F.A.Q.

What are you?

I'm a free baby monitor and an be used on any device with a microphone and/or a camera, that runs a Chrome browser. Support for Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Opera and Safari is in the works! Unfortunately I cannot support iOS yet, since Apple does not implement my core technogy properly.

Why was Gonimo started?

Robert became father of twins, and at some point in time it became obvious that they sleep better separated. Buying another baby monitor? Definitely not, surely there is an App for that! But the existing free apps all were either unreliable and impractical (they call you when your child is screaming) or simply did not work properly. It can't be that hard, he thought and wrote a first prototype of Gonimo, called 'mybabymontior.org' back then - great name, wasn't it?

What sets you apart from other baby monitors?

You can use me on many different devices, because I work in your browser this is the same reason why you don't have to install an app. I'm free and you can use all my functions without any restrictions. I also have excellent security measures built in - so you and your data are as secure as can be.
In comparison to other free apps, Gonimo is the only one which puts an emphasis on reliability. Solutions that trigger a call at a given volume threshold, are not a good choice for a baby monitor because:

• It is unreliable. If your mobile phone does not ring, the reason can be:
  • Your baby sleeps.
  • You set the threshold wrong.
  • One of your devices has no reception.
  • The battery is empty.
  • The phone has crashed.
  • Your mobile phone is set to silent-mode and you missed the call!
• It is impractical:
  • Often you are not really that far away from your baby, a false alert (your phone rings) wakes your baby.
  • Your mobile rings, OK now find it, pick up, listen what's going on, then finally you can take action. For me, I just want to hear what's going on and take action immediately!
  • Last but not least, you need two phones for this to work!

What do I need to get started?

You need a device that has a microphone and/or a camera and with a Chrome (preferred) browser installed.

Depending on which mode you use (audio only/audio and video) and for how long you use Gonimo, eventually you will need to connect me to a power outlet. If you're using audio only, you should get through the night easily without recharging the battery.

Do I have to pay to use Gonimo?

No! Gonimo is an open source project and free to use. It is very important to my creators to make my features available to as many people as possible, easy and free. You can find more information on what exactly open source means here.

Can I use you as anything other than a baby monitor?

In principle, I am intended to be used as a baby monitor. Of course, you can use me for other activities that require audio and/or video streaming.

Can't I just use Skype?

Obviously you can use Skype or similar products as a baby monitor ...

but Skype is tailored for telephony:

• If you get a still during telephony, you will probably notice, not so much when watching a sleeping baby. Gonimo in contrast warns you when you are seeing a still.
• If the Audio connection breaks, you will notice that during a call, not so much when listening to a sleeping baby. Gonimo in contrast warns you when the audio connection breaks.
• In general, Gonimo is optimised for use as a baby monitor, Skype is optimised for telephony. This concerns things like the user interface or audio processing for example.

How is Gonimo financed?

To get the project going, NetIdee.at provided us with funding. We provide a native Android app (iOS is planned) which is available for a small fee. It will cover features that are not feasible in a web-browser. You can also donate, this would help us a lot and guarantees we can constantly develop and improve.

Is there a way to support you?

Sure! You can support the Gonimo project by donating via the donate button, by purchasing the fee-based app and/or by liking us on various social media platforms. Of course, we are always on the look-out for creative and motivated people who would like to support the project with their ambition and their know-how.

Who are your creators?

A team of young, motivated people whose profiles you can find here.

How secure is the connection between devices?

To guarantee maximum security, I come with the following security features: an invitation-based system, where invitations need to be confirmed; peer-to-peer connections which are encrypted to prevent third parties from 'listening in'.

In addition we always keep security concerns in mind during development, so we test our security on a regular basis. An external security review just got finished and the report starts with the following words (translated from German): The report turned out to be excellent! Quite frankly, I have never seen any system before, that was so well secured as yours.

How reliable is the connection??

No network connection is perfect, failures will happen eventually! That is why Gonimo alerts you when there are connectivity problems. Further features, increasing reliability even more, are planned!

Will my data be saved or passed on to third parties?

I save only as much data as is necessary for my features to function. This data is not passed on to third parties under any circumstances and Audio and/or video data is not saved at all. Due to the peer-to-peer connection and encryption, not even we have access to your audio/video data.

Why does Gonimo not work on iOS, not even with Chrome?

Apple restricts all apps on iOS to use Safari's rendering engine, Chrome is not allowed to use it's own. But Safari's rendering engine does not yet support WebRTC, which is needed by Gonimo to work. We'll keep you posted on the current state of affairs on Facebook!

We anticipate Apple iOS support in the web version in early 2018!

How much mobile data does Gonimo need?

If both devices are connected to the same WiFi network, I don't need any mobile data. If you use me with audio only, the data transfer rate is very low. If audio and video streaming are being used simultaneously, depending on the quality of the connection the data volume used up may be high. I recommend you keep an eye on the data usage in this case.

How high is the exposure to radiation while I'm on?

If the baby station is a meter away from your baby, the exposure is a lot lower than when you talk with your phone at your ear (by about a factor of 100,000). Gonimo amplifies quiet sounds! So it should work flawlessly, even if you put your mobile/tablet or whatever you are using, relatively far away from your child.

If I'd like to start my own project based on the Gonimo code, can I just copy and use the Gonimo source code?

Gonimo is an open-source project and subject to the guidelines of AGPL GNU Affero General Public License which means the source code can be used under the conditions stated.

Depending on your goal, we might be interested in a cooperation!

Why is there an additional fee-based app?

The fee-based app will offer various features over and above those offered in the web application. Those can only be implemented via an installed app, because browsers don't have permission to control everything on a device.

In addition some users might simply prefer an installed app over a Web application, also the installed app will be faster.

Why is there be a fee?

Gonimo is a full-featured baby monitor, which we want to make available to everyone. By paying for the native app, you can support Gonimo and will get additional features (planned) in return. Yeah, we need to eat too ;-)

What are Cookies?

Cookies are small text files stored in your browser. Cookies can contain data, that websites need to run or settings you changed, for example the displayed language.

Why is Gonimo using Cookies?

On the landing page we use cookies mostly for analytics, like how many visitors do we have? Where do they come from? Do they come again? In order to ensure your privacy and your anonymity we pass on Google Analytics and use the open-source analysis platform Piwik instead. This way, we get vital information, that we need for improving Gonimo and still protect your privacy.

I am on a diet, what can I do against Cookies?

In the settings of your browser you can delete Cookies from gonimo.com or disallow websites to store cookies on your device.

Can I use Gonimo without Cookies?

Yes, you can use Gonimo without cookies, but the app needs local storage in order to function. The cookies on gonimo.com can be blocked, but this does not really help you, because we already take your privacy seriously, on the flip-side we loose viable data that could help us improving Gonimo.