Advanced

Background scanning

blep can keep watching for trackers while it's off-screen. There are two modes — one continuous, one on a timer — and they don't catch quite the same things. Both are off by default and you turn them on in Settings.

Two ways to keep watching #

In Settings → Background service you pick one mode: Off, Interval (a quick check on a timer while blep is fully closed) or Continuous (a live scan with a quiet ongoing notification). Continuous supersedes Interval — you choose how thorough vs. how light on battery. It's separate from left-behind watching, which always runs on its own when you've set it.

Keep scanning when minimized #

A live, continuous scan that keeps running when you leave the app, with a low-key ongoing notification (Android requires one for this). It sees a steady stream of advertisements, so it's the only mode that can catch the subtle stuff — a tracker that rapidly rotates its id, given away by the steady churn at a constant range. More thorough, a bit more battery.

Scan on a timer #

A short check every so often (you pick the interval) while blep is fully closed — light on battery, and it pauses itself in battery-saver mode. It samples too briefly to see id-churn, so it leans on recognising self-advertising trackers (Find My, Tile, SmartTag, Find My Device) and on noticing the same kind of tracker reappearing across different places and surroundings.

What each one catches #

•Continuous — recognised trackers and anonymous, rapidly-rotating ones (the churn is the tell).
•Timer — recognised, self-advertising trackers, flagged when the same kind keeps following you across places. An anonymous rotating tracker needs the continuous scan.

Watching one device #

Watch this device on a device's panel (see Device recognition) gives that one device the continuous treatment without running it for everything: blep keeps a live scan on it and notifies you while it stays in range, clearing when it leaves or you stop watching.