How it works
A problem in public space stays on the map until the people who pass by confirm it is fixed. Nobody closes a case alone — not the reporter, not the responsible service, not us.
This app is not for emergencies. Gas, fire, injuries: call the emergency services now.
1. The path of a case
- ReportedA citizen reports it on the spot: a photo, GPS (to within 30 m), and AI recognises the type of problem from the photo. It is on the map at once. Others join (“Me too”) and say it is still there.
- AcknowledgedThe responsible service acknowledges it or plans the work. The first service to act takes the case — from then on only that service.
- Reported as fixedThe service reports the fix with an after photo, or the reporter does on the spot. People who joined can after 72 hours (12 hours for quick fixes such as an overflowing bin), with an established account only.
- FixedPeople confirm: the reporter, or two people — those who joined from anywhere, anyone else with an established account on the spot (within 50 m). Or nobody objects for 21 days.
2. Every state
| State | What it means | Who changes it |
|---|---|---|
| Reported | The problem is reported and exists. | A citizen reports it; “Me too” and “still there” keep it alive. |
| Acknowledged | A service has taken the case, maybe planned the work. | The responsible service. If it reports no fix for 30 days, the case says so. |
| Reported as fixed | Someone says it is fixed — waiting for confirmation. | The service (after photo), or the reporter and people who joined (photo on the spot). |
| Fixed | The fix is confirmed. | The reporter, two people, 21 days without objection, or a review ruling. It can be reopened within 60 days. |
| Declined | The service declined with a public reason. The case stays on the map. | The responsible service. “Not our responsibility” returns it for the right service. |
| Inactive | Nobody has confirmed it is still there for a long time (twice the usual time, e.g. 120 days for a pothole). | Time, or everyone who followed it left and no service has answered yet; any new confirmation or “Me too” brings it back. |
| Locked | Waiting for a review ruling. | After two rounds of “fixed / not fixed”, when two accounts act from one device, or by review. The ruling is public, with a reason. |
| Removed | No longer on the map. | Review, when a report breaks the rules (public reason), or the reporter withdraws their report (a mistake, not really a problem, a duplicate) while nobody has joined it and no service has answered. |
The days are counted. Every case says when it was first reported and how many days it has waited, for example “Reported 63 days ago. Still not fixed.” The count runs from the first report and does not restart when a case is reopened; it stops only when people on the spot confirm the fix — “reported as fixed” does not stop it. A service is named only for what it did itself (took the case, scheduled it, declined it with a reason, reported a fix). After 30 days the number stands out, after 90 more so. In “All reports”, the “Longest waiting” order shows what has waited longest.
Leaving a case. If you think something will not be fixed, or you no longer care, tap “Leave this case”: you get no more updates and are no longer counted among the people on it. The case stays public for others, and the days keep counting — leaving does not erase the problem. If you were the last one following it and no service has answered, it becomes “Inactive”; anyone passing by can revive it. Come back any time with “Me too”. Withdrawing is different: only for a mistake, a report that is not really a problem, or a duplicate, while nobody has joined — a withdrawn report leaves the map.
How a service gets an account. You cannot take a service account yourself in the app: you write to us from an official address (For responsible services), we check that the service exists and that you work there (public register, a call to the number on the service's website), and an administrator links your account to the service. Free addresses (gmail, yahoo…) cannot be a service's address. The account is the service's; staff are never named in a case's history. A service reports a fix with a photo, and it becomes “fixed” only when people on the spot confirm it, or after 21 days without a dispute — a service cannot close a case alone. Services join town by town, free, whoever runs the town.
Photos with each step. A photo taken with “It's fixed”, “Not fixed” or “Broken again”, and a service's after-photo, are in the case's history. Before sending, AI blurs faces, plates and phone numbers; the photo is then public. If that check does not work, only the people on the case, the service and the reviewers see it.
3. Who is who
Citizen
Everyone who signs in. Report a problem you are standing next to, join someone else’s report (“Me too”) and say whether it is still there. On cases you reported or joined, say it has been fixed, confirm or question someone else’s fix, and reopen it if the problem comes back. After a few accepted reports your account is established and can do this on other cases too. You cannot hide or delete anyone else’s content, and nobody — not even the services — sees who reported.
