Citizen is a mobile app that sends users location-based safety alerts in real-time. It is a personal safety network that empowers users to protect themselves and the people and places they care about. The app uses radio antennas installed in major cities to monitor 911 communications, with employees filtering the audio to generate alerts. Citizen generates alerts sourced from fire, emergency medical services, and 911 calls, with Citizen employees using Citizen software to monitor publicly available information. The app is currently available for iOS and Android devices in over 60 cities, including New York City, the San Francisco Bay Area, Baltimore, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia. Key features of the app include:
- Real-time safety alerts and live video of incidents happening near you.
- Broadcast live video, sharing relevant updates with others.
- Leave comments, which have helped locate missing people and share information about evacuation centers during natural disasters.
Citizen has been criticized for encouraging a culture of surveillance that lends itself to racial profiling and harassment. In 2021, Citizen CEO Andrew Frame offered Citizen users $30,000 to track down a man he falsely accused of starting a wildfire in Los Angeles. Citizen has also been accused of pushing surveillance boundaries. In August 2021, Citizen released the subscription security feature Protect, which allows users to access on-demand safety agents.
