User Manual

Complete guide to using LocalNanny - your private baby monitor

Getting Started

LocalNanny turns any RTSP/ONVIF network camera into a private baby monitor. All video stays on your local network — nothing is sent to the cloud.

Requirements:

  • iPhone or iPad running iOS 17.0 or later
  • An IP camera that supports RTSP streaming with H.264 or H.265 video
  • Your phone and camera must be on the same local network

What’s NOT supported:

  • USB or Bluetooth cameras
  • Cloud-only cameras (cameras that only stream through a manufacturer’s cloud service)
  • Using another iOS device as a camera

First Launch & Onboarding

When you open LocalNanny for the first time, you’ll go through a brief setup:

Network Permission

LocalNanny needs access to your local network to connect to cameras. You’ll see a screen with a WiFi icon and a “Request Permission” button. Tap it (or wait — the app requests permission automatically after half a second). When iOS shows the permission dialog, tap Allow.

This permission is essential. Without it, LocalNanny cannot discover or connect to cameras on your network.

Camera Compatibility

After granting network permission, you’ll see a compatibility overview:

  • Supported: RTSP cameras, ONVIF cameras, H.264/H.265 encoding. Most security and IP cameras support these formats.
  • Not supported: USB/Bluetooth cameras, cloud-based cameras, using another iOS device as a camera.

Tap Continue to proceed.

Notification Permission

On the next screen, you’ll be asked to enable notifications. Notifications help you monitor your cameras even when the app is in the background:

  • Camera disconnection alerts
  • Camera reconnection confirmations
  • Background audio status updates

Tap Enable Notifications to allow them, or Skip if you prefer not to. You can always change this later in iOS Settings.

After completing onboarding, you’ll arrive at the main screen. These screens only appear once.

Main Screen

With Cameras

The main screen shows all your enabled cameras in a live video feed.

  • iPhone: Cameras are displayed in a vertical scrolling list, one per row.
  • iPad: Cameras are displayed in a grid — 1 column in portrait, 2 columns in landscape.

Each camera tile shows the live video in 16:9 aspect ratio with the camera name overlaid in the top-left corner.

At the top of the screen:

  • “LocalNanny” title on the left
  • Gear icon on the right — tap to open Settings

Cameras load one at a time with a short delay between each to avoid overwhelming the network.

VPN Warning

If LocalNanny detects that a VPN is active, an orange warning banner appears at the top of the screen:

“VPN detected. Cameras on your local network may not connect.”

VPNs can prevent your phone from reaching devices on the local network. You can dismiss this banner by tapping the X button. If you’re having trouble connecting to cameras, try disconnecting your VPN.

Without Cameras

If no cameras have been added, you’ll see a welcome screen with a “Add Camera” button that opens Settings with the add camera flow.

If cameras exist but are all disabled, you’ll instead see a “Manage Cameras” button to re-enable them.

Adding a Camera

Tap the gear icon on the main screen to open Settings, then tap the + button (or “Add Camera” button if you have no cameras yet).

You’ll see two options:

This uses the ONVIF protocol to automatically discover cameras on your network.

  1. Tap “Scan for Cameras”.
  2. The app sends a multicast probe across your network. If iOS shows a local network permission prompt, tap Allow.
  3. Discovered cameras appear in a list showing the camera name/manufacturer and IP address.
  4. Tap a camera to connect to it.

If no cameras are found automatically:

  • Subnet Scan: Enter your network subnet prefix (e.g., 192.168.1) in the “Subnet Scan” field and tap Scan Subnet. The app will probe every address from .1 to .254 on that subnet. This is slower but more thorough than multicast discovery.
  • Manual IP: If you know your camera’s IP address, enter it in the “Manual Entry” section along with the ONVIF port (default is 80), then tap Add.

Connecting to a discovered camera:

  1. Tap on a camera from the list. A connection sheet slides up showing the camera manufacturer and IP address.
  2. Optionally enter a Camera Name (e.g., “Nursery” or “Living Room”). If left blank, the app uses the camera’s reported name or IP address.
  3. Enter the camera’s Username (usually admin) and Password.
  4. Tap Connect.
  5. The app queries the camera for its video streams, picks the best one (preferring H.264 or H.265 at the highest resolution), and adds the camera.

Option 2: Manual Setup

Use this if your camera doesn’t support ONVIF, or if you already know your RTSP stream details.

  1. Tap “Manual Setup”.
  2. Fill in the form:
    • Camera Name — A friendly name (e.g., “Baby’s Room”)
    • Username / Password (optional) — Camera login credentials
    • Hostname — The camera’s IP address (e.g., 192.168.1.100)
    • Port — The RTSP port number (usually 554)
    • Camera Template — Tap to browse pre-configured RTSP paths organized by camera manufacturer
    • Path — The RTSP stream path (camera-specific)
  3. Tap Add in the top-right corner.

