Support & Frequently Asked Questions

Rafiqa is an Android app that helps elderly parents use their smartphones more safely and easily. Children can manage their parent’s phone remotely and switch on features such as location sharing, reminders and fall detection.

Rafiqa works on Android 8.0 and above. The parent and child apps are the same app; the role is chosen at sign-in. There is no iOS version.

You and your parent each install the same Rafiqa app on your own phones. When you choose the child role during registration, a family code is generated for you automatically. Your parent chooses the parent role on their phone and enters that code to link to your account. Setup usually takes a few minutes.

The family code is a unique code assigned automatically when you register — on new accounts it is a 7-character mix of letters and digits (the 6-digit numeric codes on older accounts continue to work). Entering this code on your parent’s phone links their account to yours; alarms, reminders, location and all other data are matched through it. You can always view your code in the settings section of the child panel.

Yes. On the yearly plan more than one parent account can be linked. Each parent is added with their own family code.

Yes. Several siblings can link to the same parent account and follow along. All linked children receive emergency notifications.

Payment is made through the Google Play Store. Prices on this site are shown in US dollars — Rafiqa Family at $5.99 monthly or $59.99 yearly, and Rafiqa Family Multi at $9.99 monthly or $99.99 yearly. Rafiqa is sold in around 170 countries, each with its own price set in the local currency, and Google Play shows the exact amount for your country on the purchase screen before you confirm. Yearly plans include a discount worth up to two months, and all plans come with a 7-day free trial.

Yes, all plans include a 7-day free trial and the app can be used with all its features during the trial. To start the trial you must have a payment method set up in your Google Play account. If you do not cancel before the trial ends, the subscription automatically moves to the paid period and the price of your chosen plan is charged to your Google Play account. You can cancel from Google Play → Subscriptions.

You can cancel your Rafiqa subscription from Google Play Store → Subscriptions. After cancelling, access continues until the end of the current period.

Yes. You can change plan at any time through the Google Play Store. When moving from monthly to yearly, the remaining time is calculated pro rata.

The accelerometer sensor on the parent’s phone is monitored continuously. When a combination of free fall and a hard impact is detected, an automatic SOS alert is raised and an immediate notification is sent to all linked children. The feature requires background permission.

The parent’s location is updated while the app is in the foreground. A safe zone (geofence) can be defined; when the parent leaves that zone a notification is sent to the child.

Rafiqa performs location updates at optimised intervals. The average daily battery impact is around 3–5%. This can be higher while background mode is on.

All data is stored encrypted in Firebase Firestore. Location and health data belong to your account, accessible only to you and your linked family members. Your data is not sold and is not shared with anyone for advertising or marketing; it is only processed by the infrastructure providers we use to run the service (Google Firebase, Google Play, Expo notification service). For details, see the “Transfer of Personal Data” section of the Privacy Policy.

Yes. Some Android manufacturers (for example Xiaomi, Oppo, Huawei) can automatically stop background apps to save power. For notifications, location sharing and fall detection to work without interruption, we recommend granting Rafiqa a battery optimisation exemption and auto-start permission on the parent’s phone. The app guides you through these permissions during setup.

It gives the parent a simple calling screen with large buttons. Frequent contacts are listed so a call can be made in one tap, instead of navigating a complex contact list.

It lets you send a message in one tap using ready-made templates such as “I’m fine” or “I’m calling you”; the message is sent through the phone’s own SMS app. Rafiqa does NOT read incoming SMS — on Android the SMS read permission is granted only to the default messaging app, so this capability is not in the app and the related permissions have been removed from the package.

From the child panel you create a schedule by entering the reminder name, an optional note and the time. A notification is sent to the parent’s phone at that time. If the reminder is not marked, a notification is also sent to the family. Rafiqa is not a medical device; it does not suggest doses and does not give medical advice.

Blood pressure, pulse, weight, temperature and blood sugar can be entered manually; if Health Connect permission is granted, steps, pulse and sleep duration are added as a daily summary. Past records are listed as they are and shown on a chart. Values are not interpreted, not classified as normal or abnormal, and no threshold alerts are produced — this screen is a journal, not a diagnostic or medical advice tool.

They are calculated automatically based on the parent’s city. Notifications can be turned on or off for each prayer separately, with a sound or vibration alert.

It works as a digital prayer-bead counter. You set a target number and count by tapping the screen. Family members can follow a shared dhikr together.

The family can follow a shared Quran reading. Who has read which part is marked, and completed parts are tracked visually.

More than 1,000 stations from around 80 countries are available, including local, news and Islamic channels. Listening continues while the app runs in the background.

It gives direct access from the Rafiqa home screen to frequently used apps such as WhatsApp and YouTube. Which apps appear can be configured from the child panel.

Tapping the Flashlight module on the home screen turns on the phone camera’s flash. Tapping again turns it off. No complicated settings are needed.

It uses the phone camera as a magnifier. Ideal for reading small print or labels. The zoom level can be adjusted.

A different hadith is shown on the home screen each day in the language the app is set to, together with its source, giving the parent a daily moment of spiritual motivation.