Turn Any iPad Into a
Dementia Day Clock

A dementia day clock is a simplified digital clock designed to help people with dementia stay oriented to the time of day. Instead of showing a small clock face that requires interpretation, it displays large, clear text showing the day of the week, the date, and the time of day — Morning, Afternoon, Evening, or Night. This reduces confusion and anxiety, which are common when a person with dementia is unsure what time or day it is.

To set up the clock, open citizenseniors.com/clock.php on the iPad or tablet you are leaving with your loved one. Tap "Launch Clock" to enter full-screen mode. For the best experience, tap the Share button in Safari and select "Add to Home Screen" to install it as an app icon. Then tap the home screen icon — it opens directly in full-screen clock mode. For Family Mode with personalized reminders and a custom greeting, tap the settings button inside the clock and unlock Family Mode.

Family Mode is a one-time $9.99 unlock that adds personalized features to the clock: a custom greeting (such as "Good morning, Robert"), scheduled full-screen reminder overlays (for medications, meals, or appointments), a choice of calming video backgrounds, and a PIN-protected setup screen so your loved one cannot accidentally change settings. Family Mode settings are stored locally on the device and can be exported and restored if needed.

Yes. Once you have opened the clock in Safari and added it to the Home Screen, the clock page is cached by the browser's service worker. It will continue to show the correct day, date, and time even when Wi-Fi is unavailable, because all clock logic runs locally in the browser. Personalized reminders are stored on the device and also work offline. Video backgrounds require an internet connection to stream.

Yes. The clock is a lightweight web app — just HTML, CSS, and JavaScript — with no heavy frameworks. Video backgrounds use hardware-accelerated H.264 MP4 playback, which runs smoothly on any iPad from 2018 onwards. If you have an older iPad, you can choose the "Dark Gradient" background option, which uses no video and is equally smooth on any device.

Dayclox sells physical wall clocks (£20–£50+, UK hardware) — great if you want plug-in-and-forget with no device setup, but it cannot be personalized or updated remotely. RecallCue is a connected app at $9.99/month — excellent if remote family members need to push messages, photos, and video calls from their own phones. The Citizen Seniors clock is free for the core experience, $9.99 one-time for Family Mode — no subscription, no app download, no new hardware, works fully offline. See the full comparison table below.