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Account Setup: How to Register Your Family on Village Metrics

This guide walks you through the complete account setup process for VillageMetrics, from initial registration to your first journal entry.

Creating Your Account

  1. Download the App: Install VillageMetrics from the App Store (iOS) or Google Play Store (Android)

  2. Enter Your Email: This will be your permanent login credential for the app

  3. One-Time Password (OTP) Verification:

  4. Check your email for a verification code

  5. Enter the 6-character code in the app
  6. If you don't receive it within a few minutes, check your spam folder

  7. You can request a new code if needed

  8. Account Created: Once verified, your account is active and ready to use

Parent vs Caregiver Selection

This is a crucial decision that determines your access level and responsibilities:

Choose "Parent" if:

  • You are a biological parent or legal guardian of the child you want to track
  • You want to create and manage child profiles
  • You will be paying for the subscription
  • You need full administrative access

Choose "Caregiver" if:

  • You were invited by a parent to join a child's village
  • You provide care but aren't the primary guardian
  • You have an invitation code from a parent

Important: You can ONLY select "Parent" if you are the legal parent or guardian of the child. Only parents can create child profiles and manage subscriptions.

Child Profile Creation

Basic Information

Child's Full Name:

  • Enter the complete legal name as it appears on medical records
  • This helps with official documentation and exports

Preferred Name & Nicknames:

  • Preferred Name: What your child likes to be called day-to-day
  • Nicknames: Any variations you use when speaking about your child
  • Why This Matters: Voice transcription needs to recognize how you refer to your child in journal entries

Example: Full name "Sydney Marie Johnson", preferred name "Sydney", nicknames "Syd, Kiddo"

Birth Date (Optional):

  • Helps with age-appropriate analysis
  • Used for community insights comparisons
  • Can be skipped if privacy is a concern

Photo Upload

Adding a photo is optional but recommended:

  • Visual Identification: Helps when managing multiple children
  • Personalization: Makes the app feel more connected to your child
  • Village Recognition: Helps caregivers quickly identify which child they're working with
  • Privacy: Photos are stored securely and never shared outside your village

Conditions & Diagnoses

Select any conditions that apply to your child:

  • Autism Spectrum Disorder
  • ADHD/ADD
  • Anxiety Disorders
  • Sensory Processing Disorder
  • Developmental Delays
  • Other (specify)

Multiple Selections Allowed: Choose all relevant conditions

How This Helps:

  • AI Analysis: Improves behavior analysis accuracy
  • Community Insights: Anonymous comparisons with similar children
  • Caregiver Context: Helps village members understand your child's needs

Privacy Note: This information is used only for analysis and anonymous community insights. Individual diagnoses are never shared outside your village.

Notification Settings

Daily Reminders

What They Are: Gentle evening reminders to record your daily journal entry

Recommendation: Enable these initially to build a consistent journaling habit

Customization: Can be turned off later in Settings if they become unnecessary

Activity Notifications

Get notified when village members add new journal entries about your child.

Enriched Notifications

What You'll See: Detailed summaries right in your push notification Example: "Sydney struggled with transitions at school today, but used her coping strategies successfully"

Benefits:

  • Immediate updates without opening the app
  • Rich context about your child's day
  • Real-time awareness of your child's experiences

Privacy Consideration: ⚠️ HIPAA Consent Required: Protected health information will appear on your lock screen and potentially sync to other devices.

Consent Language: "I understand the risks and consent to receive enriched notifications that may include sensitive information, including my child's name, caregiver names and behavior or health related content in push notifications that may appear on lock screens of my device and the devices of other caregivers in my child's village."

Generic Notifications

  • What You'll See: Simple alerts like "You have an update available"
  • Benefits: Privacy-safe notifications with no PHI exposure
  • Trade-off: Must open app to see details

Per-Child Settings

Notifications can be customized for each child individually. During onboarding, settings apply to all children you create, but you can modify them later in Settings > Push Notification Settings.

Email Preferences

VillageMetrics may send helpful updates about your child's progress, milestones, and app usage tips.

Enriched Emails

  • Content: May include your child's name, progress summaries, and behavioral insights
  • Example: "Sydney had several tough mornings last week during transitions, and some patterns are starting to emerge."

HIPAA Consent Required: "I understand and consent to receive emails that may include protected health information for any child profile I create now or in the future. I acknowledge that email is not a fully secure channel and accept this risk."

Generic Emails

  • Content: General updates without personal health information
  • Example: "New journal insights are ready to view in the app"

No Emails

  • Option: Opt out of all email communications
  • Note: You can always change this preference later

Current Status: Email features are being developed. Your preferences are saved for when this functionality becomes available.

Community Insights

  • Purpose: Help other families by contributing anonymous behavioral data

  • What's Shared:

  • Age ranges and conditions (anonymized)

  • Behavior scores and trends (no names or identifying information)
  • Activity and hashtag patterns
  • Medication effectiveness (anonymized)

What's NEVER Shared:

  • Names or identifying information
  • Specific journal entries or personal details
  • Contact information or location data

Consent: "I agree to anonymously contribute to community insights that may help other families."

Recommendation: This helps build a valuable resource for the autism and ADHD community with no privacy risk.

Purpose: Allow VillageMetrics team to review your data to improve AI accuracy and app functionality

What May Be Reviewed:

  • Journal entries (with AI redaction of identifying details)
  • Chat transcripts with Ask Anything feature
  • Medication data and analysis results
  • Analysis accuracy and functionality

Privacy Protections:

  • HIPAA compliant review process
  • Only anonymous ID used (no usernames)
  • AI redaction removes identifying details
  • Voluntary participation, withdraw anytime

Consent: "I agreed to allow the VillageMetrics team to access journal entries, chat responses, analysis data and medication information from any child I track in this app now or in the future, for internal review in accordance with HIPAA regulations. I understand that participation is voluntary and that I may withdraw my consent at any time."

Why This Helps: Enables the team to verify AI analysis accuracy and improve features for all users.

Subscription Activation

Free Trial Details

  • Duration: 4 weeks of full access
  • Features: Complete access to all app functionality
  • Payment: No upfront payment required
  • Billing: Automatic billing begins after trial ends

Important Notes

  • Cancel Anytime: Cancel before 4 weeks to avoid charges
  • Annual Only: No monthly subscription option
  • Family Coverage: One subscription covers all your children and unlimited caregivers
  • Caregiver Access: Caregivers never pay - they're covered by your subscription

What Happens Next

After subscribing, you'll be taken to the main app interface (the Feed) where you can:

  • Add your first journal entry
  • Set up medications
  • Invite village members
  • Begin tracking your child's behavioral patterns

Next Steps After Onboarding

Once you complete the onboarding process:

  1. Record Your First Journal Entry: Start building your data foundation
  2. Set Up Medications: Configure current medications and dosages if applicable
  3. Invite Your First Caregiver: Begin building your child's village
  4. Establish a Daily Routine: Aim for consistent daily journal entries

The app becomes more valuable with each entry, so consistency in the first few weeks will set you up for the most meaningful insights.