BeThere FAQ

BeThere is a phone-free school system that helps schools run bell-to-bell phone policies through geofencing, a student app, and an admin portal. It is designed to support the school day without phone lockers, pouches, scanning, or extra work for teachers.

A school creates its account, confirms its campus area and schedule, uploads students, and shares setup instructions with students and families. BeThere provides ready-made launch materials so schools do not have to build the rollout from scratch.

Yes, for BYOD schools, students install BeThere on their iPhone or Android phone, enter the school code, verify their school email, and enable the required permissions. BeThere is designed to make setup simple, school-specific, and limited to the school day.

No. BeThere is designed for students to install directly on iPhone or Android without requiring a full MDM rollout. Schools with managed devices may have additional enforcement options.

BeThere is offering free founding school partnerships through summer to help schools prepare for the 2026–2027 school year. Schools that join as founding partners can set up, test, and prepare before the school year begins. Future pricing will be shared clearly before any paid commitment.

Very little. BeThere is designed so teachers do not have to collect phones, unlock pouches, scan students in, or manage a phone system during class. Staff can use the Admin Portal to see who may need setup help or follow-up.

No. Students set up BeThere once. After that, BeThere is designed to activate during the school schedule when the student is on campus and turn off after the school day ends.

BeThere turns off automatically after the school day ends or when the student is no longer within the campus area. The phone returns to normal without staff needing to manually release it.

Staff can see simple school-day statuses that help run the policy, such as Ready, Needs Setup, Needs Permission, or Needs Attention. BeThere is not designed to show staff a student's texts, photos, browsing, or live location.

Yes. Families can contact the school front office as they normally would during the school day. Emergency calling remains available on the phone.

Emergency access remains available. BeThere is designed to support a phone-free school day while preserving access to emergency help.

BeThere supports the school's phone policy, but each school decides how it communicates expectations and handles family concerns. Families should contact the school with questions about participation, accommodations, or alternatives.

No. BeThere does not read student texts, photos, browsing history, or personal content. BeThere is not a message monitor, a browsing monitor, or a content scanner.

No. BeThere is not a 24/7 tracking tool. It is designed to run only during the school's configured schedule and only in relation to the school's campus area — not before school, not after dismissal, not on weekends, and not during the summer.

No. BeThere is not a live-location tracker. It is designed to confirm whether a student's device is set up and whether phone-free mode should be active during school hours on campus — not to follow a student through their day.

BeThere uses the school's configured campus area to determine whether the school-day policy should apply. The goal is to know whether the student's device is inside the school-day boundary, not to show staff a live map of the student.

BeThere is designed to use only the information needed to support the school-day phone policy: whether setup is complete, whether required permissions are enabled, whether phone-free mode is active, and whether the device is inside the school's campus area during the school schedule.

On iPhone, BeThere uses Apple-supported Screen Time and permission settings to help activate phone-free mode during the school day. Students must complete the required setup steps for the school-day policy to work correctly.

On Android, BeThere uses Android permissions and device-management options where available. On personal BYOD devices, Android support may rely more on accountability and status visibility; on school-managed devices, enforcement can be stronger.

Yes. Apple and Android provide different tools for app limits, permissions, and device management. BeThere is designed to support both platforms, but the exact enforcement model can vary depending on the device, operating system, and whether the device is personally owned or school-managed.

BeThere needs location permission so it can know whether the school-day policy should apply on campus during the school schedule. Location is not used to show staff a student's live location or to track students outside the school day.

Most students should be able to complete setup in a few minutes. They download BeThere, enter the school code, verify their school email, and enable the required permissions.

If the app is deleted, permissions are disabled, or the device is no longer reporting the setup status, BeThere can show that the student needs follow-up. The goal is to make setup and participation visible instead of leaving staff guessing.

BeThere helps schools manage the primary device students actually use, but no phone policy can fully prevent intentional second-phone behavior by itself. A second phone is still a school policy issue. BeThere makes the normal path easier and gives staff visibility when a student's setup or device check-in needs attention.

Needs Attention means a student or device may need staff follow-up. Common reasons include incomplete setup, missing permissions, the app not checking in recently, or something blocking the school-day flow.

BeThere is designed to feel calm and limited to the school day. Phone-free mode runs during school hours on campus, emergency help remains available, and the phone returns to normal after the school day ends.

BeThere is designed for schools using student-owned devices, but each school decides how to communicate expectations and handle individual concerns. Schools may choose rollout timelines, family communication, accommodations, or alternatives based on their own policy.