Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: What are the differences between the free and the premium version?

The main purpose of the app is to help people and ultimately save lives. Although the free version includes all the basics for this purpose, developing and maintaining Medical ID has a cost.

The premium version includes some more features (e.g. lock screen widget customization, data backup, unlimited profiles, BMI calculation, etc.) but also allows me to maintain and update the app regularly.

Q2: How to define ICE contacts?

The app allows creating profiles. Each profile includes a Medical Notes section. When you write the first letters of an existing contact name in this section a pop-up appears with contacts matching the prefix. Upon selection, a link is automatically created. This way, when your profile is displayed on the lock screen, anybody can tap the link to call your the contact without unlocking your device.

Q3: The lock screen widget disappears after some time

Medical ID unfortunately has no control over this: more and more Android versions are modified by manufacturers to include what they call an "optimization". This kills third-party apps like Medical ID after some time (but their own apps are whitelisted by default). Hopefully, you can fix this issue by editing a few options in your device settings. Most of the time it consists in disabling battery optimizations for Medical ID but some devices may require a few extra configurations.

Below is a link to a page that provides a step-by-step procedure based on your device:
https://dontkillmyapp.com

In all cases, we recommend checking that Medical ID accessibility service is enabled from the app settings and battery optimizations disabled for Medical ID app.

Q4: Where is my data stored?

By default, your data is stored on your device. If you uninstall the Medical ID app or if you run a cleanup utility app, your data will be erased. The benefit of this approach is that you have real control over your data.

To prevent any loss, the premium version includes a backup feature. However, backups are NOT created automatically. You need to trigger a backup manually. A backup generates a file that is named medicalid-X.backup, where X depicts the creation time of the backup file.

Since version 8, you choose where each backup is saved using the system file picker: a USB drive, an SD card, or a cloud storage provider (e.g. Google Drive). Prefer a location that survives uninstalling the app, such as an SD card or your cloud storage, so your data remains available when you need to restore it on the same device or a new one.

Here are links to videos showing different actions:

• Creating a backup file
• Moving a backup file in the Cloud (e.g. Google Drive)
• Retrieving a backup from the Cloud
• Restoring the data

To move your data to a new device, create a backup file on your old device (saving it to your cloud storage or an SD card), then restore it from the same location on the new device. Sending the backup file to yourself by email also works.

Q5: How to edit the default SMS alert message?

Open the app, tap the gear icon at the top right to open Settings, select Alerts, then SMS alert message. Set the message you want and confirm. Customizing the alert message requires the premium version; the free version sends the default message.

Your message may contain placeholders. Placeholders are replaced automatically by their corresponding value just before the message is sent:

$firstname

The first name set on your top profile.

$lastname

The last name set on your top profile.

$location_address

The best-estimated address it was possible to find.

$location_altitude

The estimated altitude (in meters).

$location_coordinates

The estimated GPS location, if available.

$location_coordinates_link

The estimated GPS location with a link to display it on a map, if location acquisition was possible.

$location_accuracy

The accuracy of the estimated position.

$location_datetime

The date and time the position was acquired.

Messages saved with the older $address, $altitude, $coordinates and $coordinates_link placeholders keep working.