Demonstrators in Los Angeles used their phone lights during a protest on June 3.
Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated PressMillions of Americans have used social media to understand and communicate about the killing of George Floyd. But for many of those tracking protests, the go-to online tool hasn’t been Twitter or Facebook but Citizen, an upstart smartphone app.
In the past week, about 620,000 first-time users in the U.S. downloaded Citizen on Apple Inc.’s App Store and Google Play, according to analytics firm Sensor Tower. The app, which uses police-scanner communication and on-the-ground reports, notifies users of what’s happening near them, from demonstrations to police movements to emergencies.
By Monday, the app had jumped from being the 744th most popular—in terms of daily downloads from Apple’s store—to the fourth, analytics firm App Annie said. Citizen is currently available in 18 cities, among them sites of the largest demonstrations. Those include New York City, Houston, Los Angeles and Minneapolis, where Mr. Floyd was killed May 25 while in police custody.
Jorge Cueto is among Citizen’s newest users. Mr. Cueto, a graduate student in San Francisco who had seen videos of police clashing with protesters, said he wanted to join protests but feared being arrested or hurt.
A friend’s social media post alerted him to Citizen, which he downloaded. On Wednesday, he checked to see how a protest in the city’s Mission neighborhood was unfolding. Videos and comments showed nothing concerning, so Mr. Cueto decided to go.
“Having that level of granularity and information about what the police presence was like made me comfortable enough to participate,” Mr. Cueto said. “I felt like I had enough information to make an informed decision.”
Other apps logging new users during the past couple of weeks of unrest include encrypted messaging app Signal, installed this past week by about 155,000 first-time users in the U.S., according to Sensor Tower. Other police-scanner apps such as 5-0 Radio Police Scanner have also seen a surge in first-time users, according to the analytics company. Mainstream apps such as Twitter and neighborhood hub Nextdoor have also seen a rise in activity.
Before Mr. Floyd’s death, Citizen, owned by sp0n Inc., was mostly used to report crimes or other emergency situations. Users sign up by providing their phone numbers, and location trackers pinpoint their locations on a city map. Squares on the map show the location of crimes or emergency situations, scraped by Citizen from scanner communication among first responders. Those who are nearby can submit videos, which are reviewed by Citizen and matched with the locations.
A screenshot of the Citizen app.
Photo: Sebastian Herrera.The New York City-based app first appeared in 2016 under the name Vigilante. The app promised to give people a better view into the 911 system and create an emergency-response environment with greater transparency for local residents.
The New York Police Department objected to the app, stating that crimes should be handled by the department and not “a vigilante with a cellphone.” Apple removed the app from its store, citing violations of its policies.
The app was reoriented and relaunched as Citizen the next year. The startup, which employs about 150 people and has raised roughly $60 million, says it has more than four million users.
Citizen has drawn criticism over its content and questions of whether it does more to incite fear than help communities. Although the app initially returned without a controversial feature that allowed users to report incidents near them by uploading videos, it recently restored a similar tool. Such features, critics say, allow users’ biases and contribute to racial profiling.
Citizen said that in a recent poll of its users, 70% said the app made them feel safer, and that a large percentage of users are racial minorities, based on the same poll.
People have also reported instances in which information on the app doesn’t appear to be correct. Emergency situations can differ from initial information given over 911 calls and communication between police and other first responders. Because anyone can use Citizen, law enforcement can also potentially tune into the network.
Citizen says staff members moderate the app’s content in real time. Andrew Frame, Citizen’s founder and a veteran telecommunications entrepreneur, said the company also allows app users to correct inaccurate information. Citizen has been the first to alert people of potentially dangerous situations such as burning buildings, Mr. Frame said.
“There is only so much we can do as a platform,” Mr. Frame said. “We create this information and allow people to get this information to help them.”
Citizen says it doesn’t sell user data to third-party service providers or government agencies. It does disclose information to law enforcement if subpoenaed during a criminal investigation, citing the federal Electronic Communications Privacy Act. Mr. Frame said the company sees itself as an independent, neutral operation.
Citizen is free to use, but it is trying to find ways to monetize the app. Mr. Frame said the company is in the process of developing paid services on the app, although he would not specify what they are.
Alexandria Hyde is one user who plans to continue relying on the app. Ms. Hyde, who lives near San Jose, Calif., downloaded Citizen about a week ago to monitor protests throughout the Bay Area. She skipped out on one demonstration in Oakland after receiving alerts from the app about heavy police activity there.
“Not everything is on the news,” said Ms. Hyde, who is 18 years old. “I want to know if someone got stabbed a mile from me. I want to make sure I know what’s going on in my area.”
Write to Sebastian Herrera at Sebastian.Herrera@wsj.com
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