Get the app

What the app asks for, and when

• Camera and photos — when you add a photo to a report.
• Location, while you use the app — to put the report in the right place. You can use where a photo was taken, or type a postcode instead.
• Microphone — only if you choose to dictate the description. Speech is turned into text on your phone; the recording is not uploaded.
• Notifications — after your first report, to tell you when it has been filed.

Every permission has a way round it: the app still works if you say no.

Free, with adverts

Area Watch is free. It shows adverts from Google at the bottom of some screens — never while you are making a report. You choose whether adverts are personalised; nothing from your reports or saved details is used for them (privacy).