People & villages
First, what's a village?
AVA is organized around people, not just appointments or tasks.
Each person whose care or needs you're organizing gets their own village. That includes you, if you're managing your own health.
A village brings together that person's information, appointments, tasks, notes and the people involved in supporting them.
There are three types of people to know about:
The person: The individual whose information you're organizing, whether that's yourself, a child, a parent, a partner or someone else.
Helpers: Family members, friends or other trusted people who help with appointments, tasks and coordination.
Care professionals: Doctors, therapists, teachers and other professionals involved in the person's care.
For now, adding a helper or care professional simply creates a record in AVA. They are not contacted, notified or given access to your information.
How do I start a village for myself or someone else?
The first time you sign in, AVA asks: Whose village are you starting? Choose Someone I care for or Myself, then tap Continue.
Step 1 of 2 asks who the village is for. Enter a made-up name and tap Continue.
Step 2 of 2 asks for one thing you're keeping track of right now. Add it, or tap Skip for now.
That person now has their own village.
You can create a village for yourself, someone you're supporting, or both.
How do I add another person?
Tap the round + button at the bottom right, then Add a person.
You can also open Settings and tap Add a person.
Each person you add gets their own separate village.
How do I switch villages or see everyone at once?
Tap the person's name at the top of the screen.
Choose the village you want to open, or select All my villages to see information across everyone you're organizing care for.
In All my villages, you can choose which villages to include.
How do I add a helper?
Tap More → This village, then Add a helper to (name)'s village.
Enter a made-up name.
You can also tap Add yourself to include yourself in that village.
For now, adding a helper creates a name you can assign tasks to. It doesn't invite them into AVA or give them access to the village.
Shared access and invitations are being developed for the broader beta.
Can I invite a real helper?
Not in the current test.
Inviting trusted helpers, choosing what information they can access and sharing responsibility are part of AVA's intended beta functionality.
For now, you can explore how helpers and task assignments work using fictional people.
What if I remove a helper by mistake?
Archive, Delete and Remove from a village each ask you first, then show Undo for a few seconds. Tap Undo to put the helper back.
A helper you deleted goes to Settings → Trash, where you can restore them. A helper you archived stays on the village page under Show archived, where you can tap Restore.
How do I explore the Morgan family or a sample village?
There are two ways to explore AVA without creating everything yourself.
Explore the Morgan family
On the first screen (Whose village are you starting?), tap Explore the Morgan family demo. You can also choose one of the Morgan family villages from the village selector at the top.
The Morgan family is a fictional shared testing space. Other testers can see and change information there.
Please don't enter real information in the shared Morgan family.
Explore a sample village
Open Settings → Demo tools and tap Explore a sample village. The Start here card on Home offers it too.
Dismissed the Start here card? Open Settings and, under Menu, tap Show tips again to bring it back.
This creates a fictional practice village in your own account, separate from the shared Morgan family.
To remove sample villages later, go to Settings → Demo tools → Remove sample villages.
Appointments & notes
How do I add an appointment?
- 1. Tap Calendar, then Add appointment.
- 2. Choose whose appointment it is.
- 3. Enter a title, date and start time.
- 4. Tap Save appointment.
An appointment needs a start time before it can be saved.
How do I prepare for an appointment?
Open the appointment and tap Visit day.
Use it to organize your questions and concerns before the visit and keep track of what happened afterwards.
For testing, use a fictional appointment and made-up questions.
Keep a note for the next appointment
When something comes up between visits, such as a new symptom, a medication problem or a question, add it to "To bring up next visit" for that care professional. It waits there for your next appointment with them.
- 1. Open the care professional's page, or the person's page, or tap + and choose Add to next visit. You can also tap Add to next visit on a symptom entry, a vital reading or a document.
- 2. Choose the care professional and write what you want to bring up.
- 3. Tap Add.
At the appointment, open it or its Visit day and tap Raised beside each one as you bring it up. You can write what they said and make a draft task from it. Anything not raised stays for the next visit.
