Questions parents ask
Straight answers, including the ones that are not flattering. If something here is unclear or you think it is wrong, tell us — every question on this page came from someone actually asking it.
Getting started
Will it really wake me on silent or Do Not Disturb?
Yes, and this is the thing Calmina is built around. On Android the cry alert sounds on the alarm path rather than the notification path, and escalates to a full-screen alarm that takes over the lock screen if the first one goes unanswered. On iPhone it uses Apple’s Critical Alerts, which sound through silent mode and Focus. Both need a permission you grant during setup. Use Test the alert before your first night — it fires the real alarm path, not a preview. The long explanation is here.
What do I need?
Two phones. The one in your pocket, and any spare for the nursery — an old handset with a cracked screen is perfect, as long as it charges and its microphone works. No extra hardware, no hub, no subscription to a camera service. Calmina is native on both Android and iPhone, and the two phones do not have to be the same platform.
Do both phones need to be on the same Wi-Fi?
No. The two phones find each other over whatever connection they have, including one on Wi-Fi and one on mobile data. Being on the same network usually gives the most direct connection, but it is not a requirement.
How long does setup take?
Under a minute for the pairing itself: open the app on both phones, then scan the QR code shown on the nursery phone or type the six-digit code. The permissions and the alert test are worth another few minutes on the first night and never need repeating.
While it is running
What happens if the nursery phone runs out of battery?
You get a low-battery alert on the parent phone before it dies, and a separate alert if monitoring stops altogether. Keep the nursery phone plugged in — a live microphone with the screen on standby is not a low-power state on any phone.
What if the Wi-Fi drops or the connection breaks?
The parent phone tells you. A dropped link raises its own alert rather than failing quietly, which is the failure mode that actually matters: a monitor that goes silent because it disconnected looks exactly like a monitor that is working and hearing nothing.
Can I leave the house?
Yes. The connection is not limited to your home network. Bear in mind that leaving means you are relying entirely on the alert reaching you, so it is worth having tested it first.
Does it work if I lock the phone or use other apps?
Yes. Alerts arrive whether the parent phone is locked, in another app, or asleep. The nursery phone keeps monitoring with its screen off, which is why it asks for a battery-optimisation exemption during setup.
Will it alert me for every little noise?
Only if you want it to. Cry detection has a sensitivity slider, and the alert tiers are deliberately different: crying can pierce silent mode and take over the screen, while ordinary room noise, movement and low battery are normal notifications that never do. An app that screams for everything gets silenced, and then it is useless for the one thing that mattered.
Privacy
Is anything recorded?
No. Audio and video are never written to storage on either phone, and there is no recording or playback-of-past-audio feature to enable. The stream is live only.
Can you see or hear my baby?
No. Audio and video travel directly between your two phones, end-to-end encrypted. When the two phones cannot reach each other directly, the encrypted stream is relayed through our own server in the EU — the relay forwards packets it cannot read, and retains nothing. We cannot decrypt any of it.
Do I need an account?
No. There is no sign-up, no email, no password and no profile. Two phones are paired with a temporary code, and that is the whole identity model. The privacy policy lists everything our servers do handle.
Does it use analytics or ad trackers?
No advertising SDKs, no ad tracking, and no profile of you. The app has no analytics SDK and no crash-reporting SDK. The website counts page views with a cookieless tool that cannot follow you anywhere else. Google’s only role is delivering the push notification that wakes your phone.
What it costs
What is free?
Your first three nights, with every feature included. A night means a distinct calendar day on which you ran a session, however short — and a quiet night still counts as one. No card, no account.
What does it cost after that?
From €9.99 a year. There is also a monthly plan and a prepaid week for travel, which does not auto-renew and simply expires. Every plan includes every feature — there is no tier that withholds the alarm.
Do I need to pay for both phones?
No. A plan unlocks the parent phone — strictly, the store account that bought it. The nursery phone runs the free app and never needs a plan of its own.
How do I cancel?
In Google Play → Subscriptions, or on iPhone in Settings → your name → Subscriptions. Cancelling stops future charges and you keep access until the period you paid for ends. A monitoring session already running is never interrupted by a plan change.
What it is not
Is this a medical or safety device?
No, and this matters. Calmina is not a substitute for direct adult supervision and it is not a medical device. It does not detect breathing, and it must never be relied on to catch a medical emergency. It is a monitor that tells you your baby is crying, on a phone that would otherwise have stayed quiet.
Can an alert be missed?
Yes, and any monitor that tells you otherwise is overselling. It depends on both phones staying powered and running, their microphones working, your network, and the permissions still being granted. That is exactly why the app ships an alert test, and why it is worth re-running after an OS update.
Still unanswered? Email hello@calmina.app and a person will reply.
How Calmina works · Why phones stay quiet on silent · Pricing · Privacy & security · Terms
Calmina is not a substitute for direct adult supervision or a medical monitoring device.