ForeTwin user guide

ForeTwin User Guide

Use a ForeTwin as a public information and contact point for a person, item, device, room, or place. Visitors scan its QR code in a phone browser; they do not need an app or an account.

This guide describes functions available in the current service. The examples deliberately avoid planned functions that are not implemented yet.

Quick Start

If you are new to ForeTwin, get a free Personal ForeTwin through the public Store or scan an issued, unassigned ForeTwin ID and activate it as your Personal ForeTwin.
Verify your email. ForeTwin creates your account and Personal ForeTwin only after successful verification. Regular email sign-in works only after the account exists.
If you already have an account, sign in with its email address before claiming an additional issued, unassigned ForeTwin ID.
Open My ForeTwins, select the exact ForeTwin you want to change, and choose Configure.
Give it a clear public name and a short public introduction.
Choose the visitor experience. Simple message form is the safest default.
Save, open the visitor page, and test it on a signed-out phone before placing the QR code.

Keep private information private. Everything entered as a public name, introduction, location, form option, or Assistant background can be shown or used on the public visitor page. Your account email is kept private.

Create Or Claim A ForeTwin

Create a Personal ForeTwin

Choose Get your own Free ForeTwin on a public ForeTwin page.
ForeTwin opens the public Store. Enter the requested account information and complete email verification there.
Only after verification succeeds does ForeTwin create your account and one Personal ForeTwin.
Continue to ForeTwin Admin to name, configure, test, and print it.

Claim an issued, unassigned code

If you already have an account, scan the code, choose Sign In To Claim This ID, complete email sign-in, return to the code, and choose Claim This ForeTwin ID. A code remains unassigned while verification is pending, so an incorrect or expired email code does not consume it.

Choose The Visitor Experience

Mode	Use it when	What the visitor can do	Important limit
Simple message form	You want the clearest contact or reporting channel.	Select a form option, add a name and message, and send it to the ForeTwin Inbox.	At least one visible form option is required. ForeTwin does not automatically schedule or dispatch work.
Static info only	The page should only identify or explain the person, object, room, or place.	Read the public name, introduction, and optional location.	No messages, requests, files, or chat.
ForeTwin Assistant	Visitors may ask different questions that can be answered from a short, public knowledge text.	Chat in the visitor's language when the language is clear, or switch to the message form.	Answers use only owner-approved public context. Allowance and service availability apply; the form remains the fallback.
Attachment form	A Pro or Business workflow needs a photo or PDF with the message and the feature is enabled in the environment.	Send one browser-selected JPEG, PNG, WebP, or PDF with a message.	Private, short-lived attachment; size, scanning, entitlement, and release restrictions apply.

Start simple. Change the visitor mode only when its extra function solves a real visitor need.

Configure And Test

In My ForeTwins, select the ForeTwin by name. The selected name stays visible while you configure it.
Choose Configure and set Visitor experience first.
Write a public name that tells the scanner what they are looking at: for example, “Meeting room projector” rather than “Device 4”.
Write a concise public introduction: what this is, what the visitor may do, and what response to expect.
For Simple or Attachment form, keep two to four distinct options such as Report a fault or Ask a question. Hide options that are temporarily unnecessary.
For Assistant, add up to 2,000 characters of factual public background. Include only information that may be disclosed to anyone who scans the code.
Show a public location only when it helps and does not reveal private information.
Save and wait for the confirmation. Open the visitor page and send a test message from a signed-out browser.

Examples You Can Build Today

These examples use only functions available now. The suggested text is a starting point; adapt it to the actual owner, response process, and privacy notice.

Personal contact or a found item

Mode: Simple message form. Name: “Risto's Personal ForeTwin” or “Contact the owner of this bag”.

Introduction: “Leave a private message. My email address is not shown to you.”

Options: Leave a message; I found this item; Something is urgent.

Current scope: the owner receives the message in Inbox and, while allowance permits, by email. ForeTwin does not reveal either person's email to the other.

Maintenance or fault report

Mode: Simple message form; Attachment form for an enabled Pro/Business workflow that genuinely needs a photo.

Name: “Workshop air compressor” or “Building A, lift lobby”. Introduction: “Report a fault or safety observation. State what happened and where.”

Options: Report a fault; Request maintenance; Safety concern; Ask for instructions.

Current scope: ForeTwin records a request, status, notes, and history in Inbox. It does not assign a technician, promise an SLA, or schedule preventive maintenance.

