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 the Tag Bag button to tag the location instantly via GPS, or the Add Tag Button to manually position the tag on the map.
Remind
Once dropped, the app automatically posts a reminder alert to your lock screen every 10 minutes as long as you have active bags on the map.
Retrieve
Follow the map pins on your return walk. Once collected, tap the pin on the map and select Bin It! đī¸ 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.
- Visual Guide: Temporarily draws a blue dashed path line from your current GPS position to the nearest bag coordinates for a few seconds to show the exact direction of travel.
- Map Recentering: If you have panned or zoomed the map away from your current location, this action immediately snaps the viewport back to center both you and your nearest bag on the screen.
Web Push Reminders
Background Reminders
If you lock your screen or use other apps, Web Push Notifications take over to remind you that you have an active bag out.
If you lock your screen or use other apps, background push alerts take over to remind you that you have an active bag out.
Background Execution
Our server monitors your active tags. While you have at least one active bag pinned on the map, the server sends a system-level push notification to your device every 10 minutes. This works even if the browser is closed or your phone is locked!
While you have at least one active bag pinned on the map, the server automatically sends a background push notification to your device every 10 minutes. This ensures you never forget to retrieve your bags, even if the app is closed or your screen is locked.
Phone Notification Setup
To receive alerts in the background, mobile operating systems require you to add the app to your Home Screen. This installs a secure client shell that enables the device to receive system-level notifications.
iPhone & iPad
Open in Safari
Make sure you are viewing this page inside the native **Safari** browser. Third-party iOS browsers (like Chrome or Firefox) do not support web push integration.
Add to Home Screen
Tap the **Share** button in Safari's toolbar, scroll down and select Add to Home Screen:
Launch & Allow Alerts
Go to your Home Screen, open the new **Bag It Bin It** icon, and tap Allow when prompted for notification permissions on your first bag tag.
Requires iOS 16.4 or Newer
Apple introduced support for Web Push Notifications in iOS 16.4. Ensure your device is updated to the latest iOS version.
Avoid Private Browsing
PWA installation features are disabled and notification subscriptions are blocked in private browsing tabs.
iOS Focus Modes (DND)
If you use Focus Modes (e.g., Do Not Disturb), make sure to add **Bag It Bin It** to your allowed app list under system settings.
Android
Open in Chrome
Make sure you are viewing this page inside the native **Google Chrome** browser (or other supported browsers) on your Android device.
Install App
Tap the **menu dots** ⎠in Chrome's address bar next to the URL and select Install app (or Add to Home screen):
Launch & Enable Alerts
Launch the app from your home screen. When you tag your first bag, tap **Allow** when Google Chrome prompts you for notification permissions.
Battery Optimization
Android battery savers can sleep background tasks. Go to **Settings â Apps â Chrome â Battery** and set to **Optimised** or **Unrestricted** (avoid "Restricted").
Site Settings Check
If you don't receive alerts, tap the **lock icon** in the browser URL bar and ensure that **Notifications** is toggled to **Allowed**.
System Notification Channels
Verify under phone system settings (**Apps > Chrome > Notifications > Notification categories**) that notifications for **Sites** are enabled.
Background Reminders
While you have at least one active bag pinned on the map, the app sends a background notification every 10 minutes to remind you to collect it on your return.
đ Notification Permissions
To receive background alerts, tap Allow when the app prompts you for notification permissions.
If you previously denied permissions, you can enable them at any time in your device's system settings under Settings > Bag It Bin It > Notifications.
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.
Vector Map Data & Caching
The app utilizes compact vector map archives (PMTiles) alongside CartoDB Voyager basemaps. Previously viewed map regions are locally cached on your device, ensuring that if you walk into a network dead zone, the paths and streets you loaded earlier remain fully readable offline.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Tag Bag 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. |
| Add Tag | 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. |