Published October 10, 2026
How Be My Eyes Works: Volunteer Calls, Matching & Specialized Help
How does a Be My Eyes call actually work? From requesting help to volunteer matching by language and timezone, here's the full process.
Requesting help through Be My Eyes takes less than a minute. Here's exactly what happens, whether you're a blind user asking for help or a volunteer answering.
For blind and low-vision users
- Open the app and tap to request a volunteer.
- The app notifies volunteers who match your language and timezone — only during their daytime hours (8am to 9pm their time).
- The first volunteer to answer connects. Average wait: under 30 seconds, often under 10.
- A live video call starts. It's one-way video (the volunteer sees your rear camera feed) with two-way audio, so you can describe what you need and they can guide you.
- Get your answer, hang up, and optionally rate the call.
For volunteers
Sign up, pick your languages, and wait. When a request comes in during your daytime hours, your phone rings. Answer only if you feel like it — there's no obligation, and if you skip it, the request simply goes to someone else. Calls are short and casual: read a label, describe a photo, help find something. A few minutes of your time, whenever you have them.
Our sign-up guide walks through creating an account on either side, step by step.
How matching works
Calls are routed by language and daytime timezone, so you'll always be paired with someone you can actually talk to, at a reasonable hour for the volunteer. With millions of volunteers across 185 languages, most requests are answered almost instantly.
Specialized Help
For trickier problems — say, setting up a specific brand of appliance — the app's Specialized Help directory connects you directly with company representatives trained on their own products. Availability depends on the company and region, but it's the same free video-call format.
Good to know
You need to be at least 17 to sign up. The video is one-way by design: the volunteer sees your camera, but you don't see them — which keeps things comfortable for everyone. If you'd rather not talk to a person at all, Be My AI handles photo descriptions privately instead.