Low stock or replenishment signal

Mode: Simple message form. Place one code on a shelf, cabinet, supply point, or container.

Introduction: “Tell the responsible person when supplies are low or the contents are wrong.”

Options: Low stock; Out of stock; Wrong item; Container moved.

Current scope: this is a human report routed to Inbox. ForeTwin does not count inventory, evaluate reorder points, or create purchase orders.

Order from a restaurant table

Mode: Simple message form. Give each table its own ForeTwin, such as “Restaurant Aurora, table 12”, and add the short menu as ready-made form options.

Introduction: “Choose an item and add the quantity or preparation request in the message.” Options: Soup of the day; Vegetable pasta; Salmon plate; Call a server.

Flow: the selected item, optional details, and table-specific ForeTwin reach the restaurant Inbox. While the email allowance permits, the owner also receives an email notification, which may use an address monitored by the kitchen.

Current scope: each submission is a separate order request. ForeTwin does not yet provide a shopping cart, payment, stock control, automatic kitchen-system integration, or confirmation that the restaurant has accepted the order.

Rental equipment information

Mode: Static info or Assistant for safe operating guidance; Simple or Attachment form for questions and damage reports.

Introduction: include the equipment name, basic safe-use instructions, allowed support contact, and return guidance. Options: Report damage; Missing part; Return question; Need help.

Current scope: do not use ownership transfer for a temporary rental. ForeTwin does not manage bookings, checkout, deposits, billing, due dates, or renter identity.

Short-term accommodation, room, or appliance guidance

Mode: Static info for fixed instructions; Assistant for varied questions; Simple form for help requests. Use separate codes for a room or appliance when this makes the answer more precise.

Introduction: “Instructions and help for the sauna heater in Apartment 4.” Options: Something does not work; Need instructions; Report damage; Contact the host.

Current scope: do not publish door codes, passwords, guest names, or private booking information. ForeTwin does not replace an Airbnb or property-management booking system, access control, or scheduled guest messaging.

Museum object, exhibition, or public place

Mode: Static info for reviewed descriptions; Assistant for questions based on verified public facts.

Introduction: identify the object or place and give the key context. Put reviewed language versions in the public background when exact multilingual wording matters.

Options: Ask a question; Report incorrect information; Accessibility feedback; Report damage.

Current scope: the Assistant normally replies in the language used by the visitor, but owner text is not automatically translated or human-reviewed. ForeTwin does not provide audio tours, indoor positioning, or ticketing.

Storage box, cabinet, or shared location

Mode: Static info for non-sensitive contents and handling instructions; Simple form for exceptions.

Options: Item missing; Box moved; Contents do not match; Need access or help.

Current scope: avoid publishing valuable or private contents. ForeTwin does not yet provide a searchable inventory hierarchy or scheduled storage reminders.

Delivery or handover feedback

Mode: Simple or Attachment form. Options: Delivery arrived; Damage noticed; Wrong delivery; Cannot access the location.

Current scope: this creates a report and audit event. ForeTwin does not provide verified chain of custody, route tracking, deadline control, or payment.

Practical Tips

One scan context per code: use a separate ForeTwin for each object, device, room, shelf, or contact point when the instructions or recipient differ.
Name what the visitor sees: put the physical context first. The public name should make sense without an internal asset register.
Keep choices short: two to four distinct form options are usually easier than a long menu.
Explain the response: say whether the message is monitored continuously, during business hours, or only occasionally. Do not promise a response time you cannot meet.
Use public-safe information: no passwords, access codes, health information, identity documents, guest lists, or confidential inventory.
Write Assistant knowledge as facts: include operating limits, opening hours, simple troubleshooting, and escalation instructions. Remove outdated facts promptly.
Prepare multilingual facts: when exact wording matters, include reviewed language versions instead of relying only on generated translation.
Test the physical label: use good contrast, a flat surface, enough white space, and a QR size suitable for the scanning distance. Test with more than one phone.
Test signed out: owner controls can hide visitor-flow mistakes when you test only while signed in.

Messages, Email, And Inbox

A visitor sends a form message or asks the Assistant to open the message form.
ForeTwin stores the request under the selected ForeTwin and adds it to the owner's Inbox.
When the account's notification allowance and email service permit, ForeTwin also sends an email notification.
In Inbox, mark a message read or handled, add an internal note, archive it, or reopen it.

