AwareCA Reviews: Is It Legit?

Customer Experience

Positive experience44.4% of reviews
Neutral7.4% of reviews
Negative experience48.1% of reviews

~ Based on 27 written reviews from the US App Store.

Is AwareCA Safe?

AwareCA appears safe based on user ratings. AppsHunter Safety Score for AwareCA is 92/100.

This assessment is based on 559 user ratings, with an App Store average of 4.6/5.

Safety Analysis

91.6% of ratings point to a safe experience
3.3% of ratings suggest some concerns
5.1% of ratings point to a risky experience

~ Based on 547 App Store ratings for AwareCA.

Is AwareCA Legit?

AwareCA appears legitimate, with a few gaps. AppsHunter Legitimacy Score for AwareCA is 73/100.

Based on 73 of 100 points across 7 verification signals from App Store and developer data.

Top reviews

Great start

I will likely be flipping back and forth from Watch duty to Aware CA for awhile.

Response from developer

Thank you for the feedback! What you see in AwareCA depends on where you are and which local agencies are participating. In California, our statewide feeds cover all wildfires over 10 acres, along with evacuation warnings and orders throughout the state and fire perimeter data. This information automatically feeds into AwareCA, even if your local agency hasn’t joined yet. Participating local agencies also share CAD/911 information, adding smaller fires and other relevant incidents. Want more coverage in your area? Ask your local fire agency to participate—or tell us your city, county, and state, and our team will proactively reach out to them. We’re adding agencies in California and working to expand into other states, with nationwide coverage as our goal. We don’t have a confirmed timeline for every location yet.

Login options are terrible

I downloaded the app but the only two login choices are to login with Google or Apple, so I deleted it.

If you're going to distribute something like this, and expect people to embrace it, allow for account creation using whatever email address people have/want.

ETA: Read the developer’s response. Way to listen to feedback! 🙄 Again, will not use it due to account login limitations. Really doesn’t matter what your rationale is. I gave up my Fitbit because they required Gmail, and I paid money for that. A free app? No problem not using it.
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Response from developer

Thank you for the feedback! AwareCA uses Apple or Google sign-in by design to keep account creation simple and minimize the personal information we collect. It lets you securely sign in through an account you already have, without creating another password or filling out a separate registration form. Apple or Google verifies your identity and shares only the limited account information AwareCA needs to recognize your account and personalize your experience. This includes your AwareCA user profile, where you can create and manage your locations of interest. Signing in does not give AwareCA access to your emails, photos, contacts, or any other content in your Apple or Google account. Our goal is straightforward: give you access to official public-safety information while asking for as little personal information as possible.

Limited Access

I downloaded the app. When I tried to access it I could only “continue” with my Google or Apple account. Despite saying I could set up an account, there wasn’t a way to do it.

So I’ve no idea how useful the actual information is.

Response from developer

Thank you for the feedback! AwareCA uses Apple or Google sign-in by design to keep account creation simple and minimize the personal information we collect. It lets you securely sign in through an account you already have, without creating another password or filling out a separate registration form. Apple or Google verifies your identity, and AwareCA receives the limited account information needed to recognize your account and support your personalized experience.

Doesn’t even compare to WatchDuty

Stick with what you guys do best which is fight fire. Leave the alert notifications to what Watch Duty does best. There have been 5 lightning caused fires in Butte County today. AwareCA shows none while Watch Duty has them all.

Response from developer

Thank you for the feedback! AwareCA provides official public-safety information directly from participating fire departments and emergency agencies. Those agencies control what they publish, so you’re hearing from the people responsible for managing the incident and informing the community. Other apps, including Watch Duty, can also provide helpful information. The key difference is where the updates come from: AwareCA is a direct channel for participating agencies’ official information. Updates may appear at different times or include different details across apps. AwareCA displays wildfires of 10 acres or greater on the statewide fire layer to provide Californians with a clear, useful picture of significant wildfire activity without overwhelming the map with thousands of smaller incidents. That does not mean AwareCA ignores fires under 10 acres. Participating fire agencies can publish their own local incidents and information directly to AwareCA, including smaller fires when there is a public impact.

a poor attempt a replacing watch duty

i know the CAL FIRE admins have had a private beef with watch duty for some time but this app does not come close to the reliable fire reporting watch duty offers. you need to log in to even use the app and the majority of the fires you can view are just regurgitating numbers from the cal fire website (acreage and containment) whereas watch duty provides daily updates regarding personnel and resources, direction changes, evacuation shelters, road closures, etc.
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Good App But Needs The Call Notes and More Agencies

It’s a great app for Californians but the call details excluding personal details should be included, and also it would be nice if more agencies on there such as Modesto FD and Stanislaus Consolidated FPD which have strong relationships with CAL FIRE.

Response from developer

Thank you for the feedback! What you see in AwareCA depends on where you are and which local agencies are participating. In California, our statewide feeds cover all wildfires over 10 acres, along with evacuation warnings and orders throughout the state and fire perimeter data. This information automatically feeds into AwareCA, even if your local agency hasn’t joined yet. Participating local agencies also share CAD/911 information, adding smaller fires and other relevant incidents. Want more coverage in your area? Ask your local fire agency to participate—or tell us your city, county, and state, and our team will proactively reach out to them. We’re adding agencies in California and working to expand into other states, with nationwide coverage as our goal. We don’t have a confirmed timeline for every location yet.

