Police Scanner Radio & Fire is a news-category app for iOS and Android that aggregates live emergency audio feeds for public safety monitoring.
Product velocity
Active
Daily rank 🇺🇸
#11
▼1News · free
Sentiment
4.6
519k reviews
Nemesis
Police Scanner: Fire Radio
The App DNA
What makes this app unique?
Users hire the app for immediate, real-time situational awareness of local emergency activity that traditional news outlets cannot match.
For Local news enthusiasts, public safety observers, and individuals monitoring emergency activity in their area.
What does it look like?
Key features
Push notifications triggered by listener volume thresholds drive high-frequency re-engagement during major events, expanding ad-impression inventory.
Social sharing loop for audio segments pulls new users into the install funnel, acting as a primary acquisition lever.
Built-in context for radio codes reduces friction for non-experts, increasing session duration.
How much does it cost?
Freemium model relies on ad-supported listening with monetization via in-app purchases.
Velocity
Active developmentsocial featuresnew contentUX improvementsShow more...
The app maintains an active development cadence, shipping 5 releases over the last 66 days, averaging approximately 0.53 releases per week. Development is consistently focused on social features and user engagement tools within the Clips section. The release history shows a stable, ongoing effort to iterate on user-facing functionality rather than just maintenance. The current pace suggests a steady stream of feature enhancements rather than a shift to a live-ops service model.
Who built it?
GordonEdwards.net
2 apps tracked · News
Scanner Radio - Police ScannerUser Sentiment
What do users think recently?
Review voice lately leans mixed. Users appreciate real-time audio feeds from local emergency services provide users with immediate situational awareness in their area and live text transcriptions accompanying audio feeds allow users to follow incident details without needing constant audio focus, but report full-screen advertisements that lack a visible close button force users to restart the app entirely.
How are ratings & reviews evolving?
Weekly average review rating
What users say, by theme
- Real-time audio feeds from local emergency services provide users with immediate situational awareness in their area
- Live text transcriptions accompanying audio feeds allow users to follow incident details without needing constant audio focus
- The wide variety of available scanner channels across different regions keeps the listening experience consistently engaging
- Full-screen advertisements that lack a visible close button force users to restart the app entirely
120 of 444 recent reviews analyzed · high confidence · Mixed overall
Read the full review analysisUnlock 2 more frustration themes and 2 user requests, each backed by review evidence.
Access the full report for freeCompetition
Competitive landscape for Police Scanner Radio & Fire
How's the News market?
The app holds the #10 Free and #15 Grossing position in the US News category. The proximity of these ranks suggests high discovery success, but monetization friction is a growing risk.
Read the market outlookThe rivals identified
By Guru Network Limited Inc.
With over 159,000 reviews and a high rating, this app serves the exact same niche of live emergency audio streaming as this app.
- Focuses exclusively on emergency radio feeds without the distraction of general news or podcast content.
- Maintains a dedicated emergency-first UI that prioritizes rapid access to local scanner streams.
- Provides a streamlined, single-purpose experience that reduces the cognitive load for emergency monitoring users.
Unlock the head-to-head verdict: where this rival wins, and where it loses.
Access the full report for freeThe Analyst's Read
Key takeaways for Police Scanner Radio & Fire
Where is it heading?
The emergency-audio market is consolidating around specialized, low-latency experiences. The subject app is currently exposed due to monetization friction, so revenue growth hinges on fixing ad-dismissal stability before the churn rate impacts the #10 chart slot.
- Persistent complaints regarding non-dismissible ads and subscription gating remain unresolved, which compounds the churn risk among long-term users.
- The latest release introduced live transcriptions, but technical instability regarding ad-dismissal continues to erode the daily active habit.
The SWOT
- Breaking news alerts drive high-frequency re-engagement during major events
- Audio clipping social loop acts as a primary acquisition lever
- Integration with external casting devices could capture the home-audio segment
Next best moves
Audit ad-SDK implementation because non-dismissible ads are the #1 complaint → reduce forced-restart churn
+ 1 more prioritized moveThe counter-intuitive read
The app's #10 chart position is a liability…
Read the full takeFeature gaps
Dedicated emergency-first UI (available in Police Scanner: Fire Radio but missing here)
Since the last report: The app introduced live transcriptions but faces increased churn risk due to aggressive, non-dismissible ad patterns and subscription gating.
Bottom line
Police Scanner Radio & Fire maintains a strong category lead through real-time audio, but aggressive monetization is driving users to specialized rivals, so the PM must prioritize ad-SDK stability to stabilize retention.
Unlock 2 critical frictions, 1 market threat, 1 more prioritized move and the analyst’s take.
Access the full report for freeFAQ
Is Police Scanner Radio & Fire free to use?
How does this app compare to other scanner apps?
Does the app have intrusive advertisements?
What are the best alternatives for emergency monitoring?
Sources
- [1] App Store, source
Report last updated