If email allowance is exhausted: the visitor's message is still accepted into Inbox. The owner may not receive an immediate email, so Inbox should be checked directly when the channel is operationally important.

Visitor message and handling-comment content is redacted 30 days after its last handling. Move information that must be kept longer to the appropriate approved business system.

ForeTwin Assistant

The Assistant receives the public ForeTwin context and the visitor's current message, not hidden owner data.
It should answer in the visitor's message language when clear; otherwise the browser's primary language is used as a hint.
It may explain public information and help draft or route a message. It must not claim that it booked, paid, dispatched, repaired, unlocked, or otherwise completed an external action.
Platform-funded monthly allowance is account-wide. Free capacity can be reduced, paused, or adjusted for load, cost, security, or abuse control.
When allowance or the AI provider is unavailable, the public page offers the message form instead.
The visitor conversation is treated as temporary and is not intended as a permanent business record. A submitted message is stored separately in Inbox.

Attachment form

Available only for a Pro or Business account and when the release environment has enabled the feature.
The browser accepts one JPEG, PNG, WebP, or PDF. Images are resized and compressed; the original may be at most 12 MB and the compressed upload at most 1.5 MB. A PDF may be at most 3 MB.
The integration API can accept up to three files with a combined maximum of 3 MB.
Attachments are private, retained for seven days, and downloadable only by authorized Inbox users after security scanning.
If the entitlement ends or the feature is disabled, the visitor page falls back to Simple message form.

Privacy, Ownership, And Account Data

Your sign-in email belongs to the private account identity and is not copied to every ForeTwin you own.
Visitors cannot claim or configure an owned ForeTwin. Never share a sign-in code; ForeTwin support will not ask for it.
Use Account to review account information and privacy actions. Download important information before an irreversible anonymization.
Ownership transfer is an Advanced function for a permanently transferred physical ForeTwin. Choose reset for a clean handover; preserve data only when the recipient is entitled to receive all settings, messages, and history.
Personal ForeTwins cannot be transferred through the physical-item ownership flow.

Sensitive account actions

On the Account tab, choose Send Confirmation Code in Step 1.
Enter the six-digit code from your email in the same browser. Step 2 remains locked until the code is accepted and then stays open for ten minutes.
Correct the account, download the JSON archive, or open anonymization. A blocked or failed action does not change or close the account.

A name correction applies directly. An email change requires a code sent to the new address and signs every browser out when completed.
Download My Data excludes sign-in secrets and other users' unrelated data.
Account anonymization removes the name, email, sign-in identities, and access. ForeTwins with no other owner are retired. Transfer anything that must remain active before using this irreversible action. A successful anonymization opens a new, clean signed-out document.
The public privacy notice contains the current retention information.

Not Supported Yet

ForeTwin is designed to grow toward broader use cases, but the current service does not yet provide:

automatic inventory counts, reorder thresholds, or purchase orders;
scheduled maintenance, reminders, technician dispatch, escalation rules, or SLA enforcement;
rental reservations, guest bookings, check-in or check-out, deposits, billing, or access control;
IoT sensor ingestion, automated alarms, cold-chain evidence, or device commands;
multi-step Thing-to-Thing routing or ERP, CMMS, PMS, logistics, and workflow automation;
wallets, payments, customs, dangerous-goods processes, CAD/CAM flows, or official registry integration;
guaranteed translation of owner-written content, audio tours, or indoor positioning; or
private guest-only information behind an otherwise public QR page.

A Simple form can collect an initial report about these topics, but an automated process requires a separately commissioned feature extension.

Extensions on request: some integrations, controlled workflows, and organization-specific applications may be scoped as a separate extension project. “On request” means separately assessed and agreed development, not a function included in the current service.

Troubleshooting

No sign-in email: check spam and promotions folders, verify that you have first obtained at least a free Personal ForeTwin, and confirm that you are signing in with the email address linked to that account. Then request a fresh code.
Code rejected: request a new code. Codes work once and expire after ten minutes.
No ForeTwins in Admin: confirm that you signed in with the owner email, then refresh My ForeTwins.
No notification email: check Inbox first. The message may have been accepted while email allowance or delivery was unavailable.
Assistant falls back to a form: the allowance, provider, environment setting, or safety control may be unavailable. Visitors can still leave a message.
Attachment cannot be added: confirm Pro/Business entitlement, environment availability, file type, and size.
Form temporarily blocked: wait before retrying; rapid repeated submissions are rate-limited.