The text your people get
This is the whole app, really. One text.
Example wording. On a normal day they just get "checked in" and "out of the woods, all good."
How it works
- Check in before you go.
One tap: what you're doing, where, and when you'll be back (a few hours, noon, after dark, or tomorrow morning for a travel day). Then put the phone away. - Your people see where you checked in.
Family, lease buddies and friends each get a private link by text. It opens in any phone's browser. No app, no login. - Running long? One tap.
Tap +1 hour and everyone gets a calm "running late, I'm OK" instead of a scare. - Overdue? They get your last position and what to do.
The overdue check runs on our server, so it goes out even if your phone dies or never finds a bar.
Don't take our word for it
Play a made-up hunt: a normal day, a late one, a dead zone with a dead phone, and a HELP tap. Drag the clock and watch the map and the texts change.
See it workBuilt for people who go where the signal doesn't
Who's out: party boards
For a hunting camp, a lease or a riding group: share a 6-letter code and everyone sees who's checked in, where, until when, and how far away. Know where everyone is before you take a shot.
Wind, weather and warnings
Wind direction hour by hour, temperature, rain chance, daylight left, the moon, and National Weather Service warnings for right where you are. Saved for when you lose signal.
Stands for today's wind
Tag each stand with the winds it hunts well on. The app puts the stands that fit today's forecast first. One tap and you're checked in to it.
"Still OK?" check-ins
Choose to be asked every 1, 2 or 3 hours. Miss one and your people hear within 30 minutes, not hours later at your back-by time. Made for a sit in a tree stand, a solo hike, or a long drive alone.
Road trips, stop by stop
Add your stops and arrive-by times. Tap Arrived at each one and your people get a text with where you are and where you are headed next.
Road treasures and missions
People leave songs, drawings, poems, riddles and stories at places for the next person to find. Read the history of where you are (hand-written for St. Pete and Tampa). Daily missions, passport stamps at real landmarks, and critters that live at parks and gas stations, never on private property.
Plan from home
Save your stand or route and back-by time while you have a bar. If your check-in never gets through, your people are still told.
Way back to the truck
Distance and an arrow back to where you checked in. Uses GPS and the phone's compass only, so no signal needed.
Saved spots
Save your camp, overnight parking, water, dump station, fuel or a spot with signal (and how good it was). Distance and direction work offline.
Map layers
USGS topo, satellite, OpenTopoMap and street maps, plus weather radar, with your saved spots on top. Map tiles need signal; your spots don't.
Daylight and log
Sunrise, sunset and daylight left, worked out on the phone. A log of every outing with a shareable GPX track.
RV and van travel days
Check in for a travel day or overnight, up to 48 hours out, so someone knows where you're parked and when to worry.
Built for no signal
Checking in with no bars is normal in the woods. Headed Back says so plainly, saves your check-in and every position on the phone, and sends them when a bar appears. Tip: check in at the last spot where you have signal, like the road in.
Why check in?
In one Ohio State study of hunting injuries that reached a hospital, half were falls, and 92% of those falls were from tree stands.
Indiana wildlife officials counted 100 treestand falls among 182 reported hunting accidents over five years.
Older state and hospital studies, so "one study found," not a national figure. Sources: Field & Stream summary · University of Wisconsin study.
If you get hurt where there's no signal, what matters first is that someone knows where to look and when to worry. That's all Headed Back does. It doesn't prevent a fall. Wear a full-body harness every time you climb.
Free while we test
Headed Back is free during the beta. It's the hunting sibling of Headed In, the check-in app for boaters, built on the same engine and the same overdue-text system.
FAQ
Does Headed Back call 911 or game wardens?
No. It texts your people with your last position, your stand and what to do next. They know you, your truck and your lease, so they're the right first call. If it's an emergency, call 911 yourself.
Who gets the text?
Anyone you add: family and lease buddies. They each reply YES once to turn texts on, and each gets their own view-only link. Lease buddies get the same overdue text as family.
What if I have no signal at the stand?
Your phone keeps recording and sends everything when it finds a bar. The overdue text is sent by our server, not your phone, so it still goes out if the phone dies. The one catch: the server has to hear about your check-in once, so check in where you have a bar.
Does it work with my hunting map app?
Yes. Headed Back isn't trying to replace a full map app: keep using whatever you use for property lines and navigation, and use Headed Back for the check-in, your saved spots, and a simple map.
Is it only for hunting?
No. Pick what you're doing when you check in: hunting, hiking, fishing, riding, camping, RV or van travel, or just "out." The texts and your people's page use the right words.
Does it drain my battery?
It only uses GPS during a hunt you check in to, it logs less when you're sitting still, and it checks in less often when your battery runs low. Start charged. We're measuring real numbers during the beta.
What do you do with my location?
It's shared only during a hunt, and only with the people you choose. We don't sell data. There's nothing to sell.
Why not just use the iPhone's built-in Check In?
Apple's Check In is a good feature if you and your contact both have it: it needs iOS 17 on both phones. Headed Back works when your people are on any phone (the map opens in a browser, no app or login), asks which stand you're in and when you'll be back, sends to family and lease buddies together, and sends the overdue text from our server, so it still goes out if your phone dies.
Is it really free?
Yes, during the beta.
iPhone only?
iPhone first. Android is planned. Your people can be on any phone: the map opens in the browser.
Built by a nurse
Designed in St. Petersburg, Florida by a nurse, as the sibling of Headed In: for the people who hunt, and for the people waiting at home who want to know where to look.
Privacy, in plain English
Your location is shared only while you're checked in, and only with the people you choose. We don't sell data. You can delete your account and everything in it from Settings in the app. Privacy policy · Terms and community rules