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N-Watch is designed to help neighbours coordinate quickly during urgent situations. It is intentionally simple: sign in, join by invite, trigger an alert, and (for managers) pause/ban/broadcast.

Your group, your people

Every N-Watch member belongs to a small group managed by someone they know — a neighbour, a community volunteer, a local coordinator. There is no public discovery, no strangers, and no algorithm. Your manager:

• Controls who joins via invite codes they generate and share
• Monitors membership and can pause or ban anyone who misuses the system
• Is your first point of contact for support, questions, or concerns

This structure never changes, regardless of how widely N-Watch is used. Your experience stays small, personal, and trustworthy.

Our intent

• Help communities share time-critical alerts when it matters.
• Reduce noise and confusion during stressful situations.
• Keep personal data collection to the absolute minimum.

What an “alert” means

An alert is a request for attention from your group. It can be used for things like:

• a person in immediate danger
• a suspected break-in
• a missing vulnerable person
• a major hazard in the area (e.g., fire, flooding)

N-Watch is not a replacement for emergency services.

Call emergency services when appropriate

If you or someone else is in immediate danger, contact the relevant emergency number first. N-Watch can help you notify your community, but it is not a dispatch service.

Respect and safety rules

• No vigilantism: do not encourage confrontation or violence.
• No harassment: do not target individuals or groups.
• No doxxing: do not share exact home addresses in public channels.
• Use the smallest audience: alerts go only to your invited group.

Managers may pause or ban accounts that misuse alerts.

Privacy by design

We aim to minimise sensitive information:

• We do not store home addresses.
• We avoid storing exact location coordinates where possible.
• Alert fan-out is based on group membership and coarse zones.
• The sender's own phone stays silent when they trigger an alert — protecting them if under duress.
• GPS coordinates are opt-in and shared only in encrypted form during an alert.

Accessibility and reliability

• Alerts should be readable quickly, even under stress.
• GPS coordinates in alerts are tappable — one tap opens the location in your maps app.
• Emergency alerts bypass Do Not Disturb and silent mode on both platforms.
• iOS Critical Alerts require Apple approval; Android uses alarm-priority notification channel with DND bypass.

If you’re unsure

If something feels urgent but unclear, keep the message factual and brief:

• What happened
• Where (coarse area, not a precise address)
• What help is needed (if any)
• Whether emergency services have been contacted