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Citizen, application which tracks local crimes and allows users to film events, has launched a new subscription service. It’s called Protect, and it allows subscribers who pay a $ 20 monthly fee to contact the Citizen Virtual Security Agent team whenever they feel threatened.
Tuesday’s update represents a significant change in the Citizens ’business, as it involves sending free alerts to the phone about crimes and incidents that have happened to nearby users so far. With this paid service, the company is not only taking the step of actively monitoring the security of users who charge a monthly fee, but is also expanding the service that privacy advocates have repeatedly said is excessive.
Protect the life of your phone is like an alert button. If you are in danger, the tone will go down, tap the red Get Agent button inside the Citizen app, and you’ll be connected to the Protect Agent with a video or text chat. If you need help at the scene, the agent can call the police or other emergency services and drive you to your location. If you have emergency contacts with the Citizen app installed, an agent can contact these people when you are disabled, or alternatively, if you are too busy to deal with your emergency, go yourself.
The feature is only available to select beta testers from early 2021, and is currently being rolled out in an app update so that any citizen can register.
New versions of the app can also hear your screams. A feature available to subscribers called Distress Detection uses an algorithm to search for sounds that indicate “problems” in controlling a cell phone microphone, according to the company – Citizens cites human screams as an example. The Distress Detection feature is only available on iOS, although the Citizen says it intends to extend the feature to more devices.
“We are really on this journey to develop a public safety system and use technology to overload technology,” says Andrew Frame, Director General of Citizenship.
Citizens say somewhere around 100,000 users have tested the service in beta. Last week, Citizen gave me a free trial of the Protect service. During rehearsal week, it worked as promised. Pressing the Get Agent button at the bottom of the home screen allowed me to contact the Protect agent via video chat or text chat. In one of my tests, I connected with the Protect Agent identified as Aaron Agent, who told me that they would see the location, battery level, and travel rate of my device – zero, since I was stationary. The agent also said that if I synced with a Protect Apple Watch, they would be able to see my heartbeat. This extra layer of data would let them know if I was panicking or doing it myself physically. (Citizen says he doesn’t comment on the health sensor function at this time.)
On iOS, a setting called Protect Mode opens access to the phone’s microphone to allow the aforementioned screaming alerts. It also unlocks a gesture option that allows you to shake the phone to send text to an agent. They both worked when I tested them, although it had to do some screaming to send an alert to the app. In practice, Citizen agents can link you to emergency responses and inform you of the location of your phone. If there is an official response, it will generate a public alert about the incident that will be reported to nearby Citizens by users.
Help on the Way
Protect Citizen is the first subscription-based offering and any paid product is long overdue. The company has since secured venture capital funding began While in 2016 only suggestion with the intention of building a profitable business. In early 2020, Frame told Citizen intending to make money that year. (“VC said they will continue to fund this until they invent it,” Frame told me last year.) The pandemic may have destabilized that timeline a bit, but the company’s lack of profitability doesn’t seem to have surprised investors. It has been raised by the citizens $ 50 million only this year in the C series round.
Now, after a few months of beta testing, Protect is available to all of Citizen’s 8 million users. But it’s not clear whether customers will take the paid service offered by one of the most controversial technology companies.
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