Guide 1 · about 15 minutes

Activate the camera phone

  1. Download Snitchy on your main phone

    Grab the Snitchy app from the App Store or Google Play and sign up. This phone stays in your pocket - it's for watching, not filming.

    Snitchy home screen on the main phone with the Create your camera card and Add Camera button

  2. Snitchy shows a QR code

    Once you're signed up, the app displays a QR code for pairing your new camera. Keep it on screen for the next step.

    Camera Setup screen showing the pairing QR code and a six character code to type instead

  3. Set up the spare phone

    On the spare phone, iPhone or Android, download the same Snitchy app from the App Store or Google Play. One app does both jobs: dashboard on your main phone, camera on the spare one.

    Camera phone status screen showing Working, the timer, live connection and battery

  4. Scan the QR code

    Open Snitchy on the spare phone, tap Set up this phone as a camera, and point it at the QR code on your main phone. The two pair up, and the camera appears in your app. You can also type in the code shown under the QR.

    Then finish the phone setup. Snitchy walks you through it straight after pairing: six settings, one button each, then a live preview to aim the camera. Work through every step before you mount the phone. Unfinished items are the number one reason cameras stop. See the checklist → On an iPhone there is no checklist: keep Snitchy open, tap Dim screen, and turn on Guided Access so nothing closes it.

    Phone setup checklist on the camera phone with six settings, five ticked and one waiting on Allow

  5. Mount it and frame the shot

    Fix the camera phone somewhere stable with a clear view of the whole build, plug it into power (or the Snitchy solar panel if there is no power point), and line up the shot. Include a little sky - buildings grow upward. Then check your main phone: the first captures should be rolling in. Set the days, hours and interval any time from the Timer tab on your main phone.

    Timer screen on the main phone set to every 10 minutes between 6 AM and 6 PM
Sloth-approved mounting tips
  • Keep it out of reach and out of the weather.
  • Power always. A battery alone won't last the build, so use a power point or the Snitchy solar panel, which keeps the phone going forever.
  • Clean the lens before you walk away. Future you says thanks.
← Start here Next: viewing from your main phone →