Should checkpoints use QR codes or NFC tags?

Start with QR because you can print it on a label today and the camera is already in the app. NFC is more robust in the dark and harder to photograph and spoof, which matters if scans are ever disputed, but it needs physical tags on every checkpoint and a build with NFC permissions. Ship QR, and add NFC when a client asks about tamper resistance.

How do you stop a guard scanning checkpoints from the car park?

You cannot prevent it entirely, but you can make it visible. Record the GPS position with every scan and flag ones that are far from the checkpoint’s known position, and flag rounds where the gap between two distant checkpoints is implausibly short. Present these as anomalies for a supervisor to look at rather than as automatic accusations.

How to Build a Security Patrol App with AI (2026)

What a security patrol app needs

QR or NFC checkpoints placed around a site
Scan to log a timestamped, geotagged proof of presence
Missed-checkpoint alerts when a patrol runs late
Incident reports with photos and severity
Shift summary export the client can be sent

The screens

Screen	What it does
My Shift	Active patrol, next checkpoint, and time remaining on the round
Scan	Camera scan of a checkpoint code with instant confirmation
Incident Report	Type, severity, notes, and photos — filed against the site
Patrol History	Completed rounds with scan times and any gaps
Sites & Checkpoints	Supervisor view — sites, checkpoint codes, patrol routes

The data model

Site: clientName, address, timezone, supervisorId
Checkpoint: siteId, label, code, locationHint, expectedOrder
PatrolRoute: siteId, name, checkpointIds, expectedDurationMinutes
Shift: siteId, guardId, startsAt, endsAt, routeId, status
Scan: shiftId, checkpointId, scannedAt, latitude, longitude, syncedAt
Incident: shiftId, siteId, type, severity, notes, photoUris, occurredAt

The build prompt (copy this)

Paste this into ShipNative and it becomes a working React Native app with these screens, navigable in a live preview, in about two minutes:

“A security guard patrol app. A supervisor sets up sites, each with a set of checkpoints that have a printable QR code and a location hint like "loading bay rear door", and defines patrol routes as an ordered list of checkpoints with an expected duration. A guard starts a shift for a site and sees My Shift: the current route, which checkpoint is next, and how long is left in the round. Scanning a checkpoint code records a timestamped, geotagged proof of presence and confirms it clearly on screen. If a round runs past its expected duration or a checkpoint is skipped, the supervisor gets an alert. At any point the guard can file an incident against the site with a type, a severity, free-text notes, and photos. Everything must work with no signal — scans and incidents queue on the device and sync when connectivity returns, and the guard should be able to see plainly which records are still pending. At the end of a shift the app produces a summary of every scan and incident that a supervisor can send to the client. Screens: My Shift, Scan, Incident Report, Patrol History, Sites & Checkpoints. Needs accounts with two roles, guard and supervisor.”

Then iterate with small, screen-specific prompts (“make the primary button bigger”, “add an empty state”), preview on your own phone, and export the full Expo project whenever you want. The full method: how to build an app with AI.

How it makes money

Per guard per month, roughly $8–15, sold to the security firm rather than the site owner. This is a business tool with a clear return — it replaces a paper log and wins contracts by making the proof exportable — so the buyer is comfortable with a seat price. Do not build a consumer tier; a single guard is not a market.

Implementation and the revenue math for every model: how to make money from an app. When you’re ready to ship: App Store and Google Play publishing guides.

Build it now

The prompt above is free to run at shipnative.dev — working security patrol app on your phone today, full code export, no credit card.

How to Build a Security Patrol App with AI