A daily check-in app that works like a dead man's switch. You check in by opening the app. If you miss your check-in and its reminders, your pre-written message is texted to the contacts you chose. For US and Canadian phone numbers.
A while back I hiked an active volcano alone and realized nobody would have known for days if something went wrong. So I built an app called If You Read This.
You check in just by opening it. If you don't, it reminds you before your deadline, then texts the people you picked a message you wrote ahead of time.
Nobody has to press a button when something goes wrong, and it reminds you before your deadline.
Writing the message ahead of time is a useful detail. You could include your route and when you expect to be back. Congrats, Ryan!
Opening the app as the check-in keeps that interaction simple. A clear next deadline, including its time zone, would be especially useful for the solo travel situation that led you to build it.
About If You Read This on Product Hunt
“A daily check-in app that works like a dead man's switch”
If You Read This launched on Product Hunt on November 9th, 2026 and earned 86 upvotes and 4 comments, placing #14 on the daily leaderboard. A daily check-in app that works like a dead man's switch. You check in by opening the app. If you miss your check-in and its reminders, your pre-written message is texted to the contacts you chose. For US and Canadian phone numbers.
If You Read This was featured in Android (57.8k followers), Health & Fitness (83.5k followers), Messaging (52k followers) and Tech (636.6k followers) on Product Hunt. Together, these topics include over 273.4k products, making this a competitive space to launch in.
Who hunted If You Read This?
If You Read This was hunted by Ryan Mercado. A “hunter” on Product Hunt is the community member who submits a product to the platform — uploading the images, the link, and tagging the makers behind it. Hunters typically write the first comment explaining why a product is worth attention, and their followers are notified the moment they post. Around 79% of featured launches on Product Hunt are self-hunted by their makers, but a well-known hunter still acts as a signal of quality to the rest of the community. See the full all-time top hunters leaderboard to discover who is shaping the Product Hunt ecosystem.
Want to see how If You Read This stacked up against nearby launches in real time? Check out the live launch dashboard for upvote speed charts, proximity comparisons, and more analytics.
Ryan Mercado
A while back I hiked an active volcano alone and realized nobody would have known for days if something went wrong. So I built an app called If You Read This.
You check in just by opening it. If you don't, it reminds you before your deadline, then texts the people you picked a message you wrote ahead of time.
Nobody has to press a button when something goes wrong, and it reminds you before your deadline.