Developer Builds Battery-Efficient Offline Geofencing App to Auto-Silence Phones

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A developer created Muffle, an Android app that automatically adjusts phone sound settings based on the user's location, after an embarrassing library incident sparked the idea. The app uses Google's Geofencing API with a hybrid location accuracy approach to detect when a user enters or exits defined zones such as libraries, clinics, or mosques. To avoid excessive battery drain, the developer opted for balanced power accuracy mode instead of high-precision GPS, reducing unnecessary radio wake-ups. A loitering delay parameter was added to filter out false triggers caused by brief proximity to a geofenced area. The biggest challenge proved to be OEM-specific battery management on devices like Xiaomi and Samsung, which aggressively killed background services regardless of correct implementation.

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ProgrammingDEV Community ·

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