a doctor, and it is not an emergency service.
Can reminders be set for evening and night medicines?
Yes. Afternoon, evening and night reminders can be added for each parent.
Who supplies the medicines?
Your parent’s own local chemist, at the chemist’s price, after you approve it.
Is this a diagnosis?
No. It lists the values with the lab’s printed range and shows trends. Interpretation belongs to their doctor.
Can the doctor see it directly?
You print it, or save it as a PDF, from the app and share it however you like. Doctors do not need an account.
Everything else
What if my parent does not want to be checked on?
Nothing starts without their yes, and they can reply STOP at any time. It is one message a day, answered with one tap, and that one tap tells all their children at once — so there are fewer worried calls, not more.
What if my parent needs help between check-ins?
They can send SOS on WhatsApp at any time, or write "help", "chest pain" or "I fell" in their own language. You and the rest of the family are alerted at once, and they are reminded of the emergency number where they live. It does not replace calling emergency services.
Can my siblings see updates too?
Yes. Up to 4 family members can join, and each chooses how they get alerts.
I live outside the US. Can I use it?
Yes. Families use it from the US, UK, Canada, Australia, the Gulf, Singapore, Europe and New Zealand — and from other cities in India. The app works wherever you are.
My parents do not live in India. Can I use it?
Yes. The daily WhatsApp check-in, alerts to the family, reports and the emergency card work wherever your parent uses WhatsApp, in English, nine Indian languages or Urdu, Spanish, Arabic, Portuguese, French, Filipino, Indonesian, German, Italian, Turkish and Romanian, and quote the emergency number of their country. The follow-up phone call reaches 25 countries, including India, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar today. Tests and refills are arranged in India only.
Does it replace our EAP or insurance?
No. It is the daily layer those do not provide: someone asks every day, and the family hears when a parent goes quiet. It works alongside counselling, insurance and leave.
Can I use Athnova Care for myself, not for a parent?
Yes. Sign in, add yourself as the person to check on with your own WhatsApp number, choose “other” as the relation, and add the neighbours or friends who should be told if you go quiet. The free plan covers one person.
What if I am travelling or sleeping in?
Reply late and the ladder stops at once. You can also change the check-in time or pause the check-in for a trip from the app. A late answer is never treated as an emergency; only a whole morning of silence is.
Will my contacts be bothered every day?
No. On a normal day nobody but you sees the message. Your contacts hear only when you have not answered the message, the reminder and the call — and, if you turn it on, a one-line note that you checked in.
Can I buy it from India in rupees?
The gift code is charged in US dollars by card. Families in India can instead subscribe through the Android app on Google Play, which bills in rupees.
Can my parent ask for help outside the check-in?
Yes. Sending SOS on WhatsApp at any time alerts the whole family at once.
Can I choose the time of the check-in?
Yes, for each parent, in their local time. You can change it whenever you like.
What if my parent taps the wrong button?
They can simply reply again. The latest answer is the one shown to you.
Is a person calling, or a recording?
The first calls are automated. If an alert is not acknowledged, a member of our desk follows up with the family.
Can it read handwritten prescriptions?
Printed reports and clear photos of device screens work best. Handwriting is read where it is legible.
Can I try it before subscribing?
Yes. The free lab report explainer on this site reads a report without storing it.
When is the summary ready?
At the start of each month, for the month before. You can open earlier months at any time.
Still asking?
Write to care@athnova.in — a person answers, usually the same day. The about page says who we are; the security page says how your family’s information is kept.
Athnova Care tracks and coordinates care. It does not diagnose, prescribe or replace a doctor. In a medical emergency call the local emergency number.