Knuff is a new family check-in app from equinux that makes it easy to find out how your loved ones are doing, without squeezing another conversation into a busy day. And it all started with one question: "Has anyone heard from Aunt Martha today?"
Meet Knuff: a family check-in app built around one simple signal
Knuff is based on a pretty simple idea: sometimes you don't need to force a conversation. You just want to know someone is okay.
In Knuff, people come together in private groups called Bubbles. With one tap, you can let everyone in your Bubble know how you're doing. There's no need for a phone call or a carefully worded message and no expectation that anyone needs to reply.
Knuff in action: Check in with Aunt Martha
Knuff isn't here as a WhatsApp alternative or a replacement for phone calls or proper catch-ups. Instead, it takes the routine “How are you?” out of the conversation, so you can save the actual conversations for when you have something to say and the time to say it.
How Knuff works
We wanted Knuff to be more than just a check in app. We wanted it to be something anyone could understand, whatever their age or technical ability. Most importantly, it doesn't feel like a chore or another way to keep tabs. It's actually fun to use!
1. Create a Bubble
Bring together the people who matter to you. Add your family, partner, close friends or anyone else you'd like to stay connected with.
2. Check in with one tap
Let your Bubble know how you're doing with a single tap. Tell them you're OK or not OK, no message or explanation required.
Check in with one tap, and add optional extras.
You can also check in for other people, for example, if you just visited an elderly relative and want to share how they're doing.
3. See at a glance who needs a little attention
Simply put: green means OK, red means not OK.
If someone checks themselves in as not OK, is marked "not OK" by another bubble member, or hasn't checked in for a while, their status turns red. Then, all other bubble members are alerted by push notification and can decide how to proceed. It's a simple way to see who might need a little extra attention, without anyone having to keep track themselves.
Bubble members move into the red zone if they haven't been active for a while.
Make your check-in your own
The basic check-in is deliberately simple, but there's more you can do when you feel like it.
- Add a message, photo, video, voice message, poll or your location to a check-in
- Choose from different 'Knufflings' for your check-in
- Send a gentle nudge if someone's usual check-in is late, instead of messaging three times or wondering whether to call
- Chat, reactions, direct messages and other Bubble features let you keep in touch between check-ins, too
- Update your Bubble theme to match your family's vibe
Use your bubble as a way to connect with your loved ones
The core Knuff experience is free. Optional Knufflings, Bubble designs and additional features are available as one-time purchases if you want to give your Bubble a little more personality.
Who is Knuff for?
Talking to people about their own experiences while building Knuff has taught us one important thing... everyone has their own "Aunt Martha". Someone you want to know is doing well but don't want to bombard with phone calls and messages.
Knuff is a check in app for seniors, families, couples, friends, or, more simply put, an app for staying connected with your bubble – whatever that may look like.
More ways to use Knuff
- Helping grandparents share in everyday family life
- Checking in with relatives without turning every day into a phone call
- Staying close with elderly relatives living independently
- Giving children freedom without constant tracking
- Keeping in touch when your adult children move out
- Fun app for couples in long-distance relationships
- Making friendship check-ins easy and pressure-free
Made in Germany, with privacy at the center
Knuff is built by us here at equinux in Munich. We're a small, independent team, and that independence extends beyond the company itself and into the way Knuff is built and operated.
Knuff is a Made in Germany app in more than name. It's operated in Germany, with its data hosted in our own infrastructure in Germany rather than relying on AWS, Google or another large cloud provider.
Knuff is entirely hosted on our servers in Munich, Germany and managed by our small, independent team
For us, that's about more than where the servers happen to be. We like knowing where our software runs, how the infrastructure behind it works and who is responsible for it. It's the same independent approach we've taken with our other products for years.
Where Knuff works
Knuff is available for iPhone and iPad with iOS 16 or later, macOS, as well as Android smartphones. So whether your family is an all-iPhone affair or a mixture of Apple and Android devices, everyone can be part of the same Bubble.
Ready to give Knuff a try?
Because sometimes you don't need to call Aunt Martha. You just want to know she's okay.
That's what Knuff is for: a simple little signal between the people who matter, whenever a full conversation isn't necessary.
You can find out more about Knuff, explore different ways to use it and meet the Bubbles at knuff.me.
