Someone you know has reached out for help without being able to speak.
Then read the rest of this page before you act.
This page explains what just happened and what you might do next.
The SMS you received was generated by MyPal, a personal companion app. Someone listed you as one of their trusted emergency contacts. They chose to send a silent message because they could not safely talk on the phone or send a normal text in that moment.
Every Silent Alert SMS includes:
The person who sent this trusted you enough to list you as someone who would respond. They chose to send this rather than call, because making a phone call or sending a normal text would have put them at greater risk.
You may receive one of several variations depending on the situation:
Only you can judge what is appropriate based on the specific alert, your location relative to the sender, and your own situation. MyPal can't judge your specific situation; it relays information. Some considerations:
Open the map link to see exactly where they were. Consider whether you can safely reach them. The decision to go yourself, call local emergency services, or both, is yours.
You can share the alert and the location with someone closer to them who may be able to respond. You can also call local emergency services for the area shown on the map and share the information you received.
The sender selected a scenario indicating they want police involved. Calling local emergency services (the appropriate number for the location shown on the map) is a reasonable response. You can tell the dispatcher you received an alert from a personal safety app and share the location.
The sender is hiding. They selected this scenario because being discovered could escalate their danger. Any approach — by you, by police, by anyone — should be planned with that in mind. Calling local emergency services and explaining the silent-approach requirement may be safer than going yourself.
Call them right away. Speak as if you are calling about something ordinary but urgent that needs them to leave now, such as a family matter or a problem at home. Do not mention the alert, MyPal, or anything that suggests they asked you to call. Let them lead the conversation.
If they do not answer, try once more after a few minutes. If you still cannot reach them and you are worried, treat it like a standard alert: use the location link and decide whether to go yourself or call local emergency services.
These alerts do not say "DO NOT call or text me", because no one is with them who could be alerted by your call. You may call them, but they may not be able to answer, speak, or type clearly, so do not wait for a reply before acting. Calling local emergency services for the location on the map is often the fastest help.
If the message says "DO NOT call or text me", do not call, text, or message the sender, whatever else you decide to do. Reaching out to them directly could put them in greater danger.
After the initial alert, the sender may send additional location updates by performing a discreet gesture on their phone. Each update arrives as a separate SMS with the timestamp and a new map link. If the first alert said "DO NOT call or text me", the updates say so too.
Updates will only arrive when the sender can safely reach their phone. This is important to understand:
If you have not heard from the sender — by any means — for an extended period, consider whether that silence itself warrants action.
The sender can end the alert by marking themselves safe in MyPal. If they do, you will receive a message saying so.
If you have already responded — called for help, started traveling to them, or contacted others — please reach the sender directly to confirm they are truly safe and were not coerced into sending the marked-safe message. A "safe" message sent under duress would look identical to a genuine one.
If you need to call local emergency services for the area where the sender is located, here are the numbers for common regions. Use the one appropriate for the location on the map, not necessarily your own location.
For other countries, an internet search for "emergency number [country]" will give the correct number quickly. In many countries, 112 dialed from a mobile phone also reaches local emergency services.
The sender shared this alert with you and a small number of other trusted contacts. They did not consent to broader disclosure. Please do not post the message or location on social media, share it in group chats, or forward it to anyone other than people who can directly help. After the situation is resolved, keep the message somewhere private rather than deleting it. The sender may need it later as a record, for example for a police report or a protective order, and they may have deleted their own copy for safety.
MyPal is a voice-first personal companion app that includes a Silent Alert system for people who may find themselves in situations where they cannot safely call for help out loud. The system was designed for circumstances where a normal phone call or text message would be too dangerous, conspicuous, or impossible.
MyPal is not an emergency service. It does not contact authorities on its own; a Silent Alert simply relays a discreet message to the people the user has chosen as trusted contacts — people like you.
You can learn more at mypalapp.ai.