Lumi Help & FAQ

Lumi helps you plan your ride home while sober, so getting home is one tap when you're not. Here's how it works.

Why Lumi?

I already have Uber — why do I need Lumi?

Ride apps are great at booking a ride, but they only help once you've already decided to use one. Most impaired-driving trips don't happen because a ride wasn't available — it's on almost every phone — but because the person didn't open it in the moment. Lumi helps you make that decision in advance, while you're sober, and turns acting on it into a single tap.

What does planning ahead actually add?

Three things:

  • It moves the decision to your sober self, when your judgment is best.
  • It removes the friction — typing an address, weighing the cost — that becomes an excuse to drive when you're impaired.
  • It gives you a backup when a ride doesn't come.
What if there are no rides — no cars, surge, or no signal?

That's exactly where a ride app leaves you with nothing — and "nothing" is when people walk to their car. Lumi never dead-ends: it immediately offers your trusted person, a taxi, or transit directions home.

Does Lumi help with things a ride app doesn't?

Yes. It remembers where you parked (so the car isn't a reason to drive home tomorrow), reminds you that alcohol can linger into the morning, and can let someone know if you don't make it home — none of which a ride-booking app does.

Will this stop someone determined to drink-drive?

No, and we don't pretend otherwise. Lumi is for the much larger group of people who mean to be sensible but make one poor call in the moment. It's one layer of safety that makes the safe choice easy — not a guarantee, and not a replacement for ride apps or enforcement.

Getting started

How do I set up a plan?

Open Lumi and tap Plan Your Ride Home, then set:

  • When you're out — a start and end time (it can cross midnight).
  • Where home is — search your address, use your current location, or drop the pin exactly on your door with Adjust pin on map.
  • Your ride — Uber, Lyft, another ride app, or a taxi number.
  • Your people — up to two trusted contacts (optional).

Save it, and Lumi takes care of the rest during your plan's time window.

Do I need an account?

No. Lumi has no sign-up and no login. Everything you set up stays on your phone.

Can I have more than one plan?

Yes. Create a plan for each night out. You can view, edit, or delete them under Your plans. Each plan has its own home, ride, and people.

On the night

What happens during my plan?

While a plan is active, Lumi shows the night-of screen: a big GET ME HOME button and Call my person. A quiet reminder also sits in your notifications with a one-tap GET ME HOME.

What does GET ME HOME do?

It opens your chosen ride app with home already set as the destination — so you're one confirm-tap from a booked ride, without typing an address.

What if my ride app won't open?

Lumi never leaves you stranded. If the ride app can't be reached, it immediately offers other safe ways home: call your person, call a taxi, or transit directions. There's always a safe next step.

Other features

Where's my car

Save your parking spot on a live map when you arrive, and get walking or transit directions back to it the next day — so dealing with the car tomorrow is never a reason to drive tonight.

Morning-after reminder

An optional reminder that alcohol can stay in your system into the morning. It's a caution only — it never tells you that you're "clear" to drive.

Safe-arrival check

Optional. Set a time to mark yourself home safe. If you don't, Lumi helps you message your trusted person — by opening a pre-filled message that you tap send on. Lumi never sends anything automatically.

Permissions & privacy

What permissions does Lumi use, and why?
  • Location — to set your home, remember where you parked, and give directions.
  • Contacts — only to let you pick trusted people; we copy just the name and number you choose.
  • Notifications — for reminders and the active-plan reminder.

Every permission is optional and asked for in context. If you decline one, the safe actions still work.

Where does my data go?

Your address, contacts, plans, and parking spot stay on your phone. Lumi has no account and no server of its own — it doesn't collect, sell, or share your data. The only network use is turning an address into a map, handled by your device's own services. See the privacy policy.

Does Lumi message my friends automatically?

Never. The only time Lumi contacts anyone is if you use the safe-arrival check and choose to send the pre-filled message yourself.

Troubleshooting

GET ME HOME opened the wrong address

GPS can be a few metres off. Edit your plan's home, then use Adjust pin on map to place the pin exactly on your door and save. The ride will then use that precise spot.

The ride app didn't open

Make sure the app (Uber/Lyft) is installed, or that you set a taxi number. If it still can't open, Lumi's fallback options (person, taxi, transit) will appear automatically.

I'm not getting notifications

Check that notifications are allowed for Lumi in your phone's settings, and that your plan's time window is current.

Lumi is one layer of safety, never a guarantee. It doesn't measure how much you've had, and never tells you it's okay to drive. If you've been drinking, don't drive.

Still need help? Email admin@cognideep.com.au.