“This used to be a good app but now it's been enshittified for more profit. I downloaded it the other day to get an idea of what was going on in my area based on the large amount of sirens, and got nothing but advertisements to upgrade to…”
Independent automated assessment · 6 signal sources · 506 reviews scanned · analyzed 2026-10-04.
Police Scanner - Live Radio
Police Scanner, Scanner Live Radio AppDownload Police Scanner and be the first to listen to the live audio of publi…
4.8 ★144,220 ratings
10M+Downloads
12+Age rating
—App size
Free · In-app purchasesIn-app purchases
About this app
Download Police Scanner and be the first to listen to the live audio of public safety, wildfire alarm, earthquake alerts, breaking news, weather radar, major events and crime waves near you anytime.
Police Scanner Live Radio is the police scanner app of live audio streams including police scanners, public safety alerts, fire alarms, wildfires map and info, railroad radios, NOAA weather radio stations, hurricane, marine, aircraft, emergency, news, and amateur radio. Police Scanner Live Radio always keeps listeners updated with the latest news when major events are happening, such as wildfires, riots, protests, earthquake news, and other violent behaviors.…
Preview
Real screenshots from the store listing.
Independent evidence report
The evidence behind this assessment
This is where the page changes from an app-store listing into an evidence report: findings, important reviews, pricing and a dated history.
Which version this describes
When we ran this analysis, and what the store lists now.
This analysis describes version 1.29.0-260420093 of the app (the version number recorded inside the package we inspected), analyzed 2026-10-04 . The app may have changed since.
The store currently lists version 1.29.0-260420093, updated 2026-04-22.
What we measured
Each line is a measurement published as a measurement, never a verdict.
Each line is a measurement, published as a measurement. Where we have not looked, the line says so rather than reading as a zero.
Developer replies to reviews
Replies to at least 1 review in 20
Price in the store description
States no price and billing period
Cancelling, in the store description
Does not say how to cancel
Themes reported by reviewers
1 theme reported
Counted from the reviews we have read for this app. "No theme reported" means no theme reached our reporting threshold — it is not a finding that nothing is wrong with this app, and we do not say it is.
Five-star share of ratings
80–89% five-star
Arithmetic on the stores' own published rating counts. It says nothing about why the ratings fall where they do.
In the package we scanned
From the package we downloaded and read — version 1.29.0-260420093, scanned 2026-09-14.
Permissions Android classifies as dangerous
3–5 requested
Counted against the eighteen permissions listed in collect-package.ts. A dangerous permission is one Android asks the user to grant; requesting one is not itself a finding.
Analytics or tracking SDKs in the scanned package
1–2 found
Advertising SDKs in the scanned package
3–9 found
Counted as distinct SDKs in the package we scanned. One mediation bundle can contribute several, so this is not a count of advertisers.
Graded bands · predicate set 1.4 · how these are measured
What the analysis found
App-specific findings, grouped by what each one rests on. How they are graded lives on its own page.
The catch list 1
Charges we publish at a strength we stand behind: measured from an artefact, agreed by independent sources, or reported by enough users to clear that charge's own published bar.
Multiple ad networks bundled
The package embeds several distinct advertising or mediation SDKs — a stack built for ad volume, not for a single house ad.
What we saw: Bundles 6 distinct ad networks / mediation SDKs: Amazon Publisher Services, AppLovin MAX, Google Mobile Ads (AdMob / Ad Manager), InMobi and 2 more
Positive evidence 1
Things this app does right, published at the same strengths as the catch list.
Developer says data deletion can be requested
The developer's data-safety disclosure on the store states that users can request deletion of their data, or the app's own text offers a way to delete the account. This restates what the developer declares; it is not a test of whether deletion works. Apple publishes no equivalent disclosure, so on an Apple-only listing only the app's own text can support it.
What we saw: The developer's store data-safety disclosure states that data deletion can be requested; we have not seen a deletion control in the app's own text
One source only — shown, not confirmed 1
A single kind of evidence. We publish these because withholding them would be the bigger distortion, and we do not treat any of them as a finding we stand behind.
Reported by users: Aggressive ad load
Advertising volume or placement that interrupts normal use: ads between every action, unskippable or forced full-screen ads.
What we saw: Aggressive ad load: raised by 14 distinct reviewers (2.8% of 506 reviews scanned)
Highlighted reviews
Representative public review excerpts shown as user reports, not Appworthy audit evidence.
“There are so many pop up, and other, ads on this app that it is barely usable. It takes you numerous steps to get TO the scanner area. During the time that you are listening, there are ads that constantly greet you. I can see maybe 1-2 at…”
“horrible at best! You won't be able to listen due to the non stop ads. They play back to back and will not stop unless you are willing to pay over $30.”
Assessment & version history
App changes and Appworthy events in one timeline.
Store listing updated to version 1.29.0-260420093.
What this app sells
Useful store-disclosed pricing, kept below the app listing.
Items shown0
Lowest—
Highest—
Google Play does not publish per-purchase prices.