Comment by troutwine

If Citizen tanks that strikes me as a beneficial outcome. One of the other commenters here described this app as “snitching-as-a-service” but I think it’s more insidious than that. Citizen is very much in the same pattern as listening to the police scanner continuously: it’s a panic fetish tool. Were actual crimes committed? Citizen doesn’t know. Can you, personally, do anything about the “danger” all around you? Sure! Whittle down your trust in your neighbors more, don’t advocate for different outcomes from your city, hire Citizen’s private security force! It’s “if it bleeds, it leads” masquerading as a public good, only incidentally trying to make a profit on the side.