This App Can Help Connect Isolated Seniors With Their Families

It’s not everyday an app promotes itself as the antithesis of Facebook. But HiLois, a private social network designed for seniors and their families, is exactly just that.

Brett Harnett, the company’s Ohio-based founder, came up with the idea shortly after his mother’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis in 2014 as a way to remotely share photos and messages with her while living hundreds of miles away.

The startup has operated on a shoestring budget over the last three years – it launched a beta in 2017 shortly after receiving its first funds from the University of Cincinnati, where Harnett is an associate professor, and it’s also been awarded a $100,000 grant from Ohio Third Frontier, a tech-based economic development initiative.

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Story excerpt provided by Forbes.

Written by Liz Engel.

Originally published March 29, 2020.