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The Setup Wizard & Permissions

Sentinel Circle asks for every Android permission and phone setting the same way: a short wizard with one page per permission. Each page tells you:

  • What it's for — in plain words, including exactly what the app reads.
  • Who needs it — the sensors or alert methods in your setup that use it ("Needed by: Home WiFi"), or "every monitoring session" for the few things all monitoring needs.
  • How much it matters — Required (something you set up will not work without it), Optional, recommended (it only makes things more punctual or reliable), or Not needed by your current setup.
  • If you don't allow it — what actually happens.
  • When you tap the button — what Android is about to show you, and what to choose there.

You meet the wizard in two ways:

  • When something needs a permission right now, the wizard opens with only the pages that are missing: when you tap Start Monitoring, save or switch on a sensor or alert method, import a configuration, tap a Scan or Test button, or turn on a feature such as notification access. When you allow a permission, the wizard moves on by itself; when the last one is allowed, what you were doing simply continues.
  • From Settings → Permissions and Phone Settings you can walk through every page your Android version has at any time, starting with a short introduction and ending with a summary of what is allowed. That entry also shows how many of the permissions your current configuration needs are granted — for example "3/5 permissions granted" — and turns into a warning icon when something is missing.

The wizard does not open by itself when you first install the app, and you never have to finish it in one go: Skip (or Skip for now on a Required page) moves on, and the app asks again the next time that permission is actually needed.

Details​

The Location page of the permission wizard: what it is for, who needs it, Required, and what happens without it

The pages appear in a fixed order, so a permission that depends on another (background location on plain location) always comes after it. Which pages exist depends on your Android version — on older phones some permissions do not exist and are allowed automatically, so their pages never appear.

If Android stops asking​

If you deny a permission twice (or tick "Don't ask again" on older Android versions), Android stops showing its question. The page then says so, and its button changes to Open Android settings: it opens Sentinel Circle's own page in Android settings, where you can allow the permission under Permissions. Come back to the app afterwards — the page notices the change.

Restricted settings​

If you installed Sentinel Circle from outside the Play Store, Android 13 and newer may call notification access and the accessibility service "restricted settings". The page then shows an Open app info button: on that page, tap the menu and choose Allow restricted settings, then try again.

Location​

Android counts scanning for nearby Wi-Fi networks and Bluetooth devices as location access, so Sentinel Circle has to ask for Location to use Wi-Fi sensors, Sentinel Area, and — on Android 11 and older — Bluetooth sensors. It only looks at which networks and devices are nearby. It never reads your GPS position, and nothing leaves the phone.

When Android asks, choose While using the app (or Allow) and leave Precise location on — with only approximate location, Android shows the app no Wi-Fi networks at all.

Location switch​

This is the phone's main Location switch, in quick settings. While it is off, Android delivers no Wi-Fi scan results (and on Android 11 and older no Bluetooth results either), even with the Location permission allowed. The button opens Android's Location settings.

Background location​

This lets monitoring carry on by itself while the app is closed, and restart on its own, with nobody opening the app, after the phone restarts or the app updates. The data it accesses is the Wi-Fi networks and Bluetooth devices near the phone, which Android treats as location data; it does not read GPS coordinates, and this information stays on the phone.

Without it, monitoring you start from the app keeps running while the app is closed. But after the phone restarts (a power cut, a system update) or the app updates, Sentinel Circle comes back without Wi-Fi detection (on Android 10 and 11, without Bluetooth detection too), and stays that way until someone opens the app. For a phone left unattended at home, that is exactly when it matters.

On the screen Android opens, choose Allow all the time (the page quotes the exact wording your phone uses). This page appears on Android 10 and newer, and its button asks for plain Location first if that is not allowed yet.

Nearby Wi-Fi devices​

On Android 13 and newer, an app needs this as well as Location before it may see Wi-Fi networks. Wi-Fi sensors and Sentinel Area use it.

Nearby Bluetooth devices​

On Android 12 and newer, this replaces Location for Bluetooth: Bluetooth sensors and Sentinel Area need it to scan for the beacon or tag they watch.

Notifications​

On Android 13 and newer this lets Sentinel Circle show its "monitoring is on" notification and its alert notifications. The Alert Screen alert method is delivered as a notification too, so without this permission it cannot appear at all and is counted as failed.

