> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.rekkeh.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Use silent panic and duress PIN features in Rekkeh

> Send a silent emergency with Hold to Alert, or use the Gate Ops duress PIN to covertly raise a critical alert while keeping the app unlocked.

Rekkeh has two covert ways to raise an emergency without drawing attention: the member **Hold to Alert** silent panic on the Security screen, and the Gate Ops **duress PIN** a guard enters to unlock the app. Both create a critical emergency that alerts command, but they are separate features for separate people: members never use the duress PIN, and the duress PIN is a Gate Ops guard feature.

## Member silent panic: Hold to Alert

Hold to Alert is a press-and-hold silent panic on the resident Security screen. It sends a silent emergency alert with the member's live location when it is available, then opens the Emergency status screen.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the Security screen">
    Open the **Security** screen in the member app.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Press and hold Hold to Alert">
    Press and hold **Hold to Alert** for 1,400 ms. Releasing early cancels the hold and sends nothing.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Wait for the hold to complete">
    The alert fires once, and on native platforms gives a warning haptic.
  </Step>
</Steps>

The hold is the same 1,400 ms on native and web. The control's accessibility label is "Hold to alert security", with the hint "Press and hold to send an emergency alert with your live location". The alert is created as a `silent_panic` incident at critical severity and open status. Location is best-effort: if permission is denied or the lookup fails, the alert is still submitted without coordinates. After it sends, the app opens the Emergency status screen.

## Gate Ops duress PIN

The duress PIN is a second unlock code a guard sets during first-time device setup. Entering it unlocks the app normally while silently raising a covert duress emergency to command.

### Set the duress PIN

Both PINs are set on the PIN setup screen that appears after a guard signs in on a device with no configured PIN. You set the unlock PIN first, then the duress PIN.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Set the unlock PIN">
    Enter a four-digit **Set unlock PIN**, then confirm it on **Confirm unlock PIN**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set the duress PIN">
    Enter a four-digit **Set duress PIN**, then confirm it on **Confirm duress PIN**.
  </Step>
</Steps>

Both PINs must be exactly four digits and must differ from each other. If the duress PIN matches the unlock PIN, the screen shows "Choose a different PIN" and "Duress PIN must differ from unlock PIN". If the confirmation does not match, it shows "PIN mismatch" and "Try again". On success the screen shows "PINs set" and "Unlock and duress PINs are ready". The duress step's copy reads: "Use this PIN under coercion — it unlocks the app but silently alerts command."

### Enter the duress PIN at unlock

On the unlock screen, enter the duress PIN exactly as you would the normal PIN. The app unlocks and you continue to your shift normally; the alert is covert.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Enter your PIN">
    Open the app and enter your four-digit PIN on the unlock screen.
  </Step>

  <Step title="The covert alert fires">
    If it is the duress PIN, the app unlocks as usual and creates a covert `duress` emergency at critical severity.
  </Step>
</Steps>

The created incident description is "Guard duress PIN entered — covert response required". The guard who entered the PIN is excluded from the notification recipients, so they are not alerted to their own duress. Command staff in the estate manager, super admin, guard, and security roles receive the notification with title "Guard duress alert"; the body is the guard's full name, optionally followed by their gate or unit label, then "may be under duress — respond covertly".

## Contrast: the normal Send Emergency path

For a member who is not trying to be covert, the normal path is **Send Emergency** on the Safety screen. It sends a normal emergency alert (category `emergency`) at critical severity, attempts to include foreground GPS coordinates, and still submits if location permission is denied or the lookup fails.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the Safety screen">
    Open the **Safety** screen in the member app.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Send the emergency">
    Tap **Emergency Alert**, then **Send Emergency**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Track the alert">
    Wait for it to send, then track the alert on the Emergency status screen.
  </Step>
</Steps>

Unlike Hold to Alert, there is no hold duration and no silent category; the alert goes out as a normal emergency.

## What's next

* See [Respond to an emergency](/security/respond-to-emergency) for how your team acknowledges, dispatches, and resolves the alert once it is raised.
* For the full operational chain behind these triggers, see [What happens when an emergency is triggered](/security/what-happens-when-emergency-triggered).