Citizen laid off 33 employees members on Wednesday, the corporate confirmed to .
“We’re grateful to all of our departing group members for his or her contributions to Citizen and are dedicated to supporting them by means of this transition with a beneficiant severance package deal that features accelerated possibility vesting and prolonged train window, six months of COBRA funds, profession companies assist and different advantages,” a spokesperson advised .
Citizen didn’t share what departments on the firm had been impacted; one laid off worker advised that not less than 10 engineers had been let go.
Launched in 2016, the app was initially banned from the App Store over considerations about vigilantism — it was referred to as Vigilante on the time. Now, Citizen makes use of public police blotters to inform customers about verified incidents of their space, however customers can add their very own reviews of suspicious exercise and livestream from crime scenes as nicely.
In keeping with knowledge from SensorTower, an app analytics agency, Citizen has seen about $30.3 million in client spending and over 14 million downloads since its launch. The non-public firm most just lately raised a $73 million Collection C funding spherical in early 2021, which included a $23 million convertible word.
Citizen has been criticized for encouraging a tradition of surveillance that lends itself to racial profiling and harassment; one other neighborhood social app Nextdoor has exhibited comparable points. However probably the most egregious instance of those risks got here from the corporate’s CEO himself. In 2021, Andrew Body provided Citizen customers $30,000 to trace down a suspected arsonist whereas livestreaming on the Citizen app. He shared a photograph of the suspect on a dwell feed which racked up 800,000 views, but it surely turned out he had the improper man. In keeping with a report on the incident from Motherboard, Body noticed this as an elaborate advertising and marketing alternative for the app’s livestream characteristic.
“We deeply remorse our mistake and are working to enhance our inside processes to forestall this from taking place once more,” the corporate wrote in a statement on the time.
Later that 12 months, Citizen launched a service referred to as Shield. For $20 per 30 days, customers get 24/7 entry to a “shield agent” who can join them with first responders or police. However critics have questioned whether or not Citizen’s alerts stoke panic and fear greater than they maintain individuals protected — and that concern can encourage individuals to buy entry to their very own private safety agent.
In keeping with SensorTower knowledge, in-app purchases on Citizen elevated 17% 12 months over 12 months after the introduction of Shield. However Citizen noticed a median of $1.4 million in month-to-month spending on its app in 2022, which doubtless isn’t sufficient to make the corporate worthwhile. Citizen didn’t share a cause for conducting layoffs, however letting go of 33 workers might afford the corporate a bit extra runway. In keeping with its website, Citizen is at the moment hiring for 5 roles.
Present and former Citizen workers can attain out to Amanda Silberling on Sign, a safe encrypted messaging app, at 929 593 0227. You can even ship a Twitter DM to @asilbwrites.
