Getting started with Safy: what you need and in what order
By the end: You'll know what to prepare and go through every setup step in order, until your child's WhatsApp is connected and monitored.
Before you start
- A Windows or Mac computer (Mac needs macOS 12 or later).
- Your phone — the verification code is sent to it by SMS.
- Your child's phone, with an active WhatsApp account, close by.
- About 15 minutes.
Safy runs as an app on your computer. It connects to your child's WhatsApp the same way WhatsApp Web does, analyses the messages and alerts you to harmful content. You set it up once, in four steps.
Step 1: Sign up on the website
- Go to the sign-up page on the Safy website.
- Enter your phone number and click "Send Verification Code".
- Enter the 6-digit code you received by SMS.
- Fill in your details: parent name, email, your child's name and age.
- Choose a paid plan, or continue with the free version.
Chose a paid plan? It's free for the first 14 days, and billing starts only after that. A credit card is required. Chose the free version? You get a 14-day trial of the Starter plan with no credit card, and then the account moves to the free plan automatically. Details: Account and subscription.
More on the verification code: Signing in and getting a verification code.
Step 2: Install Safy on your computer
- Download Safy from the download page on the website, for your operating system.
- Install and open the app.
Full details: Installing Safy on your computer.
Step 3: Sign in to the app
- On the "Welcome to Safy AI" screen, click "I Have a Code".
- Enter the code you received by WhatsApp or email after signing up, and click "Verify Code".
No code? Click "Verify with Phone Number" and get a code by SMS.
Step 4: Connect your child's WhatsApp
- Scan the QR code shown on the computer with your child's phone.
- Wait a few minutes while the chat history loads.
Full details: How to connect your child's WhatsApp to Safy, then Connected — what happens now?.
How to know it worked
On the Safy dashboard, the "WhatsApp" card shows "Connected", and the "Prepare chats" progress indicator is gone.
If it doesn't work
- Stuck on a step? Open the detailed guide for that step — the links are at the end of each step above.
- The computer needs to stay on with Safy running for monitoring to work. See Keeping Safy running and up to date.