# Squawster - Police Scanner — Police Scanner Alerts

> Live public-safety radio scanner and incident alert app. (iPhone/iPad app by RadioReference.com LLC.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/squawster-police-scanner/id6802709530 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [RadioReference.com LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1061211483)
- Category: News
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
- Rating: 4.45/5 from 132 App Store ratings · 16 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 12+
- Requires: iOS 16.4 · 58 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2026-09-17
- Data updated: 2026-10-24
- Monetization: free with in-app purchases
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/squawster-police-scanner/id6802709530/reviews.md

## What is Squawster?

Squawster is the fastest way to listen to live public-safety radio and stay on top of major incidents as they happen.

LISTEN LIVE
• Thousands of live police, fire, EMS, aviation, rail, and weather feeds, powered by Broadcastify.
• Browse by county, state, or metro, search by name, or jump to what's active near you.
• Background audio with lock-screen controls; keep listening while you use other apps.

INCIDENTS, NOT JUST AUDIO
• A nationwide feed of major events — working fires, mass-casualty incidents, aircraft emergencies, hazmat, and more — surfaced the moment they escalate.
• Follow the areas and event types you care about and get a push the instant something breaks.
• Get notified when a feed surges past 5,000 listeners — usually the sign of something big.

SQUAWSTER PRO
Squawster is free to browse and listen. Squawster Pro adds:
• Scan individual Broadcastify Calls talkgroups live.
• Build and manage your own Calls playlists.
• Cloud-sync your favorite feeds across all your devices.
• Listen to archived recordings.
• An ad-free experience.

Squawster Pro is a $4.99/month auto-renewable subscription.

—
Payment is charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase. The subscription automatically renews unless it is canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. You can manage and cancel your subscriptions in your App Store account settings after purchase.
Privacy Policy: https://squawster.com/privacy/   Terms of Use: https://squawster.com/terms/

## Key features

- Live police, fire, EMS, and weather feeds
- Nationwide incident alerts
- Background audio playback
- Customizable event notifications
- Search and browse feeds by location
- Pro features: talkgroup scanning, playlists, cloud sync, archives

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**Subscriptions**

| Subscription | Price | Period |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Squawster Pro | $4.99 | per month |


## Chart rankings

- #15 in Top Free · News (US App Store)
- #159 in Top Grossing · News (US App Store)

## Is Squawster safe?

Squawster - Police Scanner appears safe based on user ratings. The AppsHunter Safety Score for Squawster is 87 out of 100. This assessment is based on 132 user ratings, with an App Store average of 4.5 out of 5. Of 120 App Store ratings, 84.2% point to a safe experience, 5.0% suggest some concerns, and 10.8% point to a risky experience.

## Is Squawster legit?

Squawster - Police Scanner appears legitimate, with a few gaps. The AppsHunter Legitimacy Score for Squawster is 73 out of 100 points across 7 verification signals from App Store and developer data.

## Recent user reviews (10 of 16)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/squawster-police-scanner/id6802709530/reviews.md

### 4/5 — Better features then any other scanner app

*2026-10-21*

Building custom Calls playlist and playing them on this app is a game changer. 

Also, the ability to hold a channel and or ignore them is also a fantastic feature, when playing a playlist. 

This will be a 5 star app very soon. Just some small tweaks first.

### 3/5 — Issues playing

*2026-10-21*

When I normally have mine in standard mode, I can press the call and get caught up, when I do that or start this one, it doesn’t play and just stays on the call as they come in. Still never hearing a single one

### 5/5 — Scanner radio

*2026-10-18*

I love it

### 4/5 — Great So Far

*2026-10-13*

This is a great start on what can be a powerful tool. Ai doesn’t always get the words correctly but, in time I’m sure it will improve. 
If you like being in the know, this app is for you. Get alerts for your area. Listen live to radio traffic.

### 5/5 — Totally accessible

*2026-10-12*

I’m glad they brought an app back. and it is totally accessible for those like myself that use VoiceOver. Everything from just regular listening to accessing archives can be done through this app. The only thing you can’t do is share archived audio from the app directly, but I found no complaints. it’s more user friendly than the third-party scanner apps that are out there as far as navigating

### 5/5 — Works!

*2026-10-12*

Excellent performance.

### 5/5 — Phenomenal Police Scanner App

*2026-10-12*

In the last couple of years RadioReference has made massive improvements in its live feeds and calls platform. This app is a great addition to these improvements. Thanks to all at RadioReference.

