I understand that there are hundreds of such apps available but not all are worth your time. Here’s a list of the best neighborhood apps that you must give a try.
Nextdoor
The app does inform users about any break-ins nearby as well as safety alerts when required. You can add posts on an upcoming event or garage sale on your property to sell all the unwanted stuff. There’s a chat option within the app that users can utilize for a direct message to the neighbors. Get everything from recommendations on a babysitter to a dog walker and so on. Nextdoor covers more than 214,000 neighborhoods in the U.S. alone so finding your locality won’t be a task.
Key Features: Free | Local News | Meetups and events | Crime & Safety alerts
Download Nextdoor: Play Store | App Store
Ring Neighbourhoods
Earlier, this neighborhood feature arrived with Ring that excels in security cameras and video doorbells. After it received acclaim, Ring rolled out a standalone app called Ring Neighbourhoods. It is free to use and is tasked with reducing the crimes in the locality. Once you download it, you can enter your address and create a neighborhood area. The app will update you about any incidents, burglary, robbery, package theft in the locality. There’s a bird’s eye view of all the local incidents that you can make yourself familiar with.
The app gives you access to news from local channels and Ring news that keeps you a step ahead of any upcoming red flags in your house or at a neighbor’s. The app is connected to local law enforcement offices so you can alert them. You can communicate with others in the neighborhood anonymously so there’s no identification tag on it. This app creates a safer neighborhood from you and your family and nearby people.
Key Features: Syncs with Ring News and Local News | Instant Crime & Safety Alerts | Post Anonymously | Police Updates | Bird’s Eye View of Local Incidents
Download Ring Neighborhoods: Play Store | App Store
WeAlert
To be honest, neighborhood watch is a great program to keep the invaders and intruders away. In fact, a resilient neighborhood watch program does prove instrumental in bringing down the crime rate. One such app is WeAlert, the app that gives you a digital forefront to get updates about what’s happening around your house and the neighborhoods. Connect with the community and stay informed about any crime and safety alerts. Tweak the settings to allow only selected alerts.
With WeAlert, you can report suspicious activities in case you find something dubious. The app doesn’t seek your number and lets you communicate with others on the platform. The app offers the right information about the incidents. Soon, it will be getting local news updates as well.
Key Features: Report suspicious activities | Join groups | Priority on local safety | Free to use
Download WeAlert: Play Store | App Store
Lotsa Helping Hands App
Many times, a neighbor might need help may it be medical or emotional. Not everyone will sneak into one’s house if he/she isn’t seen for a while. So what is the best way to communicate an emergency to the nearby people? Well, Lotsa Helping Hands comes as a beneficial app for the very same purpose. It lets users create events and tasks such as a visit to a hospital or say if there’s an elderly at home with no one to take care of a few hours. Here, people can respond to tasks and carry them out without any hassle.
Lotsa helps create Care Communities that look after you in all your emotional, mental, physical, and medical health. You can schedule a meal delivery or ask for a ride to a mall or doctor and other stuff. Those who want to fulfill any of the tasks can do so and there’s no bar on who can respond. Friends, family, people living in the same vicinity, or anyone else can respond to it. You can share updates such as how you are feeling or what’s new vis blogs and photos on the app.
Key Features: Care Communities | Share Updates online | Create tasks & get it done | Free to use and cross-platform
Download Lotsa: Play Store | App Store
Olio
Olio serves a lot of purposes of which, feeding and satisfying one’s requests are a few things you would get to do. It connects people with their neighbors where they can request something like food supplies or anything. If a person or a store has a surplus of food supplies, they can fulfill it. People can request something like a mattress or food supplies or anything, and chances are someone will fulfill it.
Olio works with Food Waster Hero volunteers, neighbors, and local businesses who would love to care for people who couldn’t afford even basic necessities like food. The app is fun to use and throws a good vibe. Add a listing in 30 seconds or request something on it. The app is secured so you can check for a user’s rating or block something for indecent or unruly behavior. It’s all about building a positive community.
Key Features: Easy to use | Secure platform | Share & Request stuff
Download Olio: Play Store | App Store
Citizen
If safety is a priority to you, knowing what’s happening around your property is crucial. Citizens keep you informed about any 911 emergencies and incidents in your neighborhood such as robbery. The app notifies users of any unwanted or illegal incident ranging from burning buildings to terrorist attacks and so on. It gives you real-time updates on such incidents.
Connect to other Citizen users within the app and stay safe. There are location-based notifications that will alert users during dangerous situations. You can watch or broadcast an incident live on the app for others to see and take appropriate actions. Citizen already has millions of users. It lets you communicate with friends and family and neighbors via direct messages. Citizen is super easy to use so you would love it.
Key Features: Broadcast Livestream | Chat & communicate with Citizen users | Automatic crime & safety alerts | Location-based notifications
Download Citizen: Play Store | App Store
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Note that these aren’t the only neighborhood apps available on App Store and Play Store. I had to exclude a few tools because of their online platforms such as Freecycle or Ioby. The list above is a few apps that I tried and tested and they are all competent in their own ways. Many of these apps will let you communicate with people in the neighborhood. Then, there are apps that will alert you in dangerous situations like robbery.