Have 59 cents in your pocket? That's what it's going to cost to have one of the most striking features on your phone. Samsung Galaxy S3, its ability to keep its screen on while we're watching. It's a simple but very practical idea. Now ISeeYou (something like I See You) brings this possibility to everyone Android with Ice Cream Sandwich.
Although the name of the app sounds a little scary (it reminds me of a horror movie), the one that stays awake when we look at it is the phone. ISeeYou uses the front camera of the terminal to detect a face. As the Smart Stay function does on the Galaxy S3, if it detects that we are looking at the screen, it will not go to sleep. We've all experienced that the phone would go black when we were reading a long message or a website. In my case, I have the Nexus S set to go to sleep after 30 seconds of inactivity. Setting this parameter to the minimum possible is one of the fundamental measures to ensure that the battery (which is Ice Cream Sandwich's first victim) doesn't go stiff in a couple of hours.
But rationality can sometimes be frustrating. That's why ISeeYou It's the perfect complement. It's a tiny app, just a few KB, and once installed, your phone won't turn off. at the worst moment. On Google Play there are two versions, one free and one paid. 59 cents.
There are hardly any differences between the two, and the free one is fully functional. Its only problem is that does not allow changing the periodicity with which it activates the front camera to detect us and for how long. In this case, facial recognition activates the camera every 20 seconds after no touch activity is detected. That's a very short period of time, and the battery problem we thought we'd fixed has worsened.
With the paid version, you can set up how often the camera triggers and how many seconds it will scan. You can try the free version and, if you like it, pay for it later. 59 cents.
ISeeYou on Google Play
How it works and how it impacts the battery
The key is in a periodic scanning using the front camera that looks for facial features. If it detects you, the system avoids rest; if not, let the screen timer do its thing. This approach minimizes the amount of time the screen stays on when you're not looking at it, but it does require calibrating the interval scanning and the duration of recognition.
In the free version, the fixed interval of 20 seconds may be too aggressive for the battery because it frequently activates the camera. The paid version allows you to extend the interval (e.g., 45-60 s) and limit the analysis time (e.g., 2-3 s), a balance that usually offers energy savings without losing comfort.
Practical advice: keep the wait time of low Android (30 so 1 min) or use the fixed screen option and let ISeeYou decide when to extend the screen when it detects your face. This way you avoid the panel remaining on unattended and limit the consumption of the front camera module.
Free vs. Paid: Recommended Settings
If your priority is the autonomy, the paid version compensates by allowing you to adapt the parameters to your usage. Try larger intervals when reading static text and reduce the scanning time to minimize CPU usage and sensor. In low-light environments, it may be helpful to extend the analysis window by a few seconds to improve the reliability of recognition.
Another good practice is to activate ISeeYou only when you need it (for example, when reading or browsing) and deactivate it during sessions of video continuous, where the player already keeps the screen on. Remember that the app requires frontal camera compatible; on devices without this hardware its main function cannot be executed.
Alternatives: Wakey and other approaches to keeping the screen awake
There are alternatives such as Wakey, which keeps the screen on without using the camera. Allows you to set the brightness to maximum, dimmed or even left on the screen dark while the device remains active. It also offers automatic activation when certain apps are in the foreground, when the device is being used loading or when connecting certain Bluetooth.
Wakey includes quick access via tile or widget, and advanced features such as integration with bike Bags to create contextual rules (e.g., low brightness at night or high brightness during navigation). To achieve this, it relies on a service accessibility that detects which app is in the foreground, without reading its content or using the microphone or camera.
When to choose each one? If you want the screen to turn off automatically when you're not lookingISeeYou is more natural. If you prefer rules by app, by charge, or by accessories, Wakey and similar solutions provide automation without camera.
Not to be confused with other surveillance-oriented apps called ISeeYou
On Android there are applications with the same name focused on mass surveillance, not keeping the screen awake. These solutions allow for quick setup to leave the phone capturing video without intervention, they store recordings as collections of frames with internal visor, and apply Motion detection stable on different capture formats.
In this area, the processing area can conform, the movement can trigger the recording and/or an acoustic signal, and there are options for save energy managing duration and quality. It is also possible to generate MP4 files from frames and export images JPGSome even include a motion tracker that makes zoom meeting to focus on the moving object and zoom in again when more elements appear, optimizing the storage.
All of this falls into a different category of usage. If your goal is just to keep the screen from turning off when you look at it, check the Developer and the description to choose the correct app.
Facial recognition in attendance control: another different use
There are also tools of labor management that use facial recognition for very different purposes: to control assistance, set schedules input and output per collaborator, and record the geolocation of field equipment. These solutions generate Reports configurable with GPS locations and allow to extract reports In Excel.
Its objective is to facilitate the occupational health control and reduce unnecessary exposures, not keeping the screen on. It is important not to confuse them with apps like ISeeYou, which are geared towards user experience Of the device.
Privacy, permissions and good practices
ISeeYou needs permission from camera to detect your face. Use the app only from official sources and review the permissions granted. If you're concerned about privacy in sensitive environments, you can limit its use to specific times and disable it when you don't need it.
To maximize the battery, combines low system timeout with longer scan intervals in ISeeYou, avoid running it in background If you are not going to read, take advantage of the time when your phone is on. loadingIf you notice false negatives in low light, slightly increase the scan time or improve the front lighting.
With fine tuning, ISeeYou makes the screen stay on when real you look at your phone, avoiding unnecessary touches and constant blocking, and offering flexible control of consumption.
