Frequently asked questions

Reporting is free. Snitch+ is an optional subscription — $9.99/month — for unlimited feed scrolling and block alerts. No advertising, no data sale. SidewalkSnitch earns nothing from your filings. Reading the feed is free up to 30 posts a day. Posting and reporting are always free and never capped. Snitch+ removes the limit. See sidewalksnitch.com/pricing.

Most of the site needs no account: the guides, the Rulebook, Heat Check and the data pages work for anyone, and you can draft a complaint there. To submit, you verify a mobile phone number — the city needs a contactable submitter to follow up. The app itself is invite-only while we open it neighborhood by neighborhood, so it asks for your number before it lets you in.

No. NYC requires identifying information for 311 complaints. SidewalkSnitch does not support anonymous filing because the city would not act on it.

NYC does not routinely share the reporter's identity with the subject of a complaint. Under normal circumstances, the person you report will not know who filed. That said, like any government complaint system, records can be subpoenaed in civil or criminal proceedings. This is true whether you file through SidewalkSnitch, the 311 app, or by phone.

The app sends your photo to xAI's Grok vision model with NYC's rules registry. The model names the rule, pulls out details such as plate, business name and address, and drafts the description. You edit it and confirm it is true. The AI does not auto-file anything.

Parking, outdoor dining, sanitation, street vending, dogs, and Lost & Found.

The report saves to your Snitches and, with your consent, posts to the feed for your block. We prepare the text. You file it on 311. Nothing goes to 311 unless you send it. You can also file the same details at 311.nyc.gov or by calling 311.