The Watch Duty fire tracking app has become an important source of information for Los Angeles residents threatened by the ongoing wildfires. As TechCrunch’s Maxwell Zeff explained, the app relies on a network of active and retired firefighters, first responders, official government reports, and volunteer journalists who monitor radio scanners to offer real-time updates on active wildfires. During this week’s fire, where official alerts can be buggy or inaccurate, Watch Duty rose to the top of the Apple App Store charts. And in an interview Saturday with The New York Times, CEO John Mills said the app had been downloaded 2 million times since Tuesday and saw 14 million unique users this week. Mills said that the app is operated by a nonprofit funded mainly by donations, with 15 full-time employees and 200 employees. They stressed that Watch Duty collects very little personal data about users and that they have no intention of selling it. “I owe it to society not to be a disaster capitalist,” he said.
Watch Duty was downloaded 2 million times during the LA fires this week