Responsible service
For staff of a body that fixes problems in public space (for example the water utility or the city services); the service is named on the account. You can acknowledge a case, say when it will be fixed, decline it with a public reason, and report it fixed with a photo. Your fix still has to be confirmed by people on the spot, or go unchallenged for 21 days. Once your service is the first to act on a case it is your service’s — other services cannot act on it, and only review can move it. You cannot remove a case or a photo, change what citizens wrote, or see who reported.
Reviewer
A neutral person from the HeyLetsFix team who keeps the map safe: looks at new accounts’ photos before they are public, keeps or takes down photos people report, removes reports that break the rules, corrects a wrong problem type, moves a case to the right service, and settles cases stuck between “fixed” and “not fixed”. Every ruling is public with a reason and signed “Review”, never with a name. Reviewers do not work for a service or a party in a town where the app is live.
Administrator
Everything a reviewer does, plus the accounts: gives and removes roles, links staff to their service, marks seeding volunteers, puts an account’s photos under review, teaches the search new words, and handles formal legal requests. Only administrators see e-mail addresses. There is always at least one administrator.
Two options an administrator sets, not roles: seeding volunteer (no daily limit, photos public at once, for the team that maps existing problems before a launch) and check every photo first (for 30 days every photo from the account waits for a reviewer before it is public; also set automatically when an established account’s report is removed). An account becomes established after three accepted reports or reported fixes, disputes and reopenings, or after 14 days and one of them.
4. Who can do what
| What is allowed | Citizen | Responsible service | Reviewer | Administrator |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report a problem on the spot | ✓ | ✓ also from a computer | ✓ also from the gallery or map | ✓ as a reviewer |
| “Me too” and “still there” | ✓ | — | — | — |
| Report it fixed | the reporter; people who joined (established account, after 72 h) | ✓ with an after photo | — | — |
| Confirm or dispute a fix | ✓ | — | — | — |
| Acknowledge, plan, decline with a reason | — | ✓ on its own service’s cases | — | — |
| Correct the problem type | on own report; others suggest | suggests | ✓ | ✓ |
| Review photos, remove reports | — | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Settle a locked case | — | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Move a case to another service | — | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Accounts and roles; e-mail addresses | — | — | — | ✓ |
On a report they filed themselves everyone — staff included — acts as a citizen: they can withdraw, confirm or dispute it, but never act on it as a service or a reviewer.
5. Why it is hard to rig
- Nobody closes a case alone. A fix is a claim with a photo; it counts only when the people who reported the problem agree, or when 21 days pass with nobody on the spot objecting.
- Staff of a service never confirm their own service’s fix — not even on a problem they reported themselves. Every action by a service is signed with the service’s name and stays in the history.
- New accounts cannot outvote the people on the spot: someone who did not join confirms or disputes only with an established account and on the spot. Two accounts acting from one device lock the case until review looks.
- You can add a short “Where exactly?” note to a report (up to 80 characters, only the place — e.g. under the bridge or on it); an AI checks it, and one it is unsure about is looked at by a reviewer first. New accounts’ photos are always looked at by a reviewer first; every review ruling is public, with a reason. Nobody sees who reported what — not even the services.
6. Photos, and what is public
Before sending, AI blurs faces, number plates and the other personal details on our list; tap the photo to blur anything else. Anyone can report misuse — with the button on the case or, without an account, with a takedown request. What happened and when is public (the date, no time); who did what shows only as “reporter”, “citizen 2”, the service’s name or “review” — labels that hold for that one case. Details: Privacy notice, Terms of use.
7. Warnings and bans for misuse
Anyone can flag a report (“Report misuse”). A flag only brings the report to a reviewer — a group cannot get anyone banned. If a reviewer removes a report as misuse (fake, a joke, offensive), the reporter moves one step up, within a year: a warning the first time (nothing changes), then a 7-day ban, then 30 days, and after that a permanent ban. Serious misuse (pornography, hate, threats) skips the warning: a ban of at least 30 days. An administrator can also ban an account permanently, with a written reason. A ban covers the account and the phone the report came from, and stays if the account is deleted. While banned you can read the map and every case and answer on your own cases (still there, fixed or not, withdraw, leave), but you cannot report, tap “me too” on someone else’s case, change a problem type or flag. We tell you about a warning, a ban and its length by e-mail, and the report form shows until when. Other removal reasons (duplicate, unclear photo) ban nobody. Staff and seeding volunteers are never banned. If you think it is a mistake, write to info@innovatica.ai; an administrator can undo a warning or lift a ban (a permanent one too), and it then does not count.
HeyLetsFix is made by Innovatica.