Terms of Use

Not an emergency service

NYC Alert is not an emergency service and is not affiliated with the FDNY, the NYPD or the City of New York. In an emergency, call 911. Do not rely on NYC Alert to learn of danger to you or anyone else, and never go toward an emergency because of something you saw here.

The information

Incident cards are AI-assisted summaries of public radio transmissions. They can be incomplete, inaccurate, delayed or later corrected or removed, and locations are approximate. Community photos and updates come from members and are not verified by NYC Alert unless marked so. Verify independently before acting on anything. NYC Alert, its alerts, the radio relay and the app may be unavailable or late at any time, and we may change or stop any feature.

Accounts

You must give accurate information, keep your password private, and be responsible for activity on your account. Fire Buff and News Media access is granted at NYC Alert staff's discretion and can be changed or withdrawn. You may not use automated means to scrape the site beyond the published API and its limits.

Community posts

By posting a photo or update you confirm you took it or may share it, and you give NYC Alert a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to show it on NYC Alert and in its alerts and social posts. Do not post:

• the identity of victims or injured people, or photos where they can be identified;
• personal information (names of residents, phone numbers, license plates, apartment numbers);
• accusations of crimes or blame, hoaxes, jokes about emergencies, spam, links or abuse;
• anything you were not legally allowed to record, or anything taken by getting in the way of first responders.

Staff and our AI reviewer may hold, edit for clarity, reject or remove any post, and may suspend posting or an account. Anyone can report a post (Report under each photo or update); a post that three people report is hidden until staff review it, and staff review reports within 24 hours. You can block a member to hide their posts from you.

Alert Plus

Alert Plus is an optional subscription: $2.99 a month or $24.99 a year (US dollars, taxes may apply). It renews automatically at the end of each period until you cancel. Everything free today stays free.

• iPhone app: bought through your Apple ID. Payment is charged by Apple at confirmation; the subscription renews unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the period. Manage or cancel it in your iPhone's Settings → your name → Subscriptions. Refunds are handled by Apple. Apple's Licensed Application End User License Agreement applies to the iPhone app.
• Website: bought through Stripe. Manage or cancel it from the Alert Plus page (Manage subscription), which opens Stripe's portal; cancelling stops the next renewal and Plus stays on until the end of the paid period.
• Courtesy Plus: NYC Alert may waive the fee for Members of Service and NYC public servants who verify their employment, for 12 months at a time, at staff's discretion; it can be ended if the verification was not genuine.

Plus features may change over time; we will not take away the main features of a period you already paid for.

Ending your use

You may stop using NYC Alert and delete your account at any time. We may suspend or close accounts that break these terms or put people at risk. Paid subscriptions are managed through Apple or Stripe as above.

No warranty and limitation of liability

NYC Alert is provided "as is" and "as available", without warranties of any kind. To the fullest extent the law allows, NYC Alert and its operators are not liable for any indirect, incidental or consequential damages, or for any loss arising from relying on, or not receiving, any information or alert. Our total liability for any claim is limited to the amount you paid us for Alert Plus in the twelve months before the claim (or $10 if you paid nothing).

Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of New York, without regard to its conflict-of-law rules, and disputes belong in the state or federal courts located in New York County, New York, unless the law where you live requires otherwise.

Changes and contact

We may update these terms and will post the new version here with its effective date; using NYC Alert after a change means you accept it. See also the Privacy Policy. Contact: [email protected].