About the Path field: The path is the most important part of connecting to your camera. Different camera brands use different paths. Tips:

  • Use the Camera Template picker to find common paths for your brand.
  • If one template doesn’t work, try another from the same manufacturer.
  • Search online for “[your camera model] RTSP URL” if none of the templates work.

Common RTSP Paths

Brand Typical Path Default Port
Amcrest / Dahua /cam/realmonitor?channel=1&subtype=0 554
Hikvision /Streaming/Channels/101 554
Reolink /h264Preview_01_main 554
TP-Link (Tapo) /stream1 554
Wyze (with RTSP firmware) /live 554

subtype=0 or main = high quality stream. subtype=1 or sub = lower quality, less bandwidth.

Camera View Features

Each camera tile on the main screen includes several interactive features:

Live Video

  • Displays in 16:9 aspect ratio
  • Camera name shown in the top-left corner
  • Black background behind the video

Zoom

  • Pinch with two fingers to zoom in and out
  • Double-tap to reset zoom back to normal

Audio Volume Graph

Along the bottom of each camera tile is a real-time audio waveform graph showing the audio level picked up by the camera’s microphone:

  • Blue = quiet
  • Green/Yellow = moderate
  • Orange/Red = loud

The current volume percentage is shown in the top-right corner of the graph.

Screenshot Capture

A blue camera button appears in the bottom-right corner of each camera tile. Tap it to save the current video frame to your Photos library. You’ll feel haptic feedback when you tap it, and an alert confirms whether the capture succeeded.

Fullscreen Button

An expand icon appears in the top-right corner of each camera tile. Tap it to enter fullscreen mode.

Connection Status Overlays

  • “Connecting to camera…” — Shown while the initial connection is being established.
  • “Waiting to connect…” — Shown when the camera is queued to connect (cameras connect one at a time).
  • “Connection lost, attempting to reconnect…” — Shown if the camera disconnects. The app automatically retries.

Fullscreen Mode

Tap the expand icon on any camera tile to view it fullscreen.

What you see:

  • Edge-to-edge video filling the entire screen (status bar hidden)
  • Camera name — top-left corner
  • Close button (X) — top-right corner
  • “Pinch to zoom, double-tap to reset” hint — bottom-left corner
  • Screenshot button — bottom-right corner

Behavior:

  • Zoom works the same as in the normal view — pinch to zoom, double-tap to reset.
  • Other cameras are paused while you’re in fullscreen to save resources and bandwidth. They resume automatically when you exit.
  • Audio continues playing from the fullscreen camera.
  • Screenshot capture works with an added white flash effect for visual feedback.

Exiting fullscreen:

Tap the X button in the top-right corner. The view transitions smoothly back to the main screen — a snapshot bridges the transition so you don’t see a black flash.

Camera Management

Open Settings by tapping the gear icon on the main screen.

Enable / Disable Cameras

Each camera in the list has a toggle switch. Turn it off to disable the camera (stops streaming and frees resources). Turn it back on to reconnect.

Edit a Camera

Long-press on a camera row to open the context menu, then tap Edit (pencil icon). You can change the camera name, username, password, hostname, port, stream path, and camera template. Tap Save when done.

Duplicate a Camera

Long-press on a camera, then tap Duplicate (copy icon). Useful for monitoring a second stream from the same device (e.g., a different channel or sub-stream).

Delete a Camera

Long-press on a camera, then tap Delete (trash icon). This permanently removes the camera.

Reorder Cameras

Tap the “Re-order” button in the top-left of the camera list. Drag the grip bars to rearrange cameras. Tap “Save Order” when done.

QR Code Sharing & Import

Share your camera setup with family members instantly using QR codes — no manual configuration needed.

Sharing Your Cameras

  1. Open Settings (gear icon).
  2. Tap “Share Settings via QR Code” (this option is disabled if no cameras are added).
  3. A QR code appears containing all your camera settings.
  4. Have the other person scan this code with their device.

The QR code includes camera names, connection details, and credentials so the other person doesn’t need to configure anything manually.

Privacy note: The QR code contains your camera credentials (username and password). Only share it with people you trust.

Importing Cameras

  1. Open Settings (gear icon).
  2. Tap “Import Camera Settings”.
  3. Point your camera at a LocalNanny QR code.
  4. Position the QR code inside the white frame on screen.
  5. When scanned successfully, you’ll see a confirmation showing how many cameras will be imported.
  6. Tap Import to add the cameras.

Note: If you’re on the free tier and importing multiple cameras, you’ll be prompted to upgrade to Premium to import them all.

Settings

Open Settings by tapping the gear icon on the main screen.

