Around the holidays, and on Grandmother’s Day and Grandfather’s Day in Poland, many people help their parents or grandparents with their phones. This guide gathers five simple things that make everyday use easier.

Before you start: the phone belongs to your parent

  • Set everything up together. Say what you are changing and why. The phone’s owner decides.
  • Do not install anything quietly, and do not change permissions (the consents an app asks for) without the owner knowing. Only the person who carries the phone gives consent to location access.
  • The phone’s owner types the passwords. If they want to write them down somewhere, they choose where.
  • At the end, show how to undo the changed settings, such as the text size. A printable card, “Gdzie jaka aplikacja” (in Polish) can help.

1. Larger text and larger items on the screen

Google’s help notes that some steps work only on Android 13 and newer, and that font size does not change in some apps. Accessibility settings are also in Quick Settings. If the menu names differ, use the search in Settings.

  1. On Android, open Settings.
  2. Search for and choose Font size, then move the slider.
  3. If buttons and icons are also too small, search for Display size and move the slider.

2a. Phone updates

According to Google’s help, update timing depends on the device, the manufacturer and the mobile network operator. The menu may also look different on different phones: if you do not see the items from the steps below, type “update” into the Settings search.

  1. Connect the phone to Wi-Fi and charge the battery to at least 75%. Google’s help recommends this because an update can be large and take a while.
  2. Open Settings → System → Software updates and follow the instructions.
  3. You can find the Android version and the security update under Settings → About phone → Android version.

2b. App updates

Google Play help warns that after an update some apps may ask for new permissions. Let the phone’s owner approve such a request, too.

  1. Open the Google Play Store and tap the profile icon at the top right.
  2. Choose Manage apps & device.
  3. Under “Updates available”, choose See details, then Update next to an app or Update all.
  4. To turn on automatic updates, use the profile menu: Settings → Network preferences → Auto-update apps.
  5. Choose the option you agreed on, for example “Update over Wi-Fi only”.

3. Important apps within reach

  • Ask what your parent really uses: calls, messages, photos, banking, shops, parcels.
  • Put those apps on the first screen and the rest in a folder. Remove only what your parent considers unnecessary.
  • Show that on many phones an app can be found by typing its name into the phone’s search.
  • More about arranging icons and finding an app quickly at the checkout: Too many shop apps? How to organise them and find the right one at the checkout.

4a. Loyalty cards

  • Check together which shops your parent has a card for: a plastic one, one in the shop’s app, or both.
  • Install a shop’s app only if your parent wants to use it. The login and password are theirs.
  • Show where in the app the card to scan at the checkout is. More in the guide Too many shop apps?, in the section “Where do I find my loyalty card or coupons?”.

4b. Collecting parcels (parcel locker or pickup point)

  • Check how your parent gets the collection code: by text message, by e-mail or in the carrier’s app.
  • If they use an app, show where to find the parcels waiting for collection and their codes.
  • If a text message arrives with a link asking for a “surcharge” on a delivery, do not tap the link. CERT Polska (Polish) says phishing is mostly associated with a link in a text message about a delivery surcharge, or in an e-mail supposedly from a bank. Check the parcel’s status in the app or on the website your parent usually uses. A suspicious text message can be forwarded to 8080 (in Poland).

5. (Optional) A reminder near a shop or parcel locker

Disclosure: the creator of the DOBIERO app wrote this guide. This is one option, not a requirement. Steps 1–4 need no additional app.

Some people prefer the phone to suggest a shop’s app, or an app for collecting a parcel, when they are near such a place. Our free DOBIERO app for Android, available in Poland, does this. It works without an account, does not keep a log of coordinates or routes, does not store a visit history, and does not send your precise location. It opens another app only after a deliberate tap. The phone’s location services may need the internet, so a reminder can arrive late or not appear. How it works and why a suggestion can be late: How do location-based reminders work?

Such an app needs access to precise location, also in the background, and notifications. This is the phone owner’s decision:

Before you leave: a short checklist

  • Your parent knows what was changed and how to undo the changed settings.
  • Only the phone’s owner knows the passwords.
  • Nothing was installed without their consent.
  • There is a list on a card or in a note: which app is for what.

About this guide

The names of apps and brands shown in DOBIERO belong to their owners; DOBIERO is not affiliated with them or endorsed by them.

This guide was written by JMSOFT, the creator of the DOBIERO app. The text was prepared with the help of AI. Contact: support@dobiero.com.