About CrimePing
CrimePing is a free iPhone app that maps police-reported crime in Buffalo, Chicago, New York City and San Francisco using official city open data. It began as an app for one person: a grandmother who deserved facts instead of fear.
Why CrimePing exists
Noah Kunzman built CrimePing for his grandmother.
She was frightened by crime. It was the kind of fear that grows from rumors, scanner chatter and scary headlines, without ever knowing what had actually happened near her home.
Noah wanted to give her the facts instead: what police actually reported, where, and when. He wanted those facts in a calm app with big, clear type that she could read.
That app became CrimePing. It still works the way it was meant to for her: plain, quiet and honest about what the data can and can’t tell you.
What we believe
Calm over alarm
CrimePing reports. It doesn’t raise alarms. There are no sirens and no words chosen to scare. Things are “reported”, not “dangerous”.
Facts over rumor
Every report comes from a police department’s own published data, with where and when it happened. Nothing is added, guessed or predicted.
Privacy
No account, no ads and no tracking. Your phone asks the city’s data directly, and the places you save stay on your phone.
Honest about limits
Police data is preliminary, locations are approximate, and some cities publish late. We say so plainly, in the app and on this site. Read how CrimePing works.
Who makes it
- Octavian Ideas
- A small software studio in Buffalo, New York, making software, automation and AI systems. Its tagline is “Ideas, built to last.”
- octavianideas.com
- Noah Kunzman
- Co-owner of Octavian Ideas and owner of WNY Moving. He built CrimePing for his grandmother.
- Matthew Ryan
- Co-owner of Octavian Ideas and CTO of WNY Moving. Previously a technical architect at Nuvei.
- Matthew on LinkedIn
Get in touch
Questions, corrections or ideas: support@crimeping.com. For help with the app, see CrimePing support.