Appearance

Choose your preferred color scheme:

  • System — follows your device’s light/dark mode setting
  • Light — always light mode
  • Dark — always dark mode

Disconnect Alert Sound

  • Toggle: “Play sound when disconnected” — turns the alert on or off
  • Sound picker: “Alert sound” — choose from 5 built-in alert tones. Changing the sound plays a preview.

When enabled, an alert sound loops continuously if a camera loses connection, stopping only when the camera reconnects, is disabled, or is deleted.

Live Activity

  • Toggle: “Show Live Activity” — turns the Live Activity on or off
  • Shows camera status on the Lock Screen and Dynamic Island while monitoring

See Live Activities & Dynamic Island for full details.

Website & Privacy

  • Tap “Visit localnanny.app” to open the LocalNanny website in Safari.
  • Tap “Privacy Policy” to view the privacy policy.

Disconnect Alerts

LocalNanny can alert you audibly when a camera connection drops.

How it works:

  1. Enable “Play sound when disconnected” in Settings.
  2. Choose an alert sound from the 5 available options.
  3. If any enabled camera loses its connection, the alert sound plays on a loop.
  4. The alert stops automatically when:
    • The camera reconnects
    • You disable the camera
    • You delete the camera
    • You turn off the alert in Settings

This is especially useful for overnight monitoring — if the camera goes offline, you’ll hear about it right away.

Background Audio

With Premium, audio continues playing even when LocalNanny is in the background. Put your phone in your pocket, scroll through Instagram, text your spouse — and still hear your baby through the camera’s microphone.

The video feed pauses when the app is in the background (this is normal — iOS reclaims video resources from background apps). When you return to LocalNanny, the video and audio resume automatically. A snapshot of the last frame is shown during the transition so you don’t see a black screen.

Live Activities & Dynamic Island

Live Activities let you monitor your cameras directly from the Lock Screen and Dynamic Island without opening the app. This feature is available on iPhone 14 Pro and later (for Dynamic Island) and all devices running iOS 16.1 or later (for Lock Screen).

Enabling Live Activities

Live Activities are enabled by default. To toggle them:

  1. Open Settings (gear icon).
  2. Find the “Show Live Activity” toggle.
  3. Turn it on or off.

The Live Activity starts automatically when you have enabled cameras and the toggle is on. It stops when all cameras are disabled or the toggle is turned off.

What the Live Activity Shows

Lock Screen

On the Lock Screen, the Live Activity displays:

  • The LocalNanny app logo on the left
  • “Listening…” status text
  • Camera count (e.g., “1 camera” or “3 cameras”)
  • Up to 3 camera buttons in a horizontal row, each showing the camera name and a colored status dot

Dynamic Island — Expanded

When you long-press the Dynamic Island, the expanded view shows:

  • The app logo with “Listening…” text on the left
  • Camera count with a video icon on the right
  • Up to 3 camera buttons along the bottom with status indicators

Dynamic Island — Compact

The compact Dynamic Island pill shows:

  • The app logo on the left side
  • The camera count with a video icon on the right side

Dynamic Island — Minimal

When another app is also using the Dynamic Island, LocalNanny shows just its app logo in the minimal circle.

Camera Status Indicators

Each camera button in the Live Activity shows a colored dot indicating its status:

  • Green dot — Camera is connected and actively streaming
  • Yellow dot — Camera is connected but another camera is currently in fullscreen (audio from this camera is muted)
  • Orange dot — Camera is disconnected

Tapping Camera Buttons

Tap any camera button in the Live Activity to open that camera in fullscreen directly. This is the fastest way to check on a specific camera from the Lock Screen or Dynamic Island.

Tapping the Live Activity itself (outside of a camera button) opens the LocalNanny app.

Live Activity with Fullscreen

When you open a camera in fullscreen, the Live Activity updates to reflect which camera is in focus:

  • The fullscreen camera shows a green dot
  • Other connected cameras show yellow dots (connected but muted while another camera is fullscreen)
  • Disconnected cameras continue to show orange dots

Notifications

LocalNanny sends notifications to keep you informed about your cameras even when the app is in the background.

Camera Disconnection

When an enabled camera loses its connection, you’ll receive a notification:

"[Camera Name] Disconnected" — Camera connection was lost. Attempting to reconnect…

Camera Reconnection

When a disconnected camera successfully reconnects:

"[Camera Name] Reconnected" — Camera connection has been restored.

Managing Notifications

Notifications are requested during onboarding. If you skipped the prompt or want to change your notification settings later, go to iOS Settings > LocalNanny > Notifications.

