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[parent] [thread] 9 comments
1. ataria+(OP)[view] [source] 2020-06-08 23:50:31
Apart from the police and people listening out of interest/curiosity, who else taps into police scanners? It seems like a really narrow and competitive niche to be in for developers.
replies(5): >>themod+a >>robbie+d >>lobste+W >>blanto+81 >>tobych+w2
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2. themod+a[view] [source] 2020-06-08 23:51:10
>>ataria+(OP)
Local news services.
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3. robbie+d[view] [source] 2020-06-08 23:51:25
>>ataria+(OP)
According to Broadcastify (https://www.broadcastify.com/), there's 43k listeners across 7000 streams right now
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4. lobste+W[view] [source] 2020-06-08 23:58:06
>>ataria+(OP)
Criminals
replies(1): >>kube-s+vm
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5. blanto+81[view] [source] 2020-06-09 00:00:16
>>ataria+(OP)
It is ridiculously competitive in the mobile app store market, because there is a lot of revenue out there. All of the apps source their streams from Broadcastify, and they license Broadcastify's API and content to do so. The apps are enormously popular, and the market generates hundreds of thousands of dollars a month in revenue.

I deal constantly with nefarious developers who often feel like Broadcastify has an obligation to grant them a license. We had a terrible dust up this weekend with a developer that was upset we wouldn't grant him a license to develop "yet another police scanner app" and he went on a warpath with me personally.

The app store environment is a major pain and exhausting...

replies(2): >>ketzo+c7 >>edyc+nq
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6. tobych+w2[view] [source] 2020-06-09 00:15:23
>>ataria+(OP)
A CNN reporter mentioned he was "listening to the police scanner in one ear" the other day while he was reporting live on a protest.
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7. ketzo+c7[view] [source] [discussion] 2020-06-09 01:03:52
>>blanto+81
Seems like y'all are definitely positioned right in the market, though, if everyone's using you! Do you do any marketing aimed specifically at developers of these apps?
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8. kube-s+vm[view] [source] [discussion] 2020-06-09 03:55:18
>>lobste+W
I hear people say this from time to time, but I don't think I've ever heard anything actually said on a scanner that would be plausibly useful to a criminal.
replies(1): >>smokel+IHa
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9. edyc+nq[view] [source] [discussion] 2020-06-09 04:47:36
>>blanto+81
Curious on why that is. Can you provide any insights on why it would generate hundreds of thousands a month?
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10. smokel+IHa[view] [source] [discussion] 2020-06-12 20:05:10
>>kube-s+vm
Not true, police communications can be a gold mine of information sometimes.

Name, address, date of birth, social security number, identifying features i.e. height, weight, hair color, etc.

Don't underestimate how valuable this information can be.

Not to mention the movements of police resources and personnel.

All said published over the wire, anyone can hear with the right hardware/software.

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