The short answer
- Start with the worry, not the gadgetThis page is organised by the situation you are trying to solve, so you can go straight to the technology that matches it rather than reading about all of it.
- A fall is the risk most personal alarms exist forOne in three people over 65 fall at least once a year, rising to one in two by 80, and a pendant or wrist alarm gets help to them even if they cannot reach a phone.
- A camera or sensor in the home has real rules attachedIf it also records a carer or another visitor, data protection law and ordinary courtesy both come into it, not just what you are comfortable with.
- For someone with dementia, consent comes before the trackerThe law presumes they can make this decision unless it has been shown otherwise, and they should be part of the conversation wherever possible.
None of this replaces a person. What it can do is catch a problem earlier and buy you time, which can be the difference between a carer's visit staying at one a day and needing to become two.
Why it matters
What technology can do, and what it can't
The right piece of technology reduces specific risks: a fall going unnoticed, a dose of medication missed, a bad night nobody hears about until the morning. It does not replace somebody coming round, and it works best alongside a person rather than instead of one.
1 in 3
people over 65 fall at least once a year
one of the most common reasons families first look at a personal alarm
1 in 2
people over 80 fall at least once a year
the risk roughly doubles by this age
NICE guideline CG161, Falls in older people: assessing risk and prevention
If your parent is coping well but you would simply like their evenings and nights to be a little easier, home technology for the elderly covers lighting, heating and small fixes that are worth doing before anything on this page. If loneliness rather than safety is the bigger worry, mental health in later life is a better place to start than any device.
Where to start
Match the worry to the technology, not the other way round
Every situation below has a different answer, and buying the wrong one is a common way for a good idea to end up unused in a drawer. Find the one that sounds like your family, then read on for the detail.
You worry about a fall, and that no one would hear it happen
Personal alarms and fall detectors
A pendant or wrist alarm that calls for help at the press of a button, or on its own if a fall is detected.
You can't tell whether they've taken their tablets, or they forget what day it is
Reminders, dosette boxes and voice assistants
A smart speaker that reminds them out loud, or a dosette box that sorts the week into doses they can see.
You want to know a visit went well, whether that is a carer, a cleaner or a delivery
Sensors and cameras, and the law on filming a carer
What a camera or an activity sensor can tell you, and the rules that apply once it is recording someone else in your home.
They live with dementia and have gone out and not been able to find their way back
GPS trackers, and the conversation to have before fitting one
A locator that shares their position with you, and why that decision needs to be made with them, not just about them.
You want simple changes that make the house itself easier and safer to manage
Everyday home technology for the evening and overnight
Lighting, heating and small fixes that reduce the number of things that can go wrong once the sun goes down.
Getting help when something goes wrong
Personal alarms and fall detectors
Also called telecare or a community alarm, this is the technology most families think of first, and it is usually the right place to start if a fall is the main worry.
Pendant or wrist alarm
Worn at all times
Fall-detecting wearable
No button needed
GPS personal alarm
Works outside the home
The council telecare service
Often means-tested or subsidised
A council telecare service is often free or charged on a sliding scale once a needs assessment has taken place, and council funding for care explains how that assessment works. If your parent already receives Attendance Allowance, that money is theirs to spend on whatever helps, including a private alarm bought directly rather than through the council. Age UK and most telecare providers listed on GOV.UK's telecare provider finder sell alarms without needing a council assessment first, usually for a one-off cost plus a monthly monitoring fee.
Watching over the home
Sensors and cameras, and what changes once a carer is there too
These two are often talked about together, but they do very different jobs. A sensor tells you that something happened. A camera shows you what happened, and that difference has consequences once another person, such as a carer, is in the picture.
| What it tells you | Records images of people | Best suited to | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Door or activity sensor | Movement, or the lack of it, in a room or through a door | Noticing a change in routine, such as nobody moving by mid-morning | |
| Camera | What happened, on playback | Reassurance about a specific worry, once you have thought through who else it will record |
Door or activity sensor
- What it tells you
- Movement, or the lack of it, in a room or through a door
- Records images of people
- Best suited to
- Noticing a change in routine, such as nobody moving by mid-morning
Camera
- What it tells you
- What happened, on playback
- Records images of people
- Best suited to
- Reassurance about a specific worry, once you have thought through who else it will record
A sensor is usually the better first step precisely because it does not record images: it answers 'are they up and about' without the privacy questions a camera raises.
A camera or a sensor in your own home is not against the law, but if it also records a carer, a cleaner or anyone else who works there regularly, data protection rules and plain fairness both apply: they are entitled to know it is there, and footage that identifies them should not be kept indefinitely or shared casually. Is it illegal to film carers in your home? sets out exactly where the line sits, and the ICO's guidance on home CCTV systems covers the wider rules on storing and sharing footage from any home camera.
Reminders and company
Voice assistants and medication reminders
A missed dose or a confused morning is often a reminder problem rather than a memory one, and this is the cheapest and simplest category of technology on this page to try.
Smart speaker
Voice-controlled, no screen needed
Dosette box
A physical, visual reminder
Video calling
For company as well as reminders
Automatic pill dispensers
For complex medication routines
Using Alexa to make everyone's life easier has a practical walkthrough for setting a smart speaker up so it stays simple to use. Who qualifies for a dosette box? explains how to get one filled by a pharmacy rather than doing it yourself each week, and medicines in later life covers the wider problem of getting medication right as the list of tablets grows.
Knowing they're OK day to day
Daily check-ins, from a phone call to a hospital-at-home service
There is a ladder here, and most families only need the first rung or two. The technology exists for when a phone call alone is not enough reassurance, or is not possible every day.
