SmartThings Family Care Update Makes Tracking Loved Ones Smarter

A few weeks ago, Samsung announced a major new update for SmartThings Family Care. The update is now widely rolling out worldwide, bringing even more attentive and reassuring support for families. It is available on Galaxy smartphones running Android 11 or later with at least 3GB of RAM.

Samsung improves SmartThings Family Care with a new update

With the latest update, Samsung has advanced its SmartThings Family Care, a feature within the SmartThings app. The feature connects the SmartThings platform with TVs and home appliances to send activity notifications, reminders for medication and appointments, and location alerts. Available in over 200 countries, the service helps caregivers and care recipients living apart stay connected.

Samsung now makes it easier to set up the Family Care service. You can easily customize settings with greater precision to fit each family’s lifestyle and needs. Once you set up an account, you can send an invitation link to the care recipient to join the service. If the recipient accepts your request, you will be able to see detailed information such as their activities and location.

The best thing is that care recipients can select what information to share with their caregivers. Note that caregivers can still access the necessary details, but only within those boundaries. This helps define the roles of caregivers and care recipients more clearly, reflecting their individual preferences and circumstances.

Family Care notifies Caregivers of inactivity

Furthermore, Family Care summarizes the care recipient’s activities and sends an alert to the caregiver if it detects no activity for a certain time. For example, if the care recipient has not used appliances like the refrigerator or TV for an extended period, caregivers will get an alert to check in. They can call the care recipient or use a SmartThings connected device with a camera to check the situation at home.

Thanks to bringing the ability to integrate Samsung Health, caregivers can see detailed activity details such as wake-up times, bedtimes, and daily step counts. Furthermore, if caregivers add essential locations such as hospitals, pharmacies, and supermarkets, they can see the visit history of the recipient. Family Care also lets caregivers remind loved ones about important events, such as regular health check-ups.