Smart Home Security for Families & Roommates: From Tech to Tribe
Today's homes are abuzz with "connected" and "smart" technology, promising convenience, security, and automation. But at Zuluhood, we believe true home security and the concept of a "connected home" go beyond gadgets and tech. It's about the people who make your house a home – your Tribe.
In Zuluhood, your Tribe consists of your household members - whether it's your parents, partner, children, or roommates. What sets Zuluhood apart is the ability to manage multiple homes within the app, with the flexibility to have different Tribes for each home. However, regardless of the number of homes you manage, the features remain the same.
Smart Home and Connected Home
You can still utilize your smart or connected home system, and with Zuluhood, you can connect it with your Tribe. Zuluhood integrates with IFTTT and many smart home security systems. The alert is crucial, and when it occurs, your whole household should be promptly informed. That is precisely what Zuluhood accomplishes. Simply set up an IFTTT applet where the alert from your smart home sensor serves as the trigger ("If This") and select Zuluhood as the action ("Then That"). Specify the type of alarm and instructions for notifying your household members.
Real-time Alerts and Emergency Contacts
In any alert triggered by your smart home sensors or in the app, manually by household members, Zuluhood sends a focused "Alarm in Zuluhood" message to your Tribe. Once any of you open the message, you will immediately enter a dedicated alarm chat where you can discover what triggered the alarm. You can also see if any of your Watchers (neighbors and friends) have responded or if the alert has been forwarded to the alarm monitoring station. Watchers are the unique feature that allows you to designate specific individuals who will be instantly alerted on any alarm in your home. That way, your Tribe, which may include your children, parents, partners, or roommates, doesn't have to rely on individual phone calls or messages to each of your contacts on your emergency contact list to ensure everyone is informed and safe. Instead, when an alert is triggered, all your designated Watchers will receive the notification simultaneously.
To add your Tribe members and Watchers, simply tap on your home image in your Zuluhood app and navigate to "Manage your Tribe" or "Manage Watchers."
Geofencing for Enhanced Home Security
By utilizing the location information of your Tribe members, Zuluhood enables you to determine if your home is empty or if any of your household members may be in potential danger. It's important to note that Zuluhood respects your privacy and does not track you at any time. Instead, it receives one-way information from your phone when you enter or leave the geofence you set around your home using this feature. This valuable notification system ensures that you stay connected and well-informed during critical moments. For example, it can alert you when your home is unoccupied, allowing you to activate the alarm system or check on the well-being of your household members. Similarly, it can notify you if someone may still be present inside your home when a home alarm is triggered.
To enable this feature, you and your Tribe members need to authorize Zuluhood to access your phone's location. Simply follow these steps:
1. Tap on your profile icon in the top right corner of your app.
2. Go to the location settings.
3. Allow Zuluhood to access your location at all times.
It's essential for the entire Tribe to complete this authorization process. Once done, as the home chief, you can easily activate the "Know when your home is empty" feature in your Tribe settings under your home.
Automated Family Check-Ins
Zuluhood's integration with IFTTT allows you not only to automate and prioritize your alerts, but even automate the process of checking in on your Tribe members and ensuring their well-being. Using predefined triggers and actions, you can set up IFTTT applets to send predefined messages to your Tribe at specified times, asking if they are okay. The beauty of this automation is that you can receive their responses directly in the Zuluhood family chats, creating a seamless and efficient communication flow.
How to do it? It's simple. Make sure you have both Zuluhood and IFTTT installed on your device. Open the IFTTT app and navigate to the "Applets" or "Create" section, depending on your app version. For the "If This" part, choose the Date and Time service as the trigger. Set the specific time or schedule when you want the check-in message to be sent. As the "Then That" action, instruct Zuluhood to start a home chat with your Tribe. Specify the question or message you want to ask your Tribe members, ensuring it prompts a response regarding their well-being, Save and enable the applet. Now, whenever the specified time or schedule is reached, Zuluhood will automatically initiate a home chat with your Tribe, asking the predefined question. Their responses will be received in the chat, allowing you to stay connected and informed about their well-being.
So, whether you refer to it as a connected home or a smart home, get more from it with Zuluhood, and seamlessly integrate your home technology with your household dynamics. Join us today and define your Tribe.