### 2/5 — Agree with others-Step Backward

*2026-10-08*

It’s hard to believe that I prefer .DOS looking dinosaur of an app, Broadcastify, over this.  My biggest gripe right now is the playback controls and inability to view the audio waves on the archives.  If it’s there, I have not been able to find it.

### 1/5 — Horrible name, mediocre app

*2026-10-05*

Missing many key features from the previous version of the app (Broadcastify).  That it uses the derogatory term “squaw” + ster (implying a gossipy woman of Native American descent) as the name of the app tells you that this is not a well thought out app.

**Developer response:** Thank you for taking the time to share this, and we hear you. The name Squawster comes from the eagle in our logo: an eagle keeps watch over everything below it and squawks when it spots something important. That's the idea behind the app (and our tagline, "Eyes on every channel"), and it's why Squawster's default alert sound is an eagle's call. It was never meant to reference or demean anyone. We understand why the resemblance to a hurtful word matters, and we appreciate you raising it.

On features: as far as we know, everything the Broadcastify app did, Squawster does too, so we'd love to hear exactly what you see missing from the old app. Please tell us through Settings → Community forum. If something didn't carry over, or it's hard to find, we want to fix it.

### 1/5 — Does the Archive have NO playback controls - RW, FW, timeline slider??!!

*2026-10-05*

Correct me if I’m mistaken, but I see no playback controls when I click on an Archive.  Is that true?  Terrible, if so!  I’m not going to listen to full length for the one dispatch at minute 25 of 30!!

**Developer response:** Thanks for the feedback! The archive player does have playback controls. Open any recording and you'll find them right under the player: Back 15 seconds and Forward 15 seconds buttons, a timeline slider you can drag to jump anywhere in the recording, and (since version 1.0.7) Previous and Next buttons to move between recordings. Archives also keep playing in the background and from the lock screen.

We're also working on a scrubbing waveform, like the one on Broadcastify.com, so you'll be able to see where the traffic is in a recording and jump straight to it.  We're not aware of any other apps that provide this functionality yet either - since it's a hard problem to solve on mobile, but again - we're working on it.

1 Star review is harsh... ouch.  Stings.  We've got some work to do to regain your trust to get a few more stars there for sure.

## Frequently asked questions about Squawster

### Does Squawster have ads?

Yes, Squawster contains advertisements. An ad-free experience is available with the Squawster Pro subscription.

### How much does Squawster Pro cost?

Squawster Pro is an auto-renewable subscription priced at $4.99 per month. This subscription unlocks premium features and removes advertisements.

### Can I listen to Squawster offline?

Squawster primarily provides live radio feeds, which require an internet connection. Archived recordings are available with Squawster Pro for offline listening.

### What devices does Squawster support?

Squawster is available on iPhone, iPad, and iPod devices. It is designed to run on iOS.

### How often is Squawster updated?

The latest version of Squawster is 1.0.6, last updated on September 25, 2026. Updates typically include bug fixes and feature enhancements.

### What is the age rating for Squawster?

Squawster has an age rating of 12+, indicating it is suitable for users aged 12 and older. This rating is based on content appropriateness.

### How do I cancel my Squawster Pro subscription?

You can manage and cancel your Squawster Pro subscription within your App Store account settings after purchase. Cancellation must be done at least 24 hours before the end of the current billing period.

### What are the benefits of Squawster Pro?

Squawster Pro offers several advantages, including scanning individual Broadcastify Calls talkgroups live, building custom playlists, cloud-syncing favorites across devices, listening to archived recordings, and an ad-free experience.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 1.0.10 — 2026-10-22

- Calls Playlist Hang Bug Fixed
- Feeds that go offline now stop right away instead of trying to reconnect.
- Between calls, CarPlay, the lock screen and Control Center show "Waiting for calls" instead of the last call.
- Signing in works on the first tap, and sign-in problems now show a clear message explaining what to fix.
- Radiant Glow incidents show the reported address, and the map no longer drops a pin in the middle of the city when the exact location isn't known.
- When reporting a problem, the text box stays visible above the keyboard while you type.
- Tab names at the bottom of the screen stay readable with larger text sizes.
- Updated for iOS 27, plus performance and stability improvements.