Full-screen alerts​

On Android 14 and newer, this lets the Alert Screen open over the lock screen and over other apps the moment it fires. Without it the alert only appears as a notification banner, which is easy to miss on a locked phone.

Battery optimization​

Android holds back apps it is "optimizing" while the phone lies idle. Taking Sentinel Circle out of battery optimization keeps its checks running on time while the screen is off; without it, sensor checks and alert retries can be held back for many minutes. When Android asks whether to let the app run in the background, choose Allow (on some phones Don't optimize or Unrestricted).

Your phone maker's power settings​

Some phone brands (Samsung, Xiaomi, Huawei, OPPO, OnePlus, and others) add their own power saving on top of Android's, which can stop apps in the background — including Bluetooth scanning while the phone is locked. Sentinel Circle cannot check these settings, so this page lists the steps for your brand and opens the closest settings screen it can. When you have checked them, tap I've done this (moving past the page counts too). This page is marked Optional, recommended; Start Monitoring shows it once, and Settings → Permissions and Phone Settings always shows it.

Alarms and reminders​

On Android 12 and newer, this lets the regular wake-up that keeps sensors checked, and the retry of an alert that failed to send, go off exactly on time while the phone is idle. It is optional: without it nothing stops working, these wake-ups just run on Android's less exact timing and can be several minutes late in deep sleep. It never stops you from starting monitoring on its own.

Keep permissions when unused​

On Android 11 and newer, Android removes permissions from apps nobody has opened for a few months — which is exactly what can happen to a monitoring phone nobody touches. Under Unused apps, turn off the switch that pauses the app or removes its permissions (its name depends on the Android version, for example "Pause app activity if unused" or "Remove permissions and free up space").

Notification access​

Needed only for the Notification sensor, which reacts to notifications from apps you choose. Android describes this access as permission to see ALL notifications on the phone. Sentinel Circle only reads the title and text of notifications from the apps you choose in a Notification sensor, and only to check them against your filters. Nothing is stored or sent anywhere, and all other notifications are ignored. Without it, Notification sensors never trigger.

SMS​

The SMS page of the permission wizard in the full tour from Settings: granted, and not needed by the current setup

Needed only for SMS alert methods. Sentinel Circle sends a text to the numbers you configure only when an alert fires, or when you tap Test. Without it, SMS alerts cannot be sent; each attempt is logged as failed and retried.

Phone calls​

Needed only for Phone Call alert methods, which call the numbers you configure when an alert fires. The Phone Call Test places a real call, so it asks for this too.

Display over other apps​

On Android 10 and newer, an app in the background may only open a screen if it can display over other apps. Sentinel Circle needs this to open the Alert Screen by itself while the app is closed or in the background, to place a phone call alert, and to bring itself back to the front when Return to the app automatically is on. Without it the Alert Screen appears only as a notification that has to be tapped, phone calls fail (and are retried) and the automatic return does nothing.

Some phones also need it for SMS or WhatsApp. On certain phones, sending a text or opening WhatsApp makes Android or the phone maker show a screen of its own (for example, asking which SIM to use), and without this permission that screen is silently blocked. Sentinel Circle can't know this in advance, so it learns it: if an SMS or WhatsApp Test fails that way, the wizard opens on this page straight away and says so. From then on the permission counts as needed on that phone, so Start Monitoring and Settings → Permissions and Phone Settings ask for it too. If a real alert fails that way, its Event Log entry says that allowing Display over other apps may fix it.

WhatsApp accessibility service​

The WhatsApp accessibility page of the permission wizard, disclosing what the service reads

Needed only for the WhatsApp alert method. Sentinel Circle uses Android's Accessibility Service for one purpose: to press Send in WhatsApp when a WhatsApp alert is triggered.

  • What it accesses: only while an alert is being sent, it reads the WhatsApp screen to find the message box and the Send button, including the text Sentinel Circle itself placed in that box. It ignores every other app and does nothing when no alert is being sent.
  • What it does with it: it taps Send. Nothing it reads is stored, logged or sent anywhere.

This is not an accessibility aid. If you don't use WhatsApp alerts, leave it off; you can turn the service off at any time in Android Settings > Accessibility.

Pages you don't need​

In Settings → Permissions and Phone Settings, a page for something your setup does not use is marked Not needed by your current setup, but it still has its button: you can allow it ahead of time, for example before you add an SMS alert. Everywhere else — a Test button, Start Monitoring, saving a sensor — the wizard asks only for what that moment needs.