Enlyzr
MyActiveTask
When the situation changes, your phone acts
You describe a situation with conditions: the Wi-Fi the phone is on, the time, the battery, a Bluetooth device, a place. When the situation begins, MyActiveTask runs one list of actions, and when it ends, another. It was built for a VPN to your own server: on leaving your home Wi-Fi the phone sends one encrypted packet that makes the server open its VPN port for it (port knocking with fwknop), starts OpenVPN and waits until the tunnel is up; back home it stops the VPN again. The same engine sets Do Not Disturb at work, wakes a PC when you arrive or calls a webhook.
For Android 10 and newer.
- 18kinds of condition, from the Wi-Fi name to an MQTT message
- 15kinds of action step, from a port knock to a webhook
- 5ready-made automations to start from
- 11live values to put into a message, such as the Wi-Fi name
What it does
Port knocking with fwknop
Sends a Single Packet Authorization knock: one encrypted and signed UDP packet that asks the fwknop server on your machine to open a port for your phone. Your VPN port does not have to stand open to the internet. The app builds the packet itself.
OpenVPN, started and stopped for you
Controls the separate app OpenVPN for Android: start a profile when you leave a trusted network, wait until the tunnel is up, stop it when you are back. Two automations can share one tunnel.
18 kinds of condition
Wi-Fi name, trusted networks, real internet access, battery, charging, a Bluetooth device, a time window, a place, screen and lock state, a device on your network, an MQTT message and more. Conditions in a group must all hold; further groups are alternatives.
15 kinds of action
Webhook (HTTP request), MQTT publish, Wake-on-LAN, ringer and Do Not Disturb, flashlight, media keys, open a link or an app, a notification, wireless debugging, delay and wait. A step that fails can be tried again a set number of times.
No flapping at the edge
A change counts only after it has held for a few seconds, so the edge of your Wi-Fi does not switch the VPN on and off. A cooldown and a run-once setting, per day or ever, limit repeats.
Brings the tunnel back
When the phone changes network, the knock is sent again, so the server follows your new address. If you switch it on, a dropped VPN is knocked and connected again, and with a probe host of your own a stalled one too.
Shows why
Every condition carries a tick or a cross and the value the phone sees now. A simulator answers what would happen on another Wi-Fi. Run one step or a whole list, or let the app check a VPN connection stage by stage.
Within reach
A master switch, two Quick Settings tiles, a pause for an hour, buttons in the notification and shortcuts on the app icon. If you allow it, Tasker or an NFC tag app can start an automation with a secret token.
Encrypted on the phone
Automations, server keys and passwords are stored encrypted with a key in the Android Keystore and stay out of Android's backup. Export a backup under a passphrase, or share one automation without its keys.
Questions and answers
What do I need for the VPN part?
The separate app OpenVPN for Android (not OpenVPN Connect) with your profile imported into it, and an OpenVPN server to connect to. For port knocking the server must also run fwknopd, the server program of fwknop. Everything else works without either; the MQTT condition and action need an MQTT broker.
What is port knocking, and why would I want it?
A server that answers on its VPN port can be found by anybody who scans the internet. With fwknop the server's firewall keeps the port closed until it receives one packet that is encrypted and signed with keys only you and the server have; then it opens the port for your phone's address. MyActiveTask sends that packet just before it starts the VPN.
Does it need root?
No. It runs on an ordinary phone with Android 10 or newer. One action needs more than a tap on the phone: switching wireless debugging needs a permission that you grant once from a computer with adb. Setup shows the command.
Why does it ask for location "all the time"?
Android shows the name of the connected Wi-Fi only to apps with the location permission, and while the app is closed only with "Allow all the time". Without it the app could not notice that you came home. Your position itself is read only while an automation has a condition for a place.
Does it keep working after the phone restarts?
Yes, if the automation service was switched on. It starts again after a restart of the phone and after an update of the app, and automations that still apply run their on-enter actions again, so the VPN comes back. Some phone makers stop background apps eagerly; Setup shows what to allow.
What does the app know about me, and who gets it?
Your automations, your server keys and a history of the last 50 events are stored encrypted on the phone and are not part of Android's backup. The app has no account and no advertising and sends nothing to Enlyzr. It talks to the servers you enter; the few exceptions, among them Google's QR code scanner, are listed in the privacy policy.
What does it cost?
Nothing. MyActiveTask is free. There is nothing to buy in the app, no subscription and no advertisements.
Coming to Google Play
MyActiveTask is not listed on Google Play yet. This page will carry the link as soon as it is.
Questions or feedback: enlyzr@gmail.com