How Does Koriva Work? A First-Setup Guide to the Family Safety App

Koriva is a family safety app designed for families with children and older relatives. Location sharing, safe zones, scam protection, screen time rules, an emergency button and a daily summary come together in one app.

Koriva's most important design principle is this: only the family manager uses the app. Children and older relatives grant permissions once during setup; after that Koriva runs in the background and they do not need to open the app. In this guide we explain step by step how to set Koriva up and what to look out for in the first days.

Roles in Koriva

A Koriva family has three types of member:

• Family manager: Creates the family, invites members and manages safe zones and child rules. A family can have more than one manager (for example, both parents).
• Child: Their location and app usage are visible to the family manager; the child sees this on their phone but cannot switch it off. Screen time rules are enforced on their phone.
• Adult or older relative: Decides for themselves what to share. They switch location sharing on themselves and can switch it off whenever they want; the manager cannot switch it on for them. Older relatives get a simple screen and a one-tap "I'm OK" notification.

In the first version, a family can have up to 8 members.

Step 1: Install Koriva on your own phone and create an account

The family manager installs Koriva on their own phone, creates an account with an email address and verifies it. Family data cannot be viewed or changed until the email address is verified; this is to make sure the account really belongs to you.

Then you create your family. You can name it however you like.

Step 2: Invite your family

There are several ways to invite family members:

• QR code: If you are in the same room, the person you invite opens Koriva on their phone and scans the QR code on your screen.
• Invitation link: You send the link by message. When they tap it, Koriva opens and the invitation code is filled in automatically. If Koriva is not installed, the link first shows the installation steps.
• Invitation code: If the link does not open, the code can also be typed in by hand.

Invitation codes are single-use and valid for 15 minutes. For your security, share the code only with the person you are inviting.

Step 3: Set up your child's phone

We recommend sitting down with your child while setting up their phone, so you can talk together about which permission is given and why. Our guide to a child's first phone may help with that conversation.

Koriva is installed on the child's phone and joins the family as a child. Koriva's setup checklist then shows the required permissions one by one:

• Location ("Allow all the time"): For location sharing and safe zone alerts. The "all the time" option is needed so it can work while the app is closed.
• Notifications: For things like remote lock and replies to requests for more time.
• Screen time permissions: So rules can be enforced on the phone. On iPhone this works through Apple's Screen Time permission and Family Sharing; on Android it needs usage access and an accessibility service.
• Call protection: On Android, Koriva needs to be chosen as the "Caller ID & spam app"; on iPhone, Koriva needs to be turned on under "Call Blocking & Identification" in the Phone settings.
• Web filter: To block known phishing sites (and, if the family wishes, adult and gambling sites).

When a permission is missing, Koriva shows it clearly; it does not say "you are protected" until setup is complete.

Step 4: Set up your older relative's phone

When setting up an older relative's phone, first explain what Koriva does and make the decision together with them. Your older relative:

• Decides for themselves whether to turn on location sharing.
• Can send a one-tap "I'm OK" notification. If someone who has sent it at least once before stays silent for 24 hours, the family is informed.
• Can alert everyone in the family immediately with the emergency button.
• Sees on a simple screen what to do when a suspicious call or message arrives. On Android, the "Protect my messages" option checks links arriving in WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram and Messenger on the phone; only they choose what is shared with the family.

For suggestions on how to have this conversation with older relatives, see our article on elderly parent safety.

Step 5: Add safe zones

Mark places such as home, school, a club or grandma's house on the map and set a radius for each. When a family member with location sharing on enters or leaves these zones, the family is notified.

A few tips:

• 2–4 zones are enough to start with; too many create unnecessary notifications.
• Do not make the radius too small; indoors, the location can be off by a few hundred metres.
• A zone alert is created when the person's new location reaches the server. If the phone is off or cannot send its location, no alert arrives either.

Step 6: Set the child rules

You set the rules for your child's phone from your own phone:

• Daily limit: A total daily screen time limit.
• School and bedtime hours: Entertainment apps stay closed during these hours.
• Requests for more time: When time runs out, your child asks for more from the block screen; you grant +15, +30 or +60 minutes or decline from the notification. Extra time ends at midnight. On iPhone the request may be delayed.
• Remote lock: You can lock the phone for 30 minutes, an hour, until morning or until you unlock it. Calls and emergency calls stay available.
• New app approval (Android): You are notified when a new app is installed on your child's phone; it stays closed until you approve it.
• App usage (Android): You can see how much time was spent in each app.

For ways to set the rules together with your child, see our article on screen time for kids.

Step 7: Set up the daily summary and notifications

Every evening at 9 pm, in your family's own time zone, a daily summary arrives that sums up the day's safety events in a few sentences: zone arrivals and departures, blocked calls, requests for help and so on. The summary is written by rules; no AI is used and your information is not sent to any language model.

Notifications can sometimes be delayed or not shown because of the phone's battery, notification or Do Not Disturb settings. That is why important events are also always visible on the Events screen in the app.

Differences between Android and iPhone

Koriva works on both platforms, but the access Apple gives third-party apps on iPhone is more limited. The main differences:

These differences are not a Koriva choice; they are the limits of the iPhone. We state clearly on the Help page in the app how each feature works on each type of phone.

What is free

Emergency help, location sharing, safe zones, device status and link checking are always free. The Koriva plan screen in the app shows whether other features require a subscription and the status of your subscription.

Checklist for the first week

• Is the setup checklist complete on every family phone, or are any permissions missing?
• Are safe zone alerts arriving as expected?
• Are your child's screen time rules realistic, and are requests for more time coming through?
• Can your older relative send the "I'm OK" notification comfortably?
• Do you need to turn off unnecessary notifications or adjust zones?

Conclusion

Setting up Koriva takes a few minutes; its real value is that, after setup, it works quietly in the background and keeps the family safe without getting in the way of daily life. Setting it up together with your family members, talking about which data is shared and why, and updating the rules together over time is the best way to get the most out of Koriva.

If you want to know which data Koriva collects and which it does not, read our article on privacy-first family safety.