Getting and sharing your verified badge
This guide walks you through every step from creating an account to sharing your badge with a partner. If you're new, read top-to-bottom — it takes about 5 minutes. If you're looking for one specific thing, jump to the table of contents below.
1. Creating your account
Go to olow.io and tap Create my account. The first screen asks where you're starting from, because the flow branches based on whether you've already been tested.
Step 1 — Pick your starting path
"I haven't been tested yet." Most common. We create your account first, walk you through a quiz to set your testing schedule, then help you find a partner clinic.
"At a partner clinic."Pick this if you're already booked at a olow partner clinic. They'll issue your badge directly when results come back.
Step 2 — Email verification
Enter your email. We send a 6-digit code and a magic link — either one works. Type the code into the next screen, or click the link in the email.
If you click the link from a different device than where you started, that's fine — the link picks up where you left off.
Step 3 — Legal identity
We need your legal first name, legal last name, and date of birth. This is required for matching your test results to your account — labs identify patients by full legal name and DOB, not by nickname.
You must be 18 or older. We check this at signup and again at the database level; under-18 sign-ups are blocked.
Step 4 — Health quiz (CDC-based recommendation)
A short health quiz about your relationship style, partner count, protection habits, how proactive you are about sexual health, whether you're on PrEP, and how often you currently test. We use CDC guidelines to recommend a testing schedule:
- Quarterly (every 3 months) — the platform default. Most users land here.
- Bimonthly (every 2 months) — higher activity, multiple partners, or PrEP users.
- Monthly (every 30 days) — highest-frequency profiles, repeat STI history with ongoing risk factors.
The maximum interval is quarterly. Every active olow badge means tested in the last 90 days, regardless of profile.
The recommendation is set by your quiz answers and is read-only after that. To change it, retake the quiz from your dashboard.
Step 5 — Profile (optional info)
Display name, ZIP code, age range, and two checkboxes:
Research consent. Opt in to anonymized data being used for sexual health research. Optional and unrelated to email.
Marketing consent. Opt in to occasional promotional emails (test kit partner deals, product news). Default unchecked. You can change this any time at /dashboard/notifications. Transactional emails (booking confirmations, retest reminders, badge expirations) continue regardless.
Step 6 — Set a 6-digit PIN
Used to protect your shareable badge links. Anyone you share a PIN-protected link with has to enter the PIN to see your results. Pick something memorable that you can give your partner; you can change it later from your dashboard.
Step 7 — Done
From here:
If you haven't tested yet — the next CTA is "Find a clinic." We send you to /clinics to pick a partner location.
If you have a clinic appointment booked — show up. The clinic marks the visit complete in their portal and your badge is issued automatically.
2. Getting tested
Two ways to get a verified badge issued:
Option A — Visit a partner clinic
Browse /clinics for partner locations near you. Pick one, book a slot directly through their olow page, and show up. The clinic runs the panel as part of their normal visit, then marks your booking complete in their portal — your badge is issued automatically the moment they enter your results.
Option B — At-home test kit
At-home kit verification is in development. When it launches, you'll be able to order a kit through olow, mail it back to our lab partner, and have the badge issued automatically when results come back.
3. Your dashboard
Once your badge is issued, your dashboard at /dashboard has three main tabs:
Badge. View your active credential, the panel that was tested, the test date, and your verification link.
Sharing. Generate links to share with partners. Three modes — see the next section.
Settings. Schedule, profile info, PIN, and account deletion.
5. Retest schedule and badge expiration
Your badge has a recommended retest date (your test date plus your schedule). Approaching that date, we email you:
- 30 days out — heads-up
- 14 days out — reminder
- 3 days out — urgent
- Day of — book today (or order an at-home kit if you haven't booked)
After the recommended retest date, your badge expires automatically the next day. Verification links start showing "time to retest" instead of your most recent panel.
To reactivate: get tested again at a partner clinic or via an at-home kit, and the badge renews automatically.
6. Notification preferences
Manage at /dashboard/notifications. One toggle: marketing email on/off. Transactional email — the stuff you need to use the product — is always on:
- Booking confirmations and cancellations
- Appointment reminders (the day before, the morning of)
- Retest reminders (30, 14, 3 days before, and on the day of)
- Badge expiration notices
- Account changes (PIN reset, sign-in, deletion)
These are required for the service and continue regardless of marketing preferences. If you're ever getting one of these and don't want it, that's a signal something needs to change in the product — please email support@olow.io.
7. Account, PIN, and deletion
Changing your PIN
Dashboard → Settings → Change PIN. Enter your current PIN and the new one. If you've forgotten your PIN entirely, use /reset-pin instead — we email you a reset link valid for 30 minutes.
