To send a reminder to someone else's phone, you both need an app that shares reminders, and the reminder has to be assigned to them so it rings on their device, not yours. A shared list alone is often not enough: the item shows up for them, but nothing may ring at the right time. Look for an app where you can pick who a reminder is for, and ideally one that tells you if they did not deal with it.
This post goes through the common ways to do it, what each one actually does on the other person's phone, and how to set it up so it works for a parent, a partner or a teenager.
What "send a reminder" can mean
There are three different things people mean, and they need different tools.
- A one-off nudge. "Remember to call the garage at 3." A message or a calendar invite often does the job.
- A recurring job that belongs to someone else. "Bins out every Tuesday evening", "evening tablets at 20:00". This needs a reminder that lives on their phone and repeats.
- A job you are responsible for checking. You are not the one doing it, but you need to know it happened: a parent's medication, a child's homework. This needs a reminder on their phone and a way for you to find out if it was missed.
Most apps handle the first well enough. The second and third are where they differ.
The usual options
Messages and calendar invites
A text at the right moment works if you remember to send it. A calendar invite rings on their phone at the time, but it is a calendar alert: easy to dismiss, and you will not know if they acted on it. For anything that repeats, both get tedious fast.
Shared lists in to-do apps
Microsoft To Do, Apple Reminders and the paid plans of most to-do apps let you share a list. The other person sees the items and can tick them off. Whether an item rings on their phone at a set time depends on the app and on how the item was set up, so test it with them once before you rely on it. Shared lists suit groceries and chores you will both look at, less so things with a deadline.
Alarm apps with groups
Some alarm apps let you create an alarm for another person or for a group. Galarm, for example, has alarms for "Someone Else" and for groups, and "Backups": people who are alerted if you miss the alarm. In our October 2026 look at it, those social features required registering with a phone number.
How to set it up well
Whatever app you use, these choices decide whether it works.
Put it on their phone, not yours
If the reminder rings on your phone and you then forward it, you are the reminder. Assign it to the person so it rings on their device.
Make it ring like an alarm when it matters
An ordinary notification on silent is easy to miss, especially for someone who does not look at their phone often. For anything important, use an alarm-style reminder that rings through silent mode. Our post on making a reminder ring on silent explains what that takes on Android and iPhone.
Decide what "missed" means
For something like medication, "missed" might mean not done within 30 minutes. For "put the bins out", two hours may be fine. Pick a window that gives the person a fair chance before anyone else is told.
Tell them first
Agree on it together. A reminder that tells a parent's daughter when he has not taken his tablets is helpful if he asked for it, and intrusive if he did not.
Check the phone itself
Older Android phones in particular may have battery savers that stop reminder apps. Spend five minutes on their phone with the Android battery guide when you set it up.
How Buzzley handles it
Buzzley does this with a Sharing group. You create the group and invite people by email; an invitation is valid for 7 days. Everyone in the group uses the owner's plan, so the people you invite do not need a subscription of their own. They share the plan's device slots: 2 on Core, 5 on Plus and 12 on Pro.
Then, on a reminder:
- For asks "Who is it for?" and picks a member of the group. The reminder rings only on their phones.
- If missed, tell picks who hears about it if it is not done in time. Under Counts as missed after you choose 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour or 2 hours; 30 minutes is the default. They get a notification like "Dad hasn't done: Evening tablets". Snoozing moves the deadline; dismissing the alarm does not count as done.
- Also tell them when it is done sends a note when it is marked done, if you want the reassurance.
Set the notification style to Alarm for things that should ring full screen, through silent mode on Android and on iPhone with iOS 26 or later. Combine it with a repeat, such as every day at 20:00, and the person gets a dependable alarm while you only hear about the days it slipped.
Each reminder also has a Visibility setting: All devices syncs it to everyone in your group, My devices only keeps it to your own phones and the web app, and This device only never syncs. Missed alerts only go out for reminders set to All devices, so nobody is told about a reminder they cannot see.
The remind someone else page shows the setup step by step, the family reminders page covers the group, and medication reminders shows the same setup for tablets. Plans are on the pricing page, and the trial lasts 7 days without a card.