No cameras · No microphones · No wearables

They keep their independence.
You lose the worry.

A small sensor checks for expected everyday movement at home. If everything's fine, you hear nothing, and that silence is the best part. If your loved one misses an expected check-in, we let you know.

12 months free service included · Free shipping

Designed and built in Australia for families like yours

Puffin Guard sensor next to a phone showing the dashboard
Australian owned
Quick setup
1+ year on 2 AA batteries
Free shipping
30-day guarantee
No lock-in contract

How It Works

Set up in minutes, peace of mind for years

Three simple steps. No technician, no complicated setup, no ongoing effort.

1
Place the sensor

Place it in a hallway, living area, or anywhere you walk past every day. It detects movement using passive infrared, the same technology in outdoor sensor lights.

2
Life continues normally

Your loved one doesn't do anything differently. No buttons, no app, nothing to remember. The sensor quietly detects everyday movement.

3
Get alerted if needed

If expected movement isn't detected, we reach out to your loved one first. If they don't respond, we notify the people they trust by SMS, email, and phone call. Someone will know. Not days later.

Alert Flow

Quiet when life looks normal. Loud when someone should check.

Puffin Guard is not a live activity feed. It waits for the expected check-in window, gives your loved one a chance to respond, then escalates to the people they chose.

Everyday movement

The sensor notices normal movement in a hallway, living room, or kitchen. No cameras, microphones, or wearable devices.

Scheduled check-in

Most of the time it sleeps. On the chosen schedule, usually daily, it connects over WiFi and sends the latest check-in.

Person first

If expected movement is missing, Puffin Guard sends an SMS and makes a phone call. If they check in, everything resets silently.

Trusted contacts

If they cannot respond within the grace period, family, friends, neighbours, or carers are alerted by SMS, email, and phone call.

A small Puffin Guard sensor sitting unobtrusively on a bookshelf in a warm, sunlit living room
Morning

Your loved one gets up and makes a cup of tea. The sensor notices.

All is well

Movement was detected. You hear nothing, and that's the whole point. Everyone relaxes.

Something's wrong?

If expected movement is missing, we reach out to them first. If they don't respond, we contact the people they trust based on the configured schedule.

Built for Real Life

Their home. Their safety net.
Your peace of mind.

Most safety products are designed for the family. Puffin Guard is designed for the person living alone. It's a safety net, not surveillance.

Your loved one controls their own system. You only hear from us if something actually seems wrong. No daily reports, no activity feeds, no feeling of being watched.

  • Always on, nothing to remember Pendants and watches are great for emergencies, but they need to be worn and charged. Puffin Guard sits in the background with nothing to wear, charge, or forget.
  • Privacy is built in No cameras, no microphones. Nobody can see or hear inside the home. Not even you.
  • They're in control Your loved one owns the dashboard. Family and carers are trusted contacts, notified only when it matters.
  • A quiet monthly check Once a month, your loved one receives a simple summary confirming the sensor is running and everything's fine. As a family member, no news is good news.
  • Set it and forget it Runs on 2 AA batteries for over a year. Swap them like a smoke detector.

How Puffin Guard Is Different

Every option has trade-offs.
Here's where Puffin Guard fits.

There are many options for keeping a loved one safe. Puffin Guard fills a different gap, one that's harder to see but matters every day.

Medical alert pendants

Designed for immediate emergency response. Your parent presses a button and gets connected to a monitoring centre within seconds. When it's being worn, it does that job well.

Puffin Guard fills the gap: It works automatically every day, even overnight and on the days a pendant isn't being worn. Nothing to press, nothing to remember.

Many families use both: the pendant for emergencies, and Puffin Guard as a daily safety net that's always on in the background.

Smart home cameras

Provides visibility, but at the cost of privacy. Most older adults won't accept cameras inside their home, and shouldn't have to.

Puffin Guard: No cameras, no microphones. Nobody can see or hear inside the home. Not even family.
Smartwatches with fall detection

A genuine advantage. An Apple Watch or Galaxy Watch can detect a hard fall and call for help in seconds, no button press needed. It's excellent for daytime emergencies when it's on the wrist.

Puffin Guard fills the gap: Battery lasts over a year. Covers overnight while the watch is charging, and every day it's not on their wrist.

Many families use both: the watch for immediate fall response during the day, and Puffin Guard as a daily safety net for everything else.

Activity tracking systems

Streams daily activity data to a family dashboard. Gives caregivers full visibility, but makes your parent feel watched and managed. The product is designed for the family, not the person living alone.

