How to Use SlimeWatch

SlimeWatch is a community safety platform that lets you upload video incident reports, scan faces in real time, and stay informed about activity within your 20-mile protective zone. Follow the steps below to get started.

Step-by-Step Guide

1. Submit an Incident Report

Tap the Upload tab and select a video from your device. SlimeWatch processes the footage server-side to detect faces, extract GPS coordinates and timestamps, and compress the clip to 720p. Fill in a brief description — or let the AI generate one for you — then submit. Your report is saved and made visible to others in the same 20-mile zone.

• Supported formats: MP4 and MOV
• GPS metadata is read automatically from the video file
• AI description generation: 3 free uses per hour; unlimited for Premium subscribers
• Face data is extracted using ArcFace (512-dimensional embeddings) for accurate matching

2. Scan Faces in Real Time

Open the Scan tab and grant camera permission. SlimeWatch streams frames from your camera to the server every 5 seconds and checks each detected face against every known subject in the database. When a match is found you receive an instant on-screen alert.

• Works with your device camera or a connected IP camera
• Matching uses cosine similarity with a 0.6 threshold to minimise false positives
• A 10-second cooldown prevents duplicate alerts for the same detection event
• A 5-minute cooldown starts after you confirm a sighting to prevent repeated alerts

3. Browse Nearby Reports

The Nearby Reports tab shows a live map of incident reports within your 20-mile protective zone. Tap any pin to see the video clip, face thumbnails, location, date, and AI-generated description. Reports are clustered automatically when you zoom out.

• Locations are reverse-geocoded using OpenStreetMap Nominatim
• Filter by date range or subject to narrow results
• Map clusters collapse multiple reports at the same location into a single pin

4. Review Found Reports

The Found Reports tab lists every report that contains a recognised subject — people the system has seen more than once across different uploads. Each entry shows the subject's face thumbnails, number of sightings, and movement history so you can track patterns over time.

• Subjects are created automatically when the same face appears in multiple reports
• Mobility analysis highlights subjects seen across different locations
• Only confirmed sightings are stored; dismissed detections are discarded immediately

5. Confirm or Reject Sightings

Whenever a real-time scan detects a face that matches a known subject, a confirmation prompt appears. Tap Confirm to save the sighting to the database, or Reject to discard it. This keeps the database clean and gives you full control over what is recorded.

• Confirmed sightings are stored with GPS coordinates and a timestamp
• Rejected detections are never written to the database
• You can review your confirmed sightings history in the Settings tab

6. Go Premium for Unlimited AI

Free accounts receive 3 AI-generated report descriptions per hour. Upgrade to Premium via the Settings tab to unlock unlimited AI descriptions, priority processing, and early access to new features. Subscriptions are handled securely by Stripe.

• Premium tier: unlimited AI descriptions, no hourly cap
• Anonymous (public upload) users share the free 3-per-hour allowance
• Cancel or manage your subscription at any time from Settings

7. Anonymous Public Upload

You do not need an account to submit an incident report. Visit /upload to report a video anonymously. Anonymous uploads are processed identically to authenticated ones — faces are detected, GPS is extracted, and the clip is made visible to nearby users.

• No login or personal data required
• AI description generation available (shared 3-per-hour free quota)
• Reports from anonymous uploads appear on the Nearby Reports map immediately

8. Manage Your Account & App Settings

The Settings tab lets you update your profile, manage your Premium subscription, configure IP camera connections (ONVIF/RTSP), adjust your protective zone radius, and download the native iOS or Android app for full device camera access.

• IP camera discovery uses the ONVIF protocol on your local network
• RTSP streams are transcoded to HLS by the server so they play in any browser
• Download the native app for background scanning and push notifications

Prefer a printable version? Download the SlimeWatch User Guide as a PDF.