Apple quickly removes crime alert app Vigilante from its store due to content concerns

midian182

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An app that alerts users whenever nearby crimes have been reported to 911 has been pulled from the App store. Apple had “concerns” about the content of the Vigilante application, and removed it 48 hours after launch.

Vigilante is the work of mobile app company Sp0n. It came out of closed beta and was released publicly in New York last week. The idea is that once a user is notified of a nearby crime, they can either avoid the area or get involved by filming the incident.

The company asks people not to interfere with the crime and to keep a safe distance. CEO Andrew Frame told Gizmodo it uses a “combination of technology and people, police scanners and a network of antennas.”

"This information shows up on a map, so everyone can choose to avoid potential danger, or broadcast the incident live when it's safe to do so," the company wrote in a Medium blog post.

Apple’s concerns are well-founded. While the app asks users to stay well back and not interfere with any crimes in progress, there are those who will doubtlessly ignore this advice, potentially putting themselves in danger. Maybe Sp0n should have realized it’s sending mixed signals by using the name “Vigilante.”

The New York Police Department isn’t too happy about the app. “Crimes in progress should be handled by the NYPD and not a vigilante with a cell phone,” a spokesperson told Venture Beat.

The app creators claim Vigilante could repair the damaged trust between police and communities. “Transparency is the single most powerful tool against crime and injustice, and we believe it will rebuild cooperation towards a shared vision. Cooperation, in turn, will lead to safer communities, better cities, and a stronger nation.”

After Apple had removed the app, Sp0n's website stated that the company was working to “resolve their concerns,” adding that the app will continue to operate for anyone who has already downloaded it. Even if Apple doesn’t allow Vigilante back on the store, there’s always the Android version that Sp0n is working on.

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This is a great APP but as we all know....crime is not a problem and even if it was the bums in charge wouldn't want you to know. Frk Apple
 
Censorship much? Let us praise our overloads at apple for judging for us which information we should be exposed to. I'm certainly not capable of making my own decisions so I'm happy that a smartphone manufacture can make them for me.

Whatever, I'm sure this will be wildly popular on Android.
 
The question that nobody seems to be asking is how these developers are getting 9-11 info in real time. Surely law enforcement and the government aren't stupid enough to be making this data available to the general pubic. In any case, this app is a bad idea that only empowers criminals.
 
The question that nobody seems to be asking is how these developers are getting 9-11 info in real time. Surely law enforcement and the government aren't stupid enough to be making this data available to the general pubic. In any case, this app is a bad idea that only empowers criminals.
Police dispatch scanner with voice recognition?
 
The app creators claim Vigilante could repair the damaged trust between police and communities. “Transparency is the single most powerful tool against crime and injustice, and we believe it will rebuild cooperation towards a shared vision. Cooperation, in turn, will lead to safer communities, better cities, and a stronger nation.”


- damaged trust? wtf I see this created the other way. You want people to takeover at situations.The police are here to do a job give it to them and not a world star video takeover. This country is going down.
 
The app creators claim Vigilante could repair the damaged trust between police and communities. “Transparency is the single most powerful tool against crime and injustice, and we believe it will rebuild cooperation towards a shared vision. Cooperation, in turn, will lead to safer communities, better cities, and a stronger nation.”


- damaged trust? wtf I see this created the other way. You want people to takeover at situations.The police are here to do a job give it to them and not a world star video takeover. This country is going down.

No kidding. They called it Vigilante! That word means a citizen taking the law into their own hands. And they want to say it's for transparency?! They're not only lying to us, they calling us stupid at the same time.
 
This is a great APP but as we all know....crime is not a problem and even if it was the bums in charge wouldn't want you to know. Frk Apple
Donald Trump is going to end all crime anyway, and usher in "Utopia 2.0"! I thought everyone knew that...;)
 
This is a great APP but as we all know....crime is not a problem and even if it was the bums in charge wouldn't want you to know. Frk Apple
Donald Trump is going to end all crime anyway, and usher in "Utopia 2.0"! I thought everyone knew that...;)

The sad part is that Donald has a legitimate chance. They have a fairly effective misinformation campaign. The republicans should have dropped him before he became a candidate because he has done nothing but drive the party into the ground.
 
Why run away from the perp? Just turn around and blast them. Everyone in North America owns at least one piece from the time they can walk. If the cops pat somebody down looking for a concealed weapon and the subject is not packing, they get charged for not being strapped.
 
The sad part is that Donald has a legitimate chance. They have a fairly effective misinformation campaign. The republicans should have dropped him before he became a candidate because he has done nothing but drive the party into the ground.
For me, it's all the "right to life", BS, the fact the party is trying its damnedest to defund planned parenthood, overturn "Roe vs. Wade", and eliminate Social Security. Not to mention they're all in bed with Wall street. IMHO, the party's views, opinions and direction, drove itself into the ground.

And sadly, I'd rather waste a vote on Donald Trump, than that obnoxious, constantly carping shrew, who thinks she's entitled to be president because her husband was president. I can't imagine having to listen to that annoying, grating, nasal bluster and condescension, through even one State of the Union address. Not to mention, just because you came in second to Obama, doesn't mean you're entitled to be president. Unless of course, the "runner up", automatically assumes the duties of the "Mr. America Pageant", when Mr. America's eight years are up.

Trump is absolutely right about the Clintons and NAFTA, along with a few other things.

As far as all the outrage over Trump's opinions and actions toward women go, hell, tell me something I'd don't know. To me, it just makes him seem like one of the guys.

As far as human nature goes, keep in mind, when any race or gender, or imagined gender, or religious sect comes at you claiming, "we just want our shot at equality, what they're really saying is, "it's our turn to be the overlords, m***** f*****, learn to deal with it.
 
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For me, it's all the "right to life", BS, the fact the party is trying its damnedest to defund planned parenthood, overturn "Roe vs. Wade", and eliminate Social Security. Not to mention they're all in bed with Wall street. IMHO, the party's views, opinions and direction, drove itself into the ground.

And sadly, I'd rather waste a vote on Donald Trump, than that obnoxious, constantly carping shrew, who thinks she's entitled to be president because her husband was president. I can't imagine having to listen to that annoying, grating, nasal bluster and condescension, through even one State of the Union address. Not to mention, just because you came in second to Obama, doesn't mean you're entitled to be president. Unless of course, the "runner up", automatically assumes the duties of the "Mr. America Pageant", when Mr. America's eight years are up.

Trump is absolutely right about the Clintons and NAFTA, along with a few other things.

As far as all the outrage over Trump's opinions and actions toward women go, hell, tell me something I'd don't know. To me, it just makes him seem like one of the guys.

As far as human nature goes, keep in mind, when any race or gender, or imagined gender, or religious sect comes at you claiming, "we just want our shot at equality, what they're really saying is, "it's our turn to be the overlords, m***** f*****, learn to deal with it.
Trump 2016
 
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