Account deletion
Dashboard → Settings → Delete account. Removes your row, all credentials, and all sharing links. Permanent— there's no recovery after confirmation. We send you a confirmation email. Anyone you previously shared a link with will see "link expired" if they try to view it after deletion.
8. Common issues
I never got the email code
Check your spam folder — we send from noreply@olow.io and bookings@olow.io. Wait 30 seconds and tap "Resend code." If still nothing after 2 minutes, your email provider may be blocking us — try a different email or contact support@olow.io.
I started signup but never finished
You can come back any time. Sign in with your email at /signinand we'll pick up from where you left off.
I forgot my PIN
/reset-pin — enter your email, we send a reset link valid for 30 minutes.
I deleted a credential by accident
Currently no undo. Credentials can be re-issued from a new test (clinic visit or at-home kit). The original audit-log entry is preserved on our side for compliance.
My badge expired but I can't book a clinic this week
Visit an olow partner clinic or use an at-home kit. Your badge is re-issued automatically when results are processed.
I need to change my email address
Currently requires support intervention — email support@olow.io. Self-serve email change is on the roadmap.
9. Frequently asked questions
What if I test positive for something?
Your badge updates to needs follow-up. olow does not display specific results to anyone — your partner sees only the badge state, not what you tested positive for.
The clinic where you tested handles positive results, not olow. Your testing partner has the medical relationship with you, and a representative from their testing source will likely reach out for guidance on next steps. olow's job stays in the credential layer.
Once you've completed treatment and retested clear, your badge automatically returns to verified status. The retest cadence resets from your treatment date.
Does olow tell my partners if I test positive?
No. olow never reaches out to anyone in your contacts, on your behalf or otherwise. Partner notification — if you choose to do it — is your conversation to have. Most U.S. states allow anonymous partner notification through your local health department; the clinic that diagnosed you can guide you to that resource.
What partners can see: any active share link will reflect that your badge state has changed (from verified to needs follow-up). They cannot see what changed, only that the state is no longer verified. You can also revoke any active share before they next check.
What does my partner actually see when I share my badge?
By default: your badge state (verified or needs follow-up), the test date, and the issuing clinic or lab. Nothing else. No specific test results, no individual pathogens, no medical history.
You can choose to share more detail per share. If you generate a link with "show panel results," recipients see which pathogens were tested and the result for each. If you don't toggle that on, they see only the verified status. The toggle is per share, not per account — you can keep some partners at high-detail and others at minimum.
Recipients never see your real name unless you explicitly include it in the share. Your account uses an internal account ID, not your name.
Can I share my badge with multiple people at once?
Yes. There's no limit to how many shares you generate. Each share is its own link with its own controls — different password, different expiration, different level of detail.
A few patterns people use:
- One link per partner. Easiest to revoke individually if a relationship ends.
- A shared open link for ongoing partners that stays valid as long as your badge is active.
- A QR code for in-person sharing — they scan, see, done.
Premium accounts get vanity URLs (your-name.olow.io) and view tracking so you can see who has actually clicked your shares. Free accounts have unlimited share links — just without the vanity URL and tracking.
How long does it take to get a badge after testing?
Depends on the path:
- Partner clinic: typically 2–5 business days, depending on the clinic's lab turnaround. Once the clinic uploads results to olow, your badge appears in your dashboard within minutes.
- At-home kit: 5–7 business days from when you mail your sample. The lab processes the kit, sends results to olow, and your badge appears.
You'll get an email and a dashboard notification the moment your badge is ready to share.
Where does olow operate?
The olow platform is currently U.S.-only. Our partner clinic network is launching in Colorado first (Denver, Boulder, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, Aurora) and expanding nationally as more clinics join. At-home kits ship anywhere in the continental U.S.
If you're outside the U.S., olow accounts and verifications aren't available yet. We'll expand internationally as we work through state-by-state and country-by-country regulatory requirements.
Is my data HIPAA-protected?
When olow operates in connection with a partner clinic — meaning the clinic ordered your test, processed your results, and signed your credential — olow operates as a Business Associate of that clinic under a signed Business Associate Agreement (BAA). HIPAA's privacy and security rules apply to that data flow.
When you use an at-home kit, the data flows through olow's contracted lab partners under their HIPAA-protected infrastructure.
All olow data is encrypted at rest and in transit. We don't sell health data to anyone, ever — that's a hard line that's also written into our terms.
For full detail, see our privacy policy and health data notice.
Email support@olow.iowith as much detail as you can give us — the page you were on, the error message you saw, the device you're using. We respond within one business day.