It is a lovely thing to help someone in your family track their migraines, whether that is your child, your partner, an elderly parent, or a friend who finds the app a bit fiddly. The most important rule is simple: each person needs their own account. Please do not share a single account between two people.
Why each person needs their own account
The risk score, the patterns, and the trigger learning are all built from one person's data. If two people share an account, the app sees one fictional person who eats two breakfasts, sleeps in two beds, and has very confusing migraines. The advice it gives will be wrong for both of you.
It also matters for privacy. Each person's health data should belong to them.
Setting up an account for a family member
You can absolutely help them set it up. Most family members are grateful for the help.
What you need
- Their email address (each account needs its own email).
- Their phone, or your phone if they will use yours.
- A few minutes of quiet time together.
On iPhone and Android
- Open the App Store or Play Store and install MigraineMe if it is not already there.
- Open the app. On a phone that has never used MigraineMe, the screen says Let's get you set up. On a phone that has signed in before, it says Welcome back.
- To make an email account: on Welcome back, tap Sign up next to Don't have an account? at the bottom. On Let's get you set up., tap Continue with email (on iPhone, then tap Sign Up under the form). The Create account screen opens.
- Enter your family member's email address and choose a password. (If they already use Google or Facebook, or Apple on an iPhone, you can instead tap that button. The first sign-in creates their account.)
- Confirm the email: a confirmation message is sent. Open it, tap the link, then sign in.
- The onboarding tour begins. Fill in their details as you go.
The "Your health data" screen
After you sign in for the first time, the app shows a Your health data screen once. It explains how your health data is used. Tick the box to agree and tap Continue. On Android, Not now signs you out again.
Helping a child
For a child, please use their date of birth and their name. If they are too young to have their own email address, you can use yours, but only if you are not also using that email for your own MigraineMe account. (You cannot have two MigraineMe accounts on the same email.)
A practical option for many families is to create a free email address for your child (Gmail, for example) and use that for their MigraineMe account. You hold the password, but the account belongs to them.
Helping an elderly parent
A common arrangement is:
- Install the app on their phone.
- Set up the account using their email.
- Sit with them and walk through the first few days of logging.
- Show them how to log a migraine using the Migraine button in the Quick log strip on the Home screen.
- Pop in once a week to help them review what has been recorded.
You can sign in to their account on your own phone too, if they want you to be able to log things on their behalf. This is fine. Just remember it is their data, not yours.
What you should not do
- Do not use your own account for them. The data will be wrong for both of you.
- Do not share their password in a group chat. Treat their MigraineMe password like any other account password.
- Do not enter someone's information without their knowledge. Even with the best intentions, it is their health data.
Switching between accounts
If you are managing more than one account, you will need to sign out of one before signing in to another.
On iPhone
- Open MigraineMe.
- Tap the gear icon in the top-left of the screen.
- Tap Logout in the drawer.
- Sign in with the other email.
On Android
The same steps apply.
This is a bit clunky if you do it often.
A note on supporting someone
Helping a family member track their migraines is a real act of care. Many people find it much easier when someone sits with them. Please be patient. The first few entries take longer than the rest.
If you get stuck, write to help@migraineme.app.