Premium Features

LocalNanny works great for free with one camera and foreground audio. Premium unlocks additional capabilities:

What’s included for free:

  • 1 camera with live video and audio
  • ONVIF auto-discovery
  • QR code sharing
  • Disconnect alerts
  • Screenshot capture
  • Fullscreen mode with zoom
  • Live Activities & Dynamic Island

Upgrade to Premium:

  • Unlimited cameras — monitor as many cameras as you need
  • Background audio — keep listening while using other apps
  • One-time purchase — pay once, yours forever. No subscriptions.

How to upgrade:

  1. Open Settings (gear icon).
  2. Tap the “Upgrade to Premium” banner.
  3. The paywall shows Premium features and the price.
  4. Tap the purchase button to buy through the App Store.

Restoring purchases:

If you’ve already purchased Premium (e.g., on another device or after reinstalling):

  1. Open Settings > “Upgrade to Premium”.
  2. Tap “Restore Purchases” at the bottom of the paywall.
  3. Your purchase is verified through the App Store and Premium features are re-enabled.

Purchases are also restored automatically when you launch the app.

Apple Family Sharing: With Apple Family Sharing enabled, you only need to purchase LocalNanny Premium once — everyone in your family can use it.

Troubleshooting

Camera not found during scan

  • Make sure your phone and camera are on the same WiFi network.
  • Some cameras need ONVIF enabled in their web admin panel — it may be off by default.
  • Try the Subnet Scan: enter your network prefix (e.g., 192.168.1) and tap Scan Subnet.
  • Try Manual IP Entry if you know the camera’s IP address.
  • If iOS prompted you for local network permission and you denied it, go to iOS Settings > LocalNanny and enable Local Network access.

“Failed to connect” error during ONVIF setup

  • Double-check your username and password. These are the camera’s login credentials, not your WiFi password.
  • Most cameras default to admin / admin or have credentials printed on a label.
  • The camera may require you to set a password through its own app or web interface before it accepts connections.

Video not loading after adding a camera

  • The RTSP path may be incorrect. Try a different template for your camera brand.
  • Verify the hostname and port are correct.
  • Check that the camera is powered on and connected to the network.
  • Search online for “[your camera model] RTSP URL” to find the correct path.

Video stuttering or buffering

  • Check WiFi signal strength between your phone and the camera.
  • Wired (PoE) cameras are more reliable than WiFi cameras.
  • If your camera supports it, switch to a sub-stream (lower quality) which uses less bandwidth. Change subtype=0 to subtype=1 in the path, or use a “sub” stream template.

No audio

  • Not all cameras have built-in microphones. Check your camera’s specifications.
  • Audio may need to be enabled in your camera’s settings through its web interface or manufacturer’s app.
  • Make sure your phone isn’t on silent/mute.

Camera keeps disconnecting

  • Check that the camera has a stable network connection (Ethernet is more reliable than WiFi).
  • Check your camera’s power supply — intermittent power causes disconnects.
  • Some cameras have session timeout settings — LocalNanny sends keepalive signals automatically, but very aggressive timeouts may still cause issues.
  • If you’re connected to a VPN, try disconnecting it. VPNs can interfere with local network connections.

Black screen when returning from background

  • This is normal briefly — iOS reclaims video resources from background apps. The video reconnects automatically within a few seconds.
  • A snapshot of the last frame is shown during the transition.

Live Activity not appearing

  • Make sure “Show Live Activity” is enabled in Settings.
  • Check that you have at least one enabled camera.
  • Verify that Live Activities are allowed in iOS Settings > LocalNanny > Live Activities.
  • Live Activities require iOS 16.1 or later. Dynamic Island requires iPhone 14 Pro or later.

Compatible Cameras

LocalNanny works with any IP camera that supports H.264 or H.265 video over RTSP. ONVIF support enables automatic discovery but isn’t strictly required — you can always add a camera manually if you know the RTSP details.

What to look for when buying a camera:

  • H.264 or H.265 video codec
  • RTSP streaming
  • ONVIF protocol (for easy auto-discovery)
  • Built-in microphone (if you want audio monitoring)
  • Good night vision (essential for baby monitoring)
  • PoE (Power over Ethernet) recommended for reliability — single cable provides both power and network

Tested Brands:

  • Amcrest — Extensively tested, works great. Affordable with good night vision.
  • Lorex — Fully compatible. Good video quality at reasonable prices.
  • Reolink — Tested and verified with WiFi cameras. Enable RTSP in the Reolink app before connecting.
  • Dahua — Compatible (same protocol family as Amcrest).
  • Hikvision — Compatible with RTSP streams.
  • TP-Link (Tapo) — Compatible with models that support RTSP.

Most modern IP cameras from reputable manufacturers support RTSP and will work with LocalNanny. The built-in Camera Template picker includes pre-configured paths for many popular brands.

See our recommended cameras for specific models and purchase links.