How It Works
Bag It Bin It is designed to solve a common problem for dog owners: forgetting to retrieve poo bags left on path edges on the return walk. By combining offline-first mapping, smart timers, and active proximity alerts, the app ensures you never leave a bag behind.
Quick Guide 🗺️
Drop
Tie your bag and place it safely. Tap Drop Here (GPS) to log the location, or use Pin on Map to manually position the tag.
Remind
Choose a reminder interval (15 to 120 mins). Our servers register a secure Web Push Notification to alert you later.
Retrieve
Follow the map pins on your return walk. Once collected, tap Retrieve (or Bin It! on the pin) to clean up the map.
Proximity Alert Rules 🔊
When you are actively walking back and want live alerts without checking your phone, the app uses foreground high-accuracy GPS tracking to guide you.
When the app is active and your GPS position is within 20 meters (approx. 65 feet) of any active bag tag, the app will play a friendly double chime (D5 to A5 tone) and show a warning banner.
Mobile GPS signals naturally fluctuate or "drift" when you walk under tree covers or stand still. To prevent your phone from continuously chiming, the alert will only "re-arm" and chime again once you move at least 35 meters (approx. 115 feet) away from the bag's coordinate.
Mobile operating systems (iOS and Android) restrict sound play and precise GPS updates when the screen is locked or the browser is in the background. To keep the chimes running, you must keep the map screen open. Tap the Eye Icon (👁️) on the map page to engage the Screen Wake Lock, which prevents your phone screen from falling asleep.
Web Push Reminders ⏰
If you lock your screen or use other apps, Web Push Notifications take over to remind you after your set timer runs out.
Background Execution
Timers run entirely on our server. When a timer expires, the server sends a system-level push payload to your device's browser, which triggers a notification. This works even if the browser is closed or your phone is locked!
📲 iOS (iPhone/iPad) Specific Setup:
Apple requires PWAs to be installed on the Home Screen before allowing web push notifications. Follow these simple steps:
- Open bagitbinit.com in Safari on your iPhone.
- Tap the Share button (box with upward arrow).
- Scroll down and tap Add to Home Screen.
- Open the installed Bag It Bin It app icon, drop a bag, and grant notification permission when prompted.
Offline-First Walk Syncing 🛰️
Walks in forests, coastal paths, and hills often suffer from weak or nonexistent mobile service. Our app is designed local-first.
Cached Map Tiles
The app's Service Worker automatically caches OpenStreetMap tiles as you view them. If you walk into a network dead zone, the map areas you loaded earlier will still display clearly.
Offline Tags Queue
If you add or retrieve a bag pin while offline, the action is instantly saved to your browser's local storage.
Automatic Server Syncing
The moment your phone re-establishes a network connection, the app automatically uploads your offline tags and pulls down updates from the server database, ensuring perfect synchronization.
Map Interaction Modes 📍
We provide multiple ways to log your bag drops and collections depending on GPS accuracy and time of drop:
| Mode | When to Use | How it Works |
|---|---|---|
| 📍 Drop Here (GPS) | Best for immediate, real-time drops during your walk. | Uses high-accuracy GPS to pin the bag tag at your current exact coordinates. |
| 🗺️ Pin on Map | When GPS is weak, or you dropped the bag a few minutes ago. | Enables manual map selection. Tap anywhere on the map screen to place your tag. |
| ✅ Retrieve Closest | When walking back and collecting your bag. | Appears automatically when you are within 20m of a bag tag, allowing a quick one-tap retrieval. |