### 1.0.8 — 2026-10-03

What's new in Squawster 1.0.8

• Share what you're listening to. Share live feeds, public Calls playlists, talkgroups and Radiant Glow events. Links open right in Squawster, or on the web for anyone who doesn't have the app.
• Sort county feeds. Sort a county's live feeds, and Near Me, by listeners or A–Z. Squawster remembers your choice.
• Every feed in big counties. Large counties now list every live feed, not just the 50 busiest.
• Build playlists from any talkgroup. Turn on Show all in the talkgroup picker to add any talkgroup active in the past year, and filter by name or number. Works anywhere Broadcastify Calls covers, including Canada and Australia.
• Play alongside other audio. A new setting keeps Squawster playing with your music, radio or navigation apps.
• Smoother interruptions. When a phone call or another app takes over the audio, Squawster shows Paused and picks back up when it can.
• Hide call transcripts. A new setting turns off transcripts in talkgroups, playlists, call archives and the player.
• Easier-to-read feed names. Long names wrap to a second line in every feed list, including at larger text sizes.
• Recently Played no longer shows the same feed twice.

### 1.0.7 — 2026-09-28

What's new in Squawster 1.0.7

• Near Me knows your county. Squawster now uses your phone's own location to find the county you're actually in, so you won't get sent to the county next door when you live near a county or state line.
• Calls talkgroups near you. Near Me now shows the Broadcastify Calls talkgroups that cover where you are, including agencies just across the county or state line.
• ZIP code search shows Calls too. Search a ZIP code to jump to that county's live feeds, Calls playlists, and talkgroups.
• Add to playlist. Found a talkgroup you like? Add it to one of your Calls playlists, or start a new playlist, right from the talkgroup list. (Squawster Pro)
• Favorite public playlists. Tap Favorite on any public Calls playlist to save it to Favorites → Calls Playlists, right above your own playlists.
• Put your favorites in your order. Every Favorites list (feeds, Calls playlists, and talkgroups) now has a Reorder button: drag items into the order you want. Your order syncs across your devices, and your own playlists keep the same order on Broadcastify.com.
• Hold works the way you'd expect. A bar now shows which talkgroup you're holding, even while you wait for its next call, with a one-tap Release. Tap Hold again to let go anytime, and every call on the playlist still shows in the recent calls list, so you can tap any of them to play it.
• Easier to read at night. Dim blue text, like incident addresses and captions, is now brighter throughout the app.
• A friendlier way to turn on alerts. Instead of asking the moment you open the app, Squawster asks once, after you've had a chance to look around, whether you'd like major-incident alerts. You can change it anytime in Settings.
• A cleaner Near Me screen, with clear Calls and Live Audio Feeds sections and genre filters right above your feeds.
• Much better VoiceOver and TalkBack support. Every button now has a clear spoken label, list rows read as one sentence, and actions like Favorite, Hold, Ignore, and Add to playlist are available from the actions menu. Reorder your lists with Move up and Move down, and hear playback changes like "Playing" or "Feed stalled" as they happen.
• Archives keep playing in the background. Feed recordings and Calls archives now play with the screen off or while you use other apps, with lock-screen controls. Recordings continue into the next one automatically (turn it off with "Continue to next recording"), and new Previous and Next buttons jump between recordings. (Squawster Pro)
• Top 50 now includes Calls playlists. Switch to the Calls Playlists tab to see the busiest public playlists by listeners.
• Full transcripts. Every call in a Calls playlist, talkgroup, and Call archives list now shows its complete transcript when one is available.
• Cleaner Calls pages. Playlist and talkgroup names are centered, and talkgroup actions (Favorite, Archives, Add to playlist) sit together under the player.
• Open Broadcastify and Incident Source links in Squawster. Tap Open on a Broadcastify.com feed, Calls playlist, or talkgroup page or an Incident Source major event, or tap a link someone sends you, and Squawster opens right to it.
• Plus a clear message when your talkgroup favorites are full, faster talkgroup lists, and other fixes.

### 1.0.6 — 2026-09-25

• Favorites: tap a feed you broadcast to listen, and use the gear to manage it.
• Clear "Feed stalled" notice if a feed stops updating, with an automatic retry.
• New Privacy choices option in Settings.
• Better look-and-tap support on Apple Vision Pro.
• Reliability fixes and improvements.

### 1.0.5 — 2026-09-24

Thanks for using Squawster! This release brings live listener counts and offline status on feeds, talkgroup search, alphabetized Calls Groups, smoother multi-account handling, faster incident alerts, and a batch of reliability fixes.

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## More apps by RadioReference.com LLC

- [Broadcastify Pro](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/broadcastify-pro/id1103980407)

All apps by RadioReference.com LLC: https://appshunter.io/developer/1061211483

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-10-24.*