Malinois — Support

Personal device anti-tampering for iPhone.

Common questions

The screen went black. Is it broken?

No — that’s the point. While armed, Malinois blacks out the screen so the device looks switched off. It’s still watching. To get back in, press and hold anywhere on the screen for 5 seconds, then enter your PIN.

If your iPhone is plugged in you’ll see a dimmed screen carrying a red REC badge rather than a fully black one. That’s expected — the next answer explains it.

Why does my screen show a red REC badge while armed?

Because the camera really is on. While the iPhone is charging, Malinois keeps the camera ready so that evidence capture is instant instead of losing the first second or two to starting the camera up. Whenever a camera session is live — warmed up or actually recording — Malinois shows a pulsing red dot and the word REC, and lifts the screen out of full black. That indicator cannot be switched off. It is there so anyone in front of the device can tell the camera is running.

On battery the camera stays off until something trips a tripwire, so the screen is fully black and the badge appears only for the few seconds of an actual capture.

You choose the behaviour under Settings → Capture → Battery mode:

• Auto (the default) — camera ready while charging, off while on battery.
• Battery saver — camera always off until a trigger, so the screen stays fully black the whole time. The first frame takes a moment longer to capture.
• Instant — camera always ready, so the badge always shows.

If you want the darkest possible screen while plugged in, choose Battery saver.

How do I disarm it?

Press and hold the black screen for 5 seconds until the keypad appears, then enter your PIN. A quick tap won’t do it — a tap is logged as someone touching your device. If you’re also using Guided Access, end that afterwards by triple-clicking the side button and entering your Guided Access passcode.

I’ve forgotten my PIN.

There’s no way to recover the PIN itself — it’s never stored, only a hash of it. If the app can’t read its stored PIN it will offer re-setup behind your device passcode or Face ID. Otherwise, deleting and reinstalling the app lets you start fresh, but it also deletes the evidence stored on the device.

Why does it ask me to turn on Guided Access?

Guided Access is an iOS feature that locks the device to one app. It’s what stops someone swiping Malinois away or powering the device off before evidence uploads — and it also sends incoming calls to voicemail and disables Siri. Malinois works without it, but it’s much harder to defeat with it on. The arming screen walks you through the setup.

Guided Access says it’s unavailable.

An iOS 26 bug, not Malinois: after ending a Guided Access session, iOS can refuse to start a new one for a few minutes (“Guided Access is unavailable”). Wait 3–5 minutes or restart the phone. Reports suggest it happens more often when Face ID or Touch ID is enabled as a way to end Guided Access.

The alarm isn’t loud enough.

iOS gives no app control over the hardware volume buttons, so the alarm plays at whatever your media volume is set to. Two things help: turn the volume up before you arm, and in Guided Access → Options turn Volume Buttons off so it can’t be turned down while armed. By default the alarm also starts quiet and rises over about 20 seconds, so you can disarm your own device without a jolt — you can switch that off under Settings → Tripwire Response.

Does my evidence go to you?

No. There is no server. Evidence stays on your device and, if you’re signed into iCloud, in your own private iCloud storage, which I cannot access. See the privacy policy.

You don’t have to take my word for it: the app’s source code is public, so anyone can check that there is no server to send anything to — read the source.

It triggered when nothing happened.

Lower the sensitivity for the sensor that fired (Settings → Sensitivity), or turn that tripwire off. Vibration-prone surfaces are the usual cause for Device motion, and the Sound tripwire is the most false-positive-prone, which is why it’s off by default. Test sensors on the main screen — behind your PIN, like the rest of the app’s settings — lets you see each sensor react in real time without recording anything.

What does Pro include?

A one-time purchase that adds iCloud backup of evidence, alerts to your other Apple devices, both cameras at once, longer clips, the Sound tripwire and the Vision tripwire. Everything else — detection, capture, the local log, the alarm — is free and stays free. New installs get a 30-day trial of everything.

Why is the Vision tripwire off when I’m on battery?

The Vision tripwire watches the camera’s view for movement, so it needs the camera to be running — and a camera that is running costs battery and makes iOS show its recording indicator. Malinois only holds the camera ready when the power question is already settled: while you are plugged in (Battery mode → Auto) or if you have chosen Instant. On battery the camera is cold, so this tripwire is simply off, and the arming screen says so before you commit. Your other tripwires carry on as normal.

Why is the camera set to “Auto”?

Auto uses whichever camera can actually see: the rear one when the phone is face down, the front one otherwise. A phone placed face down with the front camera selected is pointing its lens at the table, which is worth avoiding by default. You can still pick Front, Rear, or — with Pro — Both.

I bought Pro but it’s not showing.

Open the app, go to Settings, and tap the Pro row, then Restore Purchases. Make sure you’re signed into the same Apple Account you bought it with.

A note on responsible use

Malinois is for protecting your own device. Because it records whoever handles it, please use it lawfully where you live — it isn’t a tool for monitoring other people.

Privacy

Full details in the privacy policy.