SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — Citizen is a free app now available in San Diego that provides 911 alerts so people can use their phones to keep up to date with local safety information through 24/7, real-time notifications about nearby emergencies and ongoing incidents.
Citizen sends its users safety alerts by monitoring 911 activity and cross-referencing with the location of the user’s smartphone, giving users immediate insight into public safety in their communities.
The alerts are monitored and screened by Citizen analysts and are combined with live stories, real-time updates, user-generated content and personal safety features so that users can stay informed.
Citizen's Founder and CEO, Andrew Frame, said the app was launched in New York City in 2017 and more than 1.7 million Californians have already been using the app in Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Stockton.
“We created Citizen to make your world a safer place,” said Frame. “We are driven by the extraordinary stories of selflessness and heroism we hear each day from our users. Citizen has prompted multiple families to evacuate burning buildings, and users to help to locate kidnapped children and missing people."
Citizen said its company stores user data for as short a period of time as needed to provide the service and then deletes all location data after 30 days.
WATCH: Head of Community and Culture Citizen App, Prince Mapp, talks about how the new app can help people protect themselves.