For testing, use a fictional care professional and made-up notes.
How do I capture my notes or record a recap after an appointment?
After an appointment or conversation, you can type a note or record a quick spoken recap of what happened, what was recommended and what needs following up.
You're capturing your own summary, not recording the appointment or conversation itself.
AVA can help organize your notes into information and suggested next steps, which you review before accepting.
To type a note:
- 1. Tap Capture → Type.
- 2. Write what happened or what you want to remember.
- 3. Tap Save & organize.
- 4. Choose Organize this for me to see suggested next steps, or Sort by hand to organize the note yourself.
Your typed note is saved when you tap Save & organize.
Review any suggestions before accepting them. AVA can help organize information, but it doesn't make decisions for you.
To try voice recording:
- 1. Tap Capture → Talk.
- 2. Read the information shown before recording.
- 3. Tap Start recording.
- 4. Answer the Before you record questions.
- 5. Tap Continue to microphone.
- 6. Speak your fictional recap, then tap Stop.
- 7. Play back the recording if you'd like.
- 8. Tap Save & transcribe.
During this test, please use a completely made-up example. Do not record real appointments, conversations or personal health information.
Your recording, its transcript and any organized notes are different things. Keeping a written note doesn't necessarily mean keeping the original recording.
During this test, a recording is removed 15 days after it is saved, unless you turn on Keep this recording. Please use fictional recordings only.
What if voice recording isn't working?
Go to Settings → Privacy & security.
Check that both Voice features enabled and AI assistance enabled are turned on.
These settings apply separately to each device, so you may need to enable them again on another phone or computer.
Also check that your browser has permission to use your microphone.
If recording still doesn't work, send us feedback with your phone model, browser and what happened.
Where did my Capture note go?
When you save a note through Capture, AVA keeps the note and lets you organize the information.
Your saved notes are listed under Your captured notes on the Capture screen. From Home, tap Capture, then scroll down to Your captured notes. In the More menu, this screen is called Captures and notes.
Search finds your Capture notes too, by the words in them.
If you can't find a saved note, please let us know. Being able to find information again is one of the things we're particularly interested in testing.
We're working toward making saved information easier to find.
How long are my voice recordings kept?
AVA is designed to keep the original recording separate from the written transcript and organized note.
During this test, the recording itself is removed 15 days after it is saved, unless you turn on Keep this recording.
Your written transcript and organized note stay. Only the sound file is removed.
For now, please continue using fictional recordings only.
Tasks, referrals & follow-ups
What's the difference between a task, a referral and a commitment?
AVA helps you keep track of different kinds of things that need attention.
Task: Something that needs to be done, such as booking an appointment, completing a form or asking a question.
Referral: Something that has been requested and may need follow-up, such as a referral to a specialist.
Commitment: Something someone has promised to do, such as sending a report, making a call or arranging a follow-up.
For example, you might receive a referral to a specialist, create a task to follow up if you haven't heard back, and record a commitment if someone promises to call you by Friday.
The goal is to help you see not only what's happening, but what's still outstanding.
How do I add a task?
- 1. Tap the round + button.
- 2. Choose Add task.
- 3. Describe what needs doing.
- 4. Under Who will follow up?, choose Me or a helper.
- 5. Pick a date.
- 6. Tap Save task.
Tasks assigned to you appear under Needs you on Home.
Tasks assigned to helpers can appear under Waiting on others.
During this test, assigning a task doesn't send it to the helper. It's a way for you to keep track of who's supposed to be doing what.
If you save a task without a responsible person or date, it becomes a draft under Drafts to complete.
How do I see all my tasks?
Open Tasks.
It opens on This week, where you can review what needs doing.
Tap an individual task to see its details.
You can also use Weekly plan to see tasks and appointments together.
How do I mark a task completed?
Tap the circle beside the task.
Choose what happened, such as Completed, then tap Close it.
