Citizen’s collaboration with cities like New York is linked to a partnership with Axon’s Fusus platform, a “real-time crime center” acquired last year. In April, Axon teamed up with Ring, enabling law enforcement to request video access from homeowners’ security cameras within specific regions and times. Simultaneously, it announced integration with Citizen for sending alerts and incorporating public videos from its users. Citizen highlights that users wishing to keep their videos private can opt out via the app’s settings, yet all shared videos remain “viewable and downloadable by the public.”

Adams stated that the new NYC Public Safety account on Citizen will deliver notifications concerning safety, weather emergencies, and key incidents tailored to the user’s neighborhood, ZIP code, or borough.

Citizen lets users report potential safety incidents, share videos, and broadcast live footage from within its app. It also says it can send alerts to nearby mobile devices “within seconds” of a 911 call or a user report, and also offers a premium safety line.

Citizen already allows law enforcement to obtain information from its app as long as they have a warrant, but it also offers the ability for police to get data “without delay” in case of emergencies. It originally launched under the name “Vigilante” in 2016, but the app was booted from the App Store for promoting vigilantism, TechCrunch reported at the time. The app later relaunched as Citizen and has faced heavy criticism in the years since, with some arguing it fuels fear in communities. In 2021, Citizen CEO Andrew Frame came under fire for encouraging users to hunt down the wrong person suspected of starting a California wildfire.