Not for me

Requires the use of one’s apple or google credentials. Convenient but a possible security problem in the future.

Response from developer

Thank you for the feedback! AwareCA uses Apple or Google sign-in by design to keep account creation simple and minimize the personal information we collect. It lets you securely sign in through an account you already have, without creating another password or filling out a separate registration form. Apple or Google verifies your identity and shares only the limited account information AwareCA needs to recognize your account and personalize your experience. This includes your AwareCA user profile, where you can create and manage your locations of interest. Signing in does not give AwareCA access to your emails, photos, contacts, or any other content in your Apple or Google account. Our goal is straightforward: give you access to official public-safety information while asking for as little personal information as possible.

Why?

How is this better than Watch Duty? Even comparing the map, it seems there are more fires on on Watch Duty, and notifications come through faster there too. I don’t love how this requires logging in - why is sharing my email required for public information?? Of course, this is also limited to CA, so I already need another app to keep an eye on fires that might affect people I know out of state.

It’s always good to have more information, but so far I’m skeptical this offers anything more than what we already had. It’s too bad taxpayer money was spent on something we already had for free.
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Response from developer

Thank you for the feedback! AwareCA uses Apple or Google sign-in by design to keep account creation simple and minimize the personal information we collect. It lets you securely sign in through an account you already have, without creating another password or filling out a separate registration form. Apple or Google verifies your identity and shares only the limited account information AwareCA needs to recognize your account and personalize your experience. This includes your AwareCA user profile, where you can create and manage your locations of interest. Signing in does not give AwareCA access to your emails, photos, contacts, or any other content in your Apple or Google account. Our goal is straightforward: give you access to official public-safety information while asking for as little personal information as possible. AwareCA provides official public-safety information directly from participating fire departments and emergency agencies. Those agencies control what they publish, so you’re hearing from the people responsible for managing the incident and informing the community. Other apps, including Watch Duty, can also provide helpful information. One key difference is where the updates come from: AwareCA is a direct channel for participating agencies’ official information. What you see in AwareCA depends on where you are and which local agencies are participating. In California, our statewide feeds cover all wildfires over 10 acres, along with evacuation warnings and orders throughout the state and fire perimeter data. This information automatically feeds into AwareCA, even if your local agency hasn’t joined yet. Participating local agencies also share CAD/911 information, adding smaller fires and other relevant incidents. Want more coverage in your area? Ask your local fire agency to participate—or tell us your city, county, and state, and our team will proactively reach out to them. We’re adding agencies in California and working to expand into other states, with nationwide coverage as our goal. We don’t have a confirmed timeline for every location yet. A second key difference is that AwareCA is free, with full access to all content. You never have to pay extra to access authoritative data directly from CA agencies.

We’ve been missing this

Gives me peace of mind to have set up notifications in my area and in my parent’s area to know if anyone is at risk, and also good to know our government is investing in safety in this way

Success

Another great source for aware

Create account??!!

You HAVE to create an account. No. You don't need my info. Watch Duty doesnt and still provides the necessary info. That needs to change.

Garbage

App barely works, has little information, and the usability is horrible.

Fantastic!

Just what I needed to better understand what I need to do / when to evacuate. Easy to use. My area is constantly hit with wildfire activity.

Like getting all info without having to pay a premium

I appreciate that all the data is free and from the source. I also like the 3D function it is pretty cool.

Not all agencies are represented

I was alerted of a fire in Vista yesterday by Watch Duty and no alert from AwareCA. If 100% participation of all departments is not present, this app endangers the population, not helps it. The Tribune said 75% of departments will be signed up soon. Release of the app once 100% participation, or tell users what areas are not included in the app.
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App needs updating on login n

Please add username-and-password registration and sign-in as an alternative to Apple or Google authentication in AwareCA. Some users prefer not to use third-party sign-in providers.
AwareCA’s current documented sign-in method requires a Google or Apple account

Response from developer

Thank you for the feedback! AwareCA uses Apple or Google sign-in by design to keep account creation simple and minimize the personal information we collect. It lets you securely sign in through an account you already have, without creating another password or filling out a separate registration form. Apple or Google verifies your identity, and AwareCA receives the limited account information needed to recognize your account and support your personalized experience. Signing in does not give AwareCA access to your emails, photos, contacts, or other content in your Apple or Google account. Our goal is straightforward: give you access to official public-safety information while asking for as little personal information as possible.

Watch Duty is Better

Why is California trying to recreate watch duty instead of partnering with them? Seems wasteful to recreate an app that does not get updated as fast and with not as many features.

Excellent app for staying safe and informed in California

An incredibly useful app for staying informed and prepared during emergencies. AwareCA provide important and timely information, all in one place. Finding information is usually so difficult in searching everywhere but having access to updates that help keep my family and friends safe and informed, definitely recommend this app
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Unusable, slow, and lacks good information

This thing is spotty at best. Another attempt by the government to do something too late and half-baked. I’ll stick with Watch Duty

Underwhelming

Boring interface. Not sure why anyone would use this when Watch Duty has so much more to offer. Please tell me my tax dollar was not involved in the making of this.