Puffin Guard: Your parent controls the dashboard. Family are trusted contacts only, notified if something's actually wrong, not sent daily reports.

Is It Right?

Built for capable people who want a backup, not monitoring.

Puffin Guard sits in the gap between doing nothing and full care. It is for families who want someone to know if normal daily movement stops, without making home feel watched.

Good fit

  • Your parent or loved one is still capable and living independently.
  • They do not want cameras, microphones, wearables, or daily reporting.
  • You want a quiet safety net in case they do not wake up, have a fall, or cannot reach their phone.
  • They already have a fall watch or pendant, but sometimes forget to wear it or charge it.
  • You want family or trusted contacts notified, not automatic emergency services.

Not the right only solution

  • They need immediate fall detection or urgent emergency response.
  • They need 24/7 professional monitoring or clinical care.
  • The home has no reliable WiFi or trusted contacts who can respond.
  • You need live activity tracking, room-by-room reports, or a camera feed.
  • They are not aware of, or do not consent to, having the sensor in their home.

Pricing

Get started with 12 months free.

Sensor hardware, free shipping, and a full year of service included. Then $19.99/month, less than $5/week. No lock-in.

30-day satisfaction guarantee. If Puffin Guard isn't right for your family, we'll arrange a full refund. No questions asked.

FAQ

Common Questions

No. The sensor detects movement automatically. Your loved one just lives their life normally. No buttons to press, no app to use, nothing to remember.

No. Fall detection devices and medical pendants are designed for immediate emergency response, and they're good at it. Puffin Guard does something different: it checks for expected everyday movement, automatically and privately.

Many families use both: the pendant or watch for emergencies, and Puffin Guard as a daily safety net that covers the gaps — overnight while a watch is charging, or any time a wearable isn't on.

Absolutely not. Puffin Guard uses a passive infrared sensor to detect motion, the same technology used in outdoor sensor lights. There are no cameras, no microphones, and no way for anyone to see or hear what's happening inside the home.

The sensor detects all movement, including pets. For best results, place the sensor in an area your loved one regularly passes through but where pets are less likely to roam, like a hallway or near the kettle.

Yes, the sensor connects to your loved one's home WiFi to check in with our servers. Most homes with an internet connection will work fine. If the WiFi or internet goes down, we'll detect that the sensor has stopped checking in and let you know so you can look into it.

The sensor uses very little bandwidth and doesn't interfere with normal internet use.

The sensor runs on batteries, so a power cut won't stop it. But it does need WiFi to check in. If the internet goes out and the sensor can't check in, we'll detect that it's gone offline and send you an alert so you're aware. Your safety net is never silently broken.

Your loved one adds their trusted contacts from the dashboard. They choose who gets notified. As a family member, you can help them set this up, but the system is designed so your loved one stays in control of who their contacts are.

The system can be easily paused from the dashboard before they leave. When they're back, just re-enable it. No alerts will be sent while it's paused.

After 12 months, the service continues at $19.99/month, less than $5/week. We'll send an email before the first charge. Cancel anytime. No lock-in contracts, no cancellation fees.

No. Puffin Guard does not contact emergency services. It notifies the people your loved one trusts: family, friends, neighbours, or carers. They decide what to do next, including calling 000 if needed.

For direct emergency response, a monitored medical alert pendant is designed for that. Many families use both: the pendant for emergencies, and Puffin Guard as a daily safety net for everything else.

Yes. We offer a 30-day satisfaction guarantee. If Puffin Guard isn't right for your family, contact us and we'll arrange a full refund. See our Refund & Return Policy.

From Our Blog

Guides for families like yours

How to Check on an Elderly Parent Who Lives Alone

The realistic options for staying connected, what works, what doesn't, and what your parent will actually accept.

What to Do When Your Parent Refuses to Be Monitored

They've said no to cameras, no to wearables. That doesn't mean you're out of options.

What to Do After Your Parent Has a Fall

A practical guide for the days and weeks after the phone call you've been dreading.

View all articles

Why We Built This

Built by a family who needed it

"My dad lives alone, hours away. He's healthy and independent, but I still worried. He didn't want cameras. He didn't want to feel managed. He just wanted to know that if something went wrong, someone would come. So I built him a safety net he'd actually accept, and then I built it for every family like ours."

Pete Devlin Founder, Puffin Guard

Questions? Reach us at [email protected]

One sensor. One less thing keeping you up at night.

Quick setup. Your loved one doesn't need to do a thing. If it's not right, return it within 30 days for a full refund.

Free shipping · 12 months free service · Cancel anytime

Privacy Policy · Terms of Service

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