911PetFind Wiki / How it works
The Mesh Network
How every phone becomes a silent pet detector.
The mesh is the heart of 911PetFind. Every phone with the app - owner or Relay Mode helper - scans for pet tags around it.
How a ping happens
- A pet's collar tag broadcasts a tiny Bluetooth signal several times a second. See Tags and Pairing.
- Any phone with the app within roughly 10-50 m hears it during a scan burst (see Background Tag Watch).
- The phone sends one anonymous report - tag identity, its own GPS position, signal strength - to the server. This is a "ping".
- The server resolves which pet the tag belongs to, stores the position, and decides whether anyone needs to be told: the Home Zone engine for escapes, Alerts and Notifications for lost pets.
Privacy by construction
The passer-by never sees anything and is never identified: reports carry only a random reporter code. Generic tag hardware addresses are hashed on the phone before they ever leave it. The public can never look up who owns a tag - only the server can connect tag, pet and owner.
Why it gets stronger with every install
Each new phone - especially Relay Mode installs, which need no account - adds walking coverage. More coverage means faster detections, which makes the network more valuable, which brings more partners: the classic network effect.