Samsung's Family Care update lets caregivers keep a close watch on loved ones

What you need to know

• Samsung is rolling out a SmartThings update for Family Care that lets caregivers (son, daughter, etc.) stay in the loop about their loved one.
• Now, users can keep tabs on a person's "Activity," getting insight into when they've used the TV and other appliances, and get alerts if nothing's been used for a set amount of time.
• Caregivers can also set schedules for their parents and reminders about when to eat and take their medicine.

Samsung's SmartThings, which typically connects its smart devices, brought a Family Care feature last year, and it's not receiving an important update.

Earlier today (Aug 28), Samsung posted an update about its SmartThings Family Care feature, as it's receiving new features to better support families. One of the areas Samsung is trying to streamline is its link for "effortless" check-ins. Now, the person responsible for taking care of you (son, daughter, etc.) can send you a text message with a link to Family Care.

After receiving, the mother/father/grandparent can accept and agree to Samsung's standard consent options for health data gathering and more. Once that's complete, everything is set. Samsung states this streamlined approach should make it easier for those unfamiliar with using apps, as the steps required are quite minimal and straightforward.

The newest update also allows "families to define caregiver and care recipient roles more clearly." Through this, preferences on what you'd like to be kept in the loop about become clearer.

Family Care is a part of SmartThings, so that means it's connected to other smart home appliances the care recipient has around them. Samsung says users can decide which appliances the caregiver would like to stay informed about. Say, your mother has a TV at home and she typically watches it in the afternoon for her shows.

If an appliance hasn't been used for a while, Family Care can send an alert to the caregiver. The alert will let the caregiver "respond immediately," via phone call or text. Family Care's update lets users fine-tune how long down periods should be and which appliances they'd like to remain informed about.

This is all wrapped under the recipient's "Activity" logs.

Keeping track & Staying informed

Staying connected with our loved ones is important, especially when we're responsible for their well-being. Family Care is bringing a familiar feature, alerts that inform you when your loved one has left or arrived at a cataloged location. Additionally, there's a map where you can see where they've gone and the path traveled.

Lastly, daily meals and medicine at certain times are crucial. The Family Care update lets users set up schedules and reminders of when they should eat and take their medicine, so sudden scares are (hopefully) avoided. These updates should be rolling out soon for Galaxy devices, so keep your eyes peeled.