If you close it by mistake, tap Undo immediately.
How do I track something I'm waiting for?
Use the feature that best matches what you're waiting on.
If you've asked a helper to do something, create a task and assign it to that helper.
If you're waiting for a referral to progress, tap + → Add referral.
If someone has specifically promised to do something, use Commitments.
For some referrals, AVA brings them back to your attention after two weeks, so you can decide whether they need another follow-up.
These follow-ups currently happen inside AVA, not through automatic messages to other people.
How do I record something someone promised to do?
Go to More → Care overview → Commitments.
Tap Add commitment.
Enter what was promised, who made the promise, when it was made and when it's expected.
Tap Save commitment.
AVA shows whether commitments are pending or overdue. You can log follow-up activity or mark a commitment fulfilled.
Will AVA automatically remind other people?
Not in the current test.
AVA helps you see what's due, outstanding or waiting for attention inside the app.
It doesn't currently send phone notifications, emails or messages to helpers, care professionals or anyone else.
Shared coordination and communication features are part of the intended broader beta.
Care professionals, medications & school
How do I add a doctor, therapist or other care professional?
Go to More → Care professionals → Add contact.
Choose the person whose village the professional belongs to.
Enter a made-up name and tap Save care professional.
This creates a contact record only.
The professional is not contacted and does not receive access to AVA.
How do I add a medication?
Go to More → Medications.
Tap the + at the top right.
Enter the fictional medication name, dose and frequency, then tap Add medication.
Refill reminders currently appear inside AVA only.
AVA helps organize medication information. It does not recommend medications or doses, contact a pharmacy or send medication instructions to anyone.
Please do not enter real prescriptions or medication information during testing.
How do I add school-related information?
If School (K-12) is available in your test version, go to More → School (K-12) and select the learner.
The school section contains fictional examples to explore, including:
- Education team
- School meetings
- Accommodations
- Individual Education Plan (IEP)
- School documentation and reviews
You can explore sample information and, where the feature is enabled, attach fictional documents to meetings or reviews.
The School card shows what you've saved: the school's name and the people you work with there, from the education team. With nothing saved yet, tap Add school team.
Some school features may not be available to every tester while this part of AVA is being developed.
Where do I track exercises or therapy homework?
In AVA, Exercises and homework refers to care-related or therapy exercises and homework, not general school assignments.
You can find it under More → Exercises and homework.
Items planned for the week may also appear in Weekly plan.
Finding & fixing things
How do I search for something?
Tap Search at the top of AVA.
Type at least two letters.
AVA searches within the village you're currently viewing.
To look across everyone, tap Search all my villages.
What doesn't Search find yet?
Search finds Capture notes, helpers and school meetings, and documents by their name. It does not search the words inside uploaded files.
We're working toward making information easier to find across AVA.
How do I edit something?
Open the item you want to change.
Look for Edit or the three-dot menu.
Make your changes and save them.
The available editing options may differ depending on whether you're changing an appointment, task, note or another type of information.
If you can't find a way to edit something, please let us know. That's useful feedback too.
How do I delete something?
Open the item and choose Delete.
Some deletions offer an immediate Undo option.
You can also go to Settings → Trash to restore eligible deleted items.
Deleted items stay in Trash for seven days, then they are removed for good.
Helpers you delete go to Trash too, and stay there until you restore them.
Can I move information between villages?
Each village keeps information organized around the person it belongs to.
If something ends up in the wrong village, some items may let you change the associated person. Others may need to be deleted and added again in the correct village.
Not all types of information can currently be moved between villages.
If you're unsure how to correct something, please contact us before deleting information you want to keep.
Account, privacy & support
Can I use AVA on my phone and computer?
Yes.
Open The Advocacy Village App on either device and sign in with the same account.
You can also add AVA to your phone's home screen for easier access.
Do I have to install AVA?
No.
AVA works in your browser. Adding it to your home screen is optional and simply makes it easier to open.
How do I change my name?
Open Settings.
