Your father goes out for a walk. Ten minutes, like always. Forty minutes later, he hasn't come back. You call his mobile — he doesn't have it with him, or doesn't pick up. You go out looking, the neighbours call, someone who recognises him by sight joins in. You find him three hours later on another street, sitting on a step, unable to say where he lives.
That time ends well. But "that time" is not the last.
An older person who goes missing with cognitive decline cannot identify themselves. They depend on what they're carrying — and on the person who finds them knowing what to do with it.
The right question to ask beforehand
Not "how do we find them if they go missing?" but "what can the person who finds them do in the first five minutes?"
Those five minutes matter more than they seem. The police take time to arrive, the coordination centre asks for details you don't have to hand, the disoriented person gives fragmented or incorrect information. Whoever finds them — a neighbour, a passer-by, the pharmacist — has a concrete problem: they don't know who this person is, don't know who to call, don't know if there's anything that complicates waiting.
If they're carrying an accessible QR code, that problem disappears in thirty seconds.
What the person who scans the QR sees
An emergency QR opens directly on a phone, no app, no registration. The scanner sees whatever you've decided to show:
- Full name and photo (optional, but useful for confirming identity).
- Family contact numbers, with names and relationships.
- Relevant medical information: diagnosis, medication, allergies.
- Specific instructions: "He goes by Jim, not James — he responds better to Jim. Don't try to convince him of anything — call number 1 first."
You write those instructions. Whoever finds your father reads them.
What information to include and what to leave out
What helps:
- Usual name (may differ from the official name on ID documents).
- One or two phone numbers that actually get answered, with the name of the person: "Anna · daughter · 612 XXX XXX".
- Diagnosis if relevant to how they should be treated: "Moderate-stage Alzheimer's. May become agitated if spoken to loudly."
- Critical medication: anticoagulants, antiepileptics, insulin. Only what changes care in a fall or a scare.
- Behavioural instructions useful to a stranger.
What to leave out:
- Full medical history.
- Exact home address in the public QR — whoever finds them doesn't need to know where they live, only who to call.
- Outdated information that's no longer valid.
A short, clear, current profile is worth more than a complete but outdated one.
Where to carry the QR: the real problem
Identification only works if it stays with the person. This is where most solutions fail: the bracelet gets taken off, the card gets lost, the phone doesn't go with them.
Some options that work better with people with cognitive decline:
- Fixed or velcro-fastened bracelet. The wrist is the first place anyone looks in an emergency. If the bracelet isn't uncomfortable, they forget they're wearing it. The QR can be printed, on a metal tag, or on a laminated waterproof sticker.
- Pendant or ID worn under clothing. For people who remove things if they see them — a QR on a long chain tucked under their jumper stays there even if they try to take it off.
- Patch sewn into regular clothing. Inside the collar or on the sleeve of the jacket they always wear. It doesn't get lost, doesn't get taken off, doesn't require them to consciously carry it.
- Keyring, if they always take their keys. Some people with moderate decline keep ingrained habits like carrying keys. If they always pick up their keys on the way out, the keyring works.
The best carrier is the one they always have, not the most sophisticated one.
MEKET alerts you when someone scans the QR
When someone finds your parent and scans the QR, MEKET does two things at once: it shows the emergency profile to the scanner, and it can alert the contacts you've designated.
The alert arrives by email and, if you have the app installed, as a notification on your phone. If the scanner accepts to share their location, the alert includes the exact coordinates and a link to the map.
This changes how a missing-person alert works: instead of waiting for someone to call you, you receive a notification with the location the moment someone opens the profile.
One important condition: the location alert depends on the person who finds your relative accepting to share their position. If they don't accept, or if they don't have enough signal, the alert may arrive without coordinates. We tell you this because we'd rather you know when it works and when it doesn't.
What MEKET doesn't do — and what else you might want
MEKET does not track the person. It's not an active GPS, it doesn't follow movements, it doesn't send an alert if they leave a designated area. For that, there are smartwatches and active tracking devices — if the situation calls for it, those are the right complement.
What MEKET does is solve the moment when someone has already found them and doesn't know who they are. It's not the same thing, but it's equally necessary.
Privacy: what's visible and what isn't
The public emergency profile shows only what you configure. What you don't add isn't visible. Data is encrypted and not shared with third parties. We don't know who scans — we never ask for identification from anyone opening an emergency profile.
If the location alert is triggered, we know where and when the QR was scanned. That's all. Only if the scanner consents.
Full details in the privacy policy.
To get started today
Set up your relative's emergency profile in MEKET, download the QR and print it in whatever format fits their routine best. If you're not sure how they'll carry it, start with a bracelet — it's the easiest to try.
Create my relative's emergency profile →
They don't need a phone. They don't need to know what a QR code is. They just need to have it with them.