Verifying your screen

Verification gives advertisers confidence that the screen they see on /discover is real.

Usually it already happened. When you add a screen at /add-screen, the location prompt you allow while standing at the TV is the check — same 50 m rule, same evidence. The paths below are for the times it could not run: you declined the prompt, your phone reported too far from the address, or you have moved the screen since.

They live at /my-screens/:id/settings/location. Pick whichever is easier — any one passes.

Your screen needs a map pin first. Every check compares where you are with the screen's pin, so a screen without one can't run any of them. Add the address under Where this screen is on that same page; the location button stays disabled until you do.

Verify with location

Stand at your screen, open /my-screens/:id/settings/location, and click "Verify with location." Your browser asks for permission to share your GPS, then we compare it to the screen's map pin. Within 50 m → verified.

This works on any device with a GPS — phones, modern tablets, even most laptops outdoors.

Verify with photo

Same starting point, click "Verify with photo." Your browser camera opens (on a phone, the back camera). Take a photo of the screen. We capture your GPS at the moment of upload + the photo itself.

The photo is stored privately (only you and our staff can see it). It's not shown publicly. Advertisers see only the green "Verified location" badge.

Verify with on-screen frame (strongest)

This is the most rigorous check — it proves the live device, the live location, and the live time all line up.

1. On your phone, open /my-screens/:id/settings/location and click "Verify with on-screen frame." A 5-minute window opens.
2. Your TV picks up the live code within ~5 seconds and shows a full-screen QR + 16-character code.
3. Stand in front of the TV, tap "Photograph the QR on your TV," and capture the frame. Your phone decodes the QR and uploads it with your GPS.
4. Pass → screen flips to "Verified."

If the 5-minute window expires before you photograph, just generate a new frame.

<!-- GIF: owner-verifying-screen-frame.gif — show: phone taps "Verify with on-screen frame" → TV displays QR within ~5s → phone captures QR → "Verified" toast appears. Cap ~5s, ≤500KB. -->

Why verify at all?

• A green "Verified location" badge appears wherever an advertiser picks a screen: your screen's page, the search results and the map on /discover, and the picker inside the booking flow. It says one thing — that the screen is where the listing says it is — which is exactly what an advertiser searching by neighbourhood is choosing on. It is not a quality or trust rating and we don't present it as one.
• Until it's verified, your screen isn't shown to advertisers at all — even if your payouts are set up. Neither the badge nor your screen's listing can be switched on by hand: both come from a check passing.

What if it fails?

• Out of range: the GPS reading is more than 50 m from the screen's map pin. Either you're not at the screen yet, or the address you registered is wrong. Fix it under Where this screen is on the same page — and note that moving the pin somewhere genuinely different clears the confirmation, because the check proves someone stood at that pin.
• Permission denied: your browser refused the location request. Re-check site permissions. On some phones the camera capture also fails until location is allowed.
• QR unreadable: blurry photo or glare on the TV. Stand closer, hold steady, and try again — the QR is in the same place on the TV until the 5-minute window expires.
• Persistent failure: contact support through the Help button; our staff can look at what each check recorded and help you find what's failing.