Change Your name and tap Save.
AVA uses the first word of your name when greeting you.
How do I see which version of AVA I'm using?
Go to More → About this version.
You'll see when the version was published and, when available, its build label.
If you're reporting a problem, including that information helps us understand what you're seeing.
Where can I find help?
Open Settings (on a phone, More → Account), then tap Help & support.
You can also use this page whenever you need a reminder about how something works.
How do I send feedback?
Go to More → Send feedback → Write an email.
Or email feedback@theadvocacyvillageapp.ca.
We're particularly interested in:
- What you tried to do
- What happened instead
- What was confusing
- What would make the feature more useful
Screenshots are welcome, provided they don't include real personal or health information.
If possible, mention your device and AVA version.
You don't need to write a formal report. Even a quick note is helpful.
I forgot my password. What should I do?
Forgot your password? On the sign-in page, choose Forgot password? and we will email you a link to choose a new one.
Email feedback@theadvocacyvillageapp.ca from the email address you registered with.
We'll explain the available account-recovery process. We may need to verify account ownership before helping with access.
Never send us your password.
Can other people see the information I enter?
During this test, adding a helper or care professional does not give that person access to your village.
Your private sample villages are separate from the shared Morgan family.
The Morgan family is a shared fictional testing environment. Other testers may see and change information entered there.
Please use made-up information everywhere in AVA during this testing period.
Inviting trusted helpers into individual villages, with appropriate access and permissions, is part of the intended broader beta.
How do I sign out?
Open Settings, scroll toward the bottom, and tap Sign out.
You can sign in again whenever you want.
How do I delete my account?
Open Settings → Delete my account and data.
Type DELETE, then tap Delete everything to confirm.
This permanently removes your account, your villages, everything in them and your sign-in. It cannot be undone.
The Test version agreement says what AVA keeps and for how long.
Changes you made in the shared Morgan family may remain visible until that shared test environment is reset.
If you have questions about deleting your test information, please contact us before proceeding.
What happens when the test ends?
AVA is still in development.
We'll communicate next steps for the test, continued access and any future use of real information separately.
For now, AVA remains a fictional-data testing environment.
What's available in this test, and what's coming next?
AVA is being built in stages. Some features are ready for you to explore now, while others are being finalized for the broader beta.
Here's what you can use today and what we're still working on.
Sharing & communication
Available to explore in the current test:
- Add fictional helpers to a village.
- Assign fictional tasks to yourself or a helper.
- See what's waiting on you and what you're waiting on others to do.
- Organize information separately for different people.
Being developed for the broader beta:
- Send invitations to trusted helpers.
- Let authorized helpers sign in and access a person's village.
- Choose what information trusted people can see and how they can help.
- Share updates and coordinate responsibilities across a village.
Not available in the current test:
- Automatically contacting helpers, care professionals or pharmacies.
- Sending push notifications to your phone.
- Automatically delivering assigned tasks to other people.
For now, adding people or assigning tasks helps you organize responsibilities inside AVA.
Finding & organizing information
Available to explore in the current test:
- Capture typed or fictional spoken notes.
- Organize information and review suggested next steps.
- Keep track of appointments, tasks, referrals and follow-ups.
- Use Search for supported information within a village or across villages.
Still being improved:
- Searching the words inside uploaded files.
- Reading and automatically processing uploaded referrals.
Accounts & other features
Available to explore in the current test:
- Create and switch between fictional villages.
- Use AVA on your phone or computer.
- Explore the available care coordination features.
- Send feedback about what works and what needs improving.
Not yet available or still being finalized:
- Changing your password from inside AVA while signed in.
- Entering a full school profile, such as the board, grade and address.
- Removing the shared Morgan family from your list of villages.
- Some medication, school and other modules may be limited or unavailable depending on the current test version.
We're using feedback from testers to decide what needs improving, simplifying or developing next.
If there's something you expected AVA to do but couldn't find, we'd love to hear about it.