Real-time alerts

Real-time alerts are notifications tied to a safety filter. When a conversation matches a risk the product is built to catch, the parent gets a message by email, SMS, in the app, or rolled into a daily digest. The useful version includes context. An alert that only says check the app, with no transcript, leaves you guessing.

An alert is not an emergency call. A product can show a crisis resource in the chat and notify a parent without dialing emergency services. If you are the adult who was notified and the message is about self-harm, stay with your child and use a real resource such as 988 in the United States.

Topic limits stop some conversations. Alerts cover the ones that get through and look serious. Parents cannot read every line as it happens. The alert is the tap on the shoulder.

The failure mode is a vague ping. If you cannot see what was said, you cannot tell a joke from distress, and you will start ignoring the alerts. Ask to see a sample.

Timing matters too. A daily digest is fine for ordinary topic flags. A message about self-harm should not wait until morning. Ask which events use the fast channel, and try one test so you know what the notification looks like on your phone.

If a child shows distress, HeyOtto sends real-time safety alerts by email, SMS, in the app, or as a daily digest, and it shows crisis resources in the chat. HeyOtto does not auto-contact emergency services. The parent can open the transcript from the dashboard.

• Alerts are one of email, SMS, in-app, or a daily digest, not a single vague ping.
• The chat can show a helpline number. The AI is not a clinician.
• In the United States, 988 is the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.