Question 1

Should every older person have CallByFace?

Accepted Answer

No. If the person manages their regular phone — texting, photos, news, banking — they should keep it, perhaps with larger text and fewer apps on the home screen. CallByFace is for someone who can no longer call or answer on a regular phone, even after you have tried. Read the “Is CallByFace right for you?” section on the home page before ordering.

Question 2

We tried a senior phone. Why would this be different?

Accepted Answer

A senior phone is an ordinary phone with fewer features. The menus are still there, and that is enough for someone with cognitive impairment to land on a screen they cannot escape. CallByFace removes the possibility entirely: the calling screen cannot be left. The screen looks the same every time, whatever you tap.

Question 3

Is a SIM card required?

Accepted Answer

Yes. CallByFace makes ordinary phone calls. Any plan or prepaid SIM works.

Question 4

Is everything on the phone erased?

Accepted Answer

Yes, if you reuse a phone that has been in use. The factory reset wipes photos, contacts, messages and apps. So copy out anything you want to keep before you start — to Google Photos, a computer or a memory card. If the phone is new there is nothing to rescue.

Question 5

Can bank ID, mobile payments and banking apps be used on the phone?

Accepted Answer

No. A phone running CallByFace does one thing: it makes and receives calls.

Question 6

So how do we handle bank ID and payments?

Accepted Answer

Keep the old phone or a tablet at home with the bank ID and banking apps on it. It can sit on wi-fi only or keep its own SIM — both work, and it does not need to be left out on the table. On the few occasions bank ID is needed it gets picked up, usually together with a family member anyway. The CallByFace phone is the one that stays within reach and can always be answered. It costs nothing extra: the phone already exists.

Question 7

Can they receive text messages, for example one-time codes?

Accepted Answer

Yes. You reach the SMS app through the admin menu, so one-time codes and other messages can be read when you help out.

Question 8

Is a subscription included?

Accepted Answer

No. You buy a licence — one QR code. You choose the phone and the plan, which is almost always cheaper.

Question 9

Is CallByFace on Google Play?

Accepted Answer

No, and that is deliberate. This is not an app you download alongside other apps — it is a locked calling screen. A downloaded app can be uninstalled, updated away or switched out of, and the simplicity is gone immediately. That is why CallByFace is sold as a licence: one QR code you scan on the phone, which installs CallByFace and puts the phone into locked mode — it starts in the calling screen and cannot leave it.

Question 10

What does it cost?

Accepted Answer

{price} one-off per phone — the same price whether a family member or an organisation orders. No subscription, no lock-in, and you pay in your own currency. You pay by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay at checkout.

Question 11

What happens if the phone restarts?

Accepted Answer

CallByFace launches automatically and the phone returns to locked mode on its own. The user does not have to do anything and is not left on a normal home screen.

Question 12

Can the user dial a wrong number?

Accepted Answer

No. Only the six contacts you added can be called, plus the emergency number.

Question 13

How do I change a contact?

Accepted Answer

Through the hidden admin mode: tap ten times on the menu bar at the very top. It takes under a minute.

Question 14

Does it work on iPhone?

Accepted Answer

No. iOS does not allow this kind of locked mode for consumers. Android is required.

Question 15

What support is included?

Accepted Answer

All support happens in our open forum on this site. We answer setup and everyday questions there, and the answers stay up for the next person. There is no support phone line and no support email.

Question 16

Where are contacts and photos stored?

Accepted Answer

Locally on the phone. We do not collect data about the person using the phone.

Question 17

Who is behind CallByFace?

Accepted Answer

CallByFace is developed and sold by Visera AB (company reg. no. 556682-5211) in Linköping, Sweden. The first version was built in 2022 for a family member and has been used daily ever since. During 2025–2026 around ten families tried it, and their feedback shaped the version sold today. Questions are asked openly in the forum, where both questions and answers stay available to read.

Question 18

Six contacts is not enough. Why can't we add more?

Accepted Answer

Six is a limit set by the screen, not by the technology. Six faces on a phone screen are large enough to hit with a whole thumb and recognise in half a second. Twelve become small pictures you have to aim at — and then we are back to a contact list. More contacts would also mean scrolling or pages, which means a screen that can look different from one moment to the next. That is exactly what we remove. In practice almost everyone calls the same four or five people. If a seventh is needed, replace the least used one; it takes under a minute.

Question 19

That is a lot of money for something that just shows six pictures.

Accepted Answer

Counted in lines of code, it is expensive. Counted against the alternatives, it is a one-off cost with no subscription, versus a dedicated senior phone at several thousand kronor that often ends up in a drawer anyway. You are not paying for the pictures — you are paying for a screen that cannot be left, and for someone to keep maintaining it against new Android versions. If it does not work for you, you get your money back within 90 days.

Question 20

I could build this myself — and there is probably something free.

Accepted Answer

Partly true. There are free launchers and big-button apps, and if you are comfortable with Android's device owner mode you can put together something similar. The difference is that it has to hold up every day for years without a family member stepping in — the lock has to survive restarts, updates and mistaken taps. If you want to build it yourself, do. This is for people who would rather spend that time on the person than on the phone.

Question 21

You remove bank ID, texts and everything else. Isn't that taking away someone's independence?

Accepted Answer

That is a fair objection. The answer is that CallByFace takes nothing away from the person — it is an extra phone that does one thing. The old phone is still there with banking, texts and everything else. What gets used is decided by the person themselves, together with their family — not by us. For someone who manages an ordinary phone, CallByFace is the wrong product, and you should not buy it.

Question 22

What happens to the phone if you shut down?

Accepted Answer

The phone keeps working. CallByFace is installed locally and needs no server, no account and no login in order to make calls — there is no subscription that can be switched off. What you would lose if we disappeared is future updates and the forum, not the calling screen.

Question 23

Around ten test families is not real evidence.

Accepted Answer

No, it is not a study and we do not call it one. It is the experience of one phone that has sat on a kitchen table since 2022, plus around ten families who tried it during 2025–2026. We state the number openly precisely so nobody assumes it is more. If you want more evidence: order one, try it for 90 days and send it back if it does not hold up.

Question 24

Why not iPhone? She already has one.

Accepted Answer

Because iOS does not let an app lock down the whole phone this way for private individuals. We cannot solve that, however much we would like to. The alternative is a second-hand Android for very little money alongside the iPhone.

Question 25

Is the emergency button a replacement for a personal alarm?

Accepted Answer

No, and it matters to be clear about that. The emergency button places an ordinary phone call to the number you set — emergency services or a family member, for example. There is no positioning, no alarm centre and no monitoring of whether the call is answered. If a real personal alarm is needed, you should have that in addition.

Question 26

What happens when Google changes Android?

Accepted Answer

It will happen, and an update may be needed when it does. That is why development continues, and why the forum exists with both problems and solutions out in the open. We do not promise that every future Android version works on day one — we promise to say so openly when something does not.

Frequently asked questions

Two phones — one you can always call with

The CallByFace phone

One more phone

The objections we get

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