Your mom can
just ask.
Mika sits on the Windows PC she already has. Mika reads the screen, explains it, and warns about scams — without being able to touch a thing.
$29 a month per household when the pilot opens — nothing to pay to join.
You set Mika up once, remotely. Your parent never sees a bill.
9:40 PM · Tuesday
Margaret is 74. This just landed in her inbox.
Ask Mika what you’d ask. Watch what Mika does — and what Mika can’t.
Your order has been confirmed — $499.99
Dear Customer,
Your order of 1 × Apple iPhone 16 Pro — $499.99 has been confirmed and will ship today.
If you did not authorize this purchase, call 1-888-555-0142 immediately to cancel.
Three questions. Ask them in any order.
Mika can’t click.
Not by accident, and not if something on screen tries to talk Mika into it. It isn’t a rule Mika follows — it’s missing from the software.
- Move, send, or spend money
- Type or read out a password
- Install or remove software
- Send an email, or a reply
- Delete a file, photo, or message
- Accept terms, or sign anything
What Mika is actually for.
Four things, done well. Outside them Mika says Mika isn’t sure and offers a real person — which is most of why the pilot has a phone number.
- “Is this real?”
- A $499 charge that never happened.
- “What does this say?”
- Four pages of Medicare, in one sentence.
- “Where's the thing I need?”
- The photo Anne sent, still in the email.
- “Read this to me.”
- Insurance terms, in six-point type.
You stop wondering how it’s going.
A short email after every session. About twenty seconds to read. This is the part you’re actually paying for.
Mika helped your mom on Tuesday at 9:40pm. She asked about an email claiming a $499.99 charge from Amazon. Mika flagged it as a likely scam and told her not to call the number. She did not call.
Nothing on her computer was changed. Mika took no actions.
Your mom sees every summary before you do, knows you get them, and can keep any session private — “Mika, keep this one to yourself.” We won’t build something that spies on the person using it.
The things you’re right to ask.
Isn’t this exactly like those remote-access scams?
It looks similar from the outside, so here is the difference that matters: those scams work because the stranger takes control of the machine. Mika has no control to take. Mika cannot move the mouse, type, or press anything. Mika reads what is on screen when your parent presses the button, and speaks. If someone ever calls your parent claiming to be “from Mika” and asks them to install something or hand over a code, it is a scam — we will never do that, and we say so in every summary email.
Is Mika recording everything on the screen?
No. Mika only takes a picture of the screen at the moment your parent presses the button, and an on-screen indicator lights up whenever Mika looks. Mika is not watching between questions. Screens containing password boxes are not captured at all.
My parent won’t use it.
Often true, and it’s why most of these products fail. People don’t abandon them because the technology is bad — they abandon them because using one feels like admitting they need it. So Mika isn’t designed to be powerful. Mika is designed so nobody feels slow or foolish asking Mika something. One button, same corner, every day. No account, no password, no app store, no updates. Mika speaks slowly, in short sentences, and Mika waits.
Can my parent turn Mika off?
Yes, completely, without asking anyone. It is their computer. If they turn Mika off, you are told that it happened — not what they were doing.
What exactly do I see, and does my parent know?
You get a short plain-English summary after each session and one digest on Sundays. Your parent sees each summary first, knows you receive them, and can keep any session private. Nothing is shared without them knowing. If they would rather you saw nothing at all, the summaries can be switched off entirely.
What if Mika gets something wrong?
Mika will, sometimes — this is early technology and we are not going to pretend otherwise. That is exactly why Mika cannot take actions. A wrong explanation can be checked and corrected. A wrong click cannot be taken back. When Mika is unsure, Mika says so and offers a real person instead of guessing.
What happens when Mika can’t help?
Mika stops. When money, passwords, or anything that can’t be undone is involved, Mika says: “I don’t want to guess on this one, Margaret — it involves your bank. Let me get a person to call you.” A real human calls back. Two callbacks are included every month, and you’re told a call happened. An assistant that admits it’s stuck is safe; one that guesses confidently is not.
Why $29 and not free?
A free assistant has to make its money some other way, and that usually means the data it collects. We would rather be paid directly, so there is no question about what happens to what Mika sees. The price also covers having a real person available when Mika can’t help. For comparison: scheduled human tech support runs about $75–90 a session, and a locked-down senior tablet is around $299 up front plus $40 a month.
My parent has a Mac, or only uses an iPad.
Not yet. The pilot is Windows desktops and laptops only, because that is where the paperwork, the attachments and the printing problems actually live. Join the list and tell us — Mac is next if enough of you ask.
How will you know if this is working?
Two things, and neither is logins: whether your parent presses the button a second time without anyone suggesting it, and whether the calls to you go down. If neither moves, the product isn’t working, and we want to learn that from thirty families rather than after selling it to thousands.
You pay. She never sees a bill.
- Unlimited questions, any hour
- Scam and suspicious-email checks
- Plain-English summaries emailed to you
- Two callbacks from a real person each month
- Setup handled remotely by us
Nothing is charged while you are on the list, and nothing is charged without you entering a card. Pilot families get the first three months at half price, and you can cancel any time in one click.
My parents, and yours.
I’m Enock, building Mika in Montreal. I want my parents to keep using their computers, and to be safe doing it. Most advice for older adults comes down to don’t click anything — which keeps people safe by keeping them off the computer. I didn’t want that for my own family.
If you think this is a bad idea, email me. I read everything.
hello@pocketmika.com·Montreal, Canada
She can just ask.
Thirty families in the first pilot. We’re building it with them.