Watchmen Investigations Portal

Watchmen Field App Investigator Tool

The Watchmen Field App is the Android app Watchmen investigators and techs carry into a bug sweep. It runs the guided RF/camera/magnetometer/BLE-WiFi sweep on-site, signs in with the same badge credentials you already use elsewhere in the portal, and posts a sweep summary straight to the client's case file the moment the sweep finishes — no export, no manual write-up. This guide covers signing in, running a sweep, and how the case-file sync works.

Who this is for

This app is for Watchmen's own investigators and techs conducting a professional bug sweep engagement — it is not something a client installs. If you're looking for the marketing page that describes the sweep service to prospective clients, see Pooh Bear; this page is the operational how-to for the investigator running that sweep.

What this tool actually does

Once signed in, the app shows your assigned case list, then a one-tap Bug Sweep that walks through four detection passes: RF spectrum activity, BLE/WiFi device fingerprinting, magnetometer anomaly detection, and a camera IR lens-glint pass. Every pass defaults to a simple guided "hot/cold" search — plain-language status ("Cold," "Warm," "Hot!") instead of raw graphs — with an Advanced toggle on every screen for the full detailed view (live graph, full device list, manual tuning) if you want the raw data. When the sweep finishes, a summary is posted automatically to the case's activity log, which is what shows up in the client's case file.

An optional, physically-attached RTL-SDR USB dongle unlocks a second tier: genuine wideband spectrum sweeping, including a one-tap "sweep common bug/camera bands" preset and a live FFT/waterfall view behind Advanced Tools. This tier isn't part of the automatic one-tap sweep — it needs the dongle plugged in and a quick driver handoff — but it's reachable from the same screen for engagements that call for it.

Read the in-app disclaimer (Settings → About → View disclaimer) before using this on an engagement. This tool does not replace a certified TSCM sweep with professional equipment, and a clean scan does not prove an area is free of surveillance devices — investigator judgment always governs the final call on any finding.

Signing in

The app uses the same badge credentials already issued to you elsewhere in the portal — there's no separate account to create. On the sign-in screen, enter:

You can find both credentials in the portal under your Field App Access page — copy the token or badge number from there and enter it into the app. Signing in syncs your case updates and photos in real time, the same as any other Watchmen app tied to your badge.

Signing in is a hard gate — there's no way to reach any scanning feature without a working sign-in, so make sure your badge credentials are current before heading out to an engagement. If your Badge Number was recently changed in the portal, the old number stops working immediately; use the current one.

Step-by-step: running a Bug Sweep

1. Open the app and sign in. Enter your email and Badge Token or Badge Number as described above.

2. Pick the case. Your case list/dashboard shows your assigned active cases (anything not marked closed). Select the case this sweep is for.

3. Tap Bug Sweep. This starts the one-tap guided sweep covering all four Tier 1 passes together.

4. Walk the room. Follow the guided hot/cold cues on screen — the radar view warms from cold/blue through amber to red as a signal gets stronger, with status text and short audio cues marking getting warmer, getting colder, and a strong hit. This is a proximity game, not a compass: none of the on-device sensors can point a true bearing at a source, so the app only ever tells you "stronger" or "weaker" than a moment ago, the same way a Geiger counter works.

5. Confirm or dismiss each anomaly. When something crosses threshold, tap Found it! to log it as a finding or Not this to dismiss a false positive. The app already screens out common false positives on its own — ordinary phones, laptops, and known consumer-electronics BLE beacons — and shows anything it excluded in a collapsed "N excluded — show" section so you can still review it if you want a second look.

6. Run the RTL-SDR pass if the engagement calls for it. With the dongle connected, open Advanced Tools for the one-tap "sweep common bug/camera bands" preset, or the manual live FFT/waterfall view for a deeper look at a specific frequency range.

7. End the sweep. Once you've covered the space, close out the session. A sweep summary — every confirmed finding and every area you cleared — posts automatically to the case's activity log.

How findings sync to the case file

You don't export, upload, or re-type anything after a sweep. Each confirmed finding — RF hit, BLE/WiFi device, magnetometer anomaly, or lens glint — is written into the case's activity log as a field-sweep activity as the sweep happens, timestamped and attributed to your investigator profile. That's the same activity log the client's case file already reads from, so a finding shows up there automatically the moment it's logged — matching what a client sees on the Professional Bug Sweep Finder page under "Every Finding Lands in the Case File."

Sessions also keep a local record with notes, an optional GPS tag, and a JSON export available from the session detail screen — useful if you want to hand a client a raw data export in addition to what's already synced to their case.

Troubleshooting

Sign-in fails with a network or 4xx error — Double-check the email and Badge Token/Badge Number match exactly what's shown on your Field App Access page in the portal. If your Badge Number was recently reset, the old one no longer works.

A WiFi rescan returns stale results — Android throttles how often an app can request a fresh WiFi scan (roughly a handful per app every couple of minutes). If a rapid re-tap during a room walk looks unchanged, wait a few moments before scanning again.

The RTL-SDR dongle isn't detected — Make sure the companion driver app is installed (the app will prompt you if it isn't) and that you've granted the USB permission prompt when plugging in the dongle.

The app won't open / crashes immediately — This build targets Android 12 and newer, with the Pixel 7a as the primary supported device. If you're on supported hardware and it still won't open, contact your team lead.

Privacy & evidentiary note

Findings logged through a Bug Sweep are attached to the specific case selected at sign-in and are visible only to the assigned investigator, authorized staff, and the client on that case — the same access already applied to the rest of the case file. Because this is a beta, internally-distributed tool, treat any single scan's "clear" result as one input into your professional judgment, not a standalone guarantee — the in-app disclaimer covers this in more detail.