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Lcris812 Asked August 2023

Should I be concerned that my mom’s fairly new aide turned on a hotspot in my mom's phone even though she already has the Wi-Fi information?

I recently realized my mom’s fairly new aide had turned on a hotspot on my mom's phone. While I did share with her my home’s wifi details - should I be concerned that she did this without even asking permission? My mom's data plan is not limited but had it been, we would have incurred on charges. She did this while at church with my mom. She went into my moms settings to make the change. 

JoAnn29 Aug 2023
IMO, there was no need to do this especially in church. My data and wifi are turned off on my phone. Only turned on when I am out and about and turn them on. For me emails and messenger can wait till I get home. Data and wifi use up your battery too. If Mom is like me, she just has her phone for convenience.

Just found this

"If you're wondering what your mobile hotspot data limit is, you'll want to check your cell phone plan, because every plan is different. Some plans don't allow mobile hotspot at all, while others have limits. There aren't any mobile plans that offer unlimited, full-speed data for mobile hotspot."

I think I would say something nicely like "I noticed u turned my Moms "hotspot" on in her phone. This is a feature she does not need and it may effect her phone bill. And because of Moms Dementia, we have set her phone a certain way for safety reasons"
Lcris812 Aug 2023
Thank you! I agree- I’ll look into my Mom’s plan - we never had this problem before so I never even considered it - but the battery is even a bigger deal because my mom suffers from random really low glucose and her phone sends me alerts - we have had a few scares so her phone running out of battery would be a very big concern…
thank you again for sharing this info.
cwillie Aug 2023
I'm sure the aide feels that since she "at work" connecting to the internet is your mom's responsibility. The irony here is that since she is working she shouldn't be on the internet at all, no matter how boring she thinks her day is.

But I question why a paid caregiver is with your mother at religious services, IMO she should be free to leave after your mom is settled.
Lcris812 Aug 2023
the agency approved the aide remaining with my mom for the service as my mom has also mobility struggled due to an amputation but church truly lifts her spirits and allows for socialization after church. The aide does get paid for the time she is with my mom at church.

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InFamilyService Aug 2023
Oh no this is dishonest. Reset your mom's phone but you should address this issue with the sitter's employer.

This may be just the beginning. We had a sitter that used my mom's charge card but since the purchase was declined by the bank it never was tracked.

Be careful about locking up your mom's purse & other personal ID items.

Lcris812 Aug 2023
So my mom has early dementia - but the aide does have her own phone - she uses my mom phone to scan my moms glucose sensor/monitor- but what she did is that she went on my moms settings - turned ON a hot spot- linked her personal phone to the hot spot in order to use the internet on her phone - maybe to not use her own data? When they are not in the house? Because we have wifi at the house and I had already shared that with her- I just felt uneasy about her going in her settings and not even asking. My mom has good and bad days cognitively speaking but in this case my mom thought she was doing something related to her glucose monitor app but she was not -
ventingisback Aug 2023
That’s what I mean:
She did it without permission. Speak with her gently about it. This way, you’ve also made clear that it’s unacceptable for her to do other similar things without permission.
MeDolly Aug 2023
Yes, I would have a conversation with her, she should have her own phone to use.

cwillie Aug 2023
I seriously doubt the aide doesn't have their own phone to use.

ventingisback Aug 2023
Yes, be concerned. And sometimes, that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Yes, talk to her gently, tell her: please don’t touch my mom’s phone without permission.

Geaton777 Aug 2023
Does your Mom have cognitive impairment so that she can't make a good judgment about who she allows to go into her phone settings? The aid was probably bored in church and wanted something to do, but if your Mom really isn't able to give this type of permission, then I would have a gentle talk with the aid about going into your Mom's settings without anyone's prior permission so that boundaries are clear.

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