- 1
A standing call, at the same time each day
No technology neededThe simplest check-in is still a phone call at a set time, so a missed one is noticed quickly rather than lost in a busy day. - 2
A personal alarm with a daily check-in feature
Covers the gapsSome telecare providers include an automatic daily check-in alongside the fall alarm, so somebody is contacted if there has been no activity by a set time. - 3
Activity sensors reviewed by family
Passive, no call neededA simple sensor set-up, such as a kettle or door sensor linked to an app, can show at a glance that the morning routine has happened, without anyone needing to answer anything. - 4
An NHS virtual ward
Set up by the NHS, not arranged privatelyAfter some hospital stays, a clinical team can monitor blood oxygen, heart rate and other readings from home using a small wearable device, and step in if something looks wrong. Ask the discharge team whether this applies before your parent leaves hospital.
Many daily check-in apps are US-based and have no dispatch or emergency contact service in the UK, so check that one can reach someone here before relying on it rather than assuming it works the same way everywhere. NHS England's guide to virtual wards explains how the hospital-at-home option works in more detail.
If dementia is part of the picture
GPS trackers, and the conversation to have before fitting one
A GPS locator can bring real reassurance if your parent sometimes goes out and struggles to find their way back. It is also the piece of technology on this page most likely to feel like being watched, so how you introduce it matters as much as the device itself.
Tends to work
- Talking about it early, ideally soon after a diagnosis, while your parent can still take part in the decision
- Asking directly rather than fitting it and hoping it goes unnoticed
- Agreeing together what it is for: getting home safely, not checking up on every trip out
- Reviewing the decision as things change, rather than treating it as settled forever
Tends to fail
- Fitting a tracker covertly because a conversation feels difficult
- Assuming a person with dementia cannot be part of this decision
- Treating one refusal as final without asking again later
- Sharing the location data with people who have no reason to see it
Under the Mental Capacity Act 2005, your parent is presumed able to make this decision themselves unless it has been shown otherwise, and if they cannot, any decision must be made in their best interests and with them involved as far as possible. The Alzheimer's Society's guidance on using technology sets this out in full, and the legalities of caring for the elderly covers where consent, capacity and a family's own legal position more broadly sit alongside each other. If dementia is the reason you are on this page at all, the dementia care pillar is the better starting point for everything beyond technology.
When technology needs a person alongside it
What a carer adds once the gadgets are in place
Technology tells you something is wrong. It does not get someone up off the floor, talk them through a confusing moment, or notice the quieter changes a fall alarm was never built to catch. That is where a carer's visit does something no device can.
- 1
Write down what worries you most
TodayFalls, medication, loneliness or wandering are different problems, and the technology and the carer both work better once you know which one you are solving. - 2
Search carers near you
FreeLook for an hourly or companionship carer by postcode. Every profile shows the carer's rate, experience and reviews, and every carer has interviewed online, with identity, right to work and an enhanced DBS checked, before they appear. - 3
Ask about setting the technology up
This weekMany carers are comfortable helping to set up a smart speaker, fill a dosette box each week, or simply check a pendant alarm is being worn. - 4
Book a visit and adjust from there
Week 1Start with what you are sure of, such as a morning visit alongside the alarm you have already fitted, and change it once you see what the technology does and does not cover.
Questions
Questions families ask about technology for someone living alone
There is no single answer, because the right technology depends on the worry you are trying to solve. A fall points to a personal alarm, missed medication points to a dosette box or a smart speaker, and a parent who wanders points to a GPS tracker with the right conversation first. Use the matching list near the top of this page to find the one that fits your situation.
Costs vary by provider, and most charge a one-off fee for the equipment plus a monthly monitoring charge. Many councils fund or subsidise a telecare alarm once a needs assessment has taken place, and some offer it free to anyone who asks. How council funding for care works explains that assessment, and GOV.UK's telecare provider finder lists providers if you would rather buy one directly.
No, but it is not unrestricted either. Once a camera records a carer or anyone else working in the house, data protection rules apply to how that footage is stored and shared, and telling the carer it is there is both good practice and, in most situations, expected. Is it illegal to film carers in your home? covers the exact rules.
It might. All UK landlines are moving to a digital, internet-based service by January 2027, and some older analogue telecare alarms do not work reliably once that happens. Contact the landline provider or the telecare supplier now to check whether the alarm needs upgrading, rather than finding out during a power cut.
You should not, if they are able to take part in the decision. The Mental Capacity Act 2005 presumes everyone can make their own decisions unless it has been shown otherwise, so consent should be sought first wherever possible, and if they cannot consent, the decision must be made in their best interests and with them involved as far as they are able. The Alzheimer's Society's guidance on using technology sets this out in full.
This is common, and pushing a device that feels like surveillance on someone who has not agreed to it usually makes things worse. Starting with something that helps them directly, such as a reminder or a way to see family more easily, tends to be accepted more readily than something framed around monitoring them. How do you get someone to accept care? covers this question more widely, beyond technology alone.
No. It can remind someone to take a tablet or make it easier to call family, but it cannot get someone up, dressed, washed or fed, and it will not notice a change in mood or health the way a carer's visit does. Using Alexa to make everyone's life easier covers what it is realistically good for.
As soon as the worry is about a person rather than a single event, such as loneliness, an unsteady morning routine, or needing help with washing and dressing. Technology answers a specific question well; a carer's visit covers everything else around it. Hourly carers on PrimeCarers charge £18 to £25 an hour with our fee included, and you can search and message carers near you for free before deciding anything.