Navigation
ShieldNav is a complete turn-by-turn navigation app, not a crime map with directions attached. Routing, guidance, and search are powered by the HERE Maps SDK, a mapping platform used widely in built-in automotive navigation systems.
- Spoken turn-by-turn guidance with automatic rerouting when you leave the planned route.
- Route planning between any origin and destination, with the crime layer visible on the same map.
- Point-of-interest search for finding destinations by name or category.
All of the above is part of the ShieldNav subscription, which new subscribers start with a 7-day free trial.
The crime layer
ShieldNav’s crime data is licensed from CrimeoMeter, which collects the incident reports that police departments and city governments publish as open data. Crime data currently covers Chicago, Schaumburg, Downers Grove, and Hanover Park, Illinois; navigation works everywhere HERE has maps.
The map shows a heatmap overlay of reported incident density in an area, and the full crime radar, which surfaces the individual records behind the heatmap — incident type, date, and block-level location. Both are included in the subscription.
Crime data is historical and depends entirely on what each jurisdiction publishes and how often. Coverage varies by city, refresh cadence varies by feed, and reported incidents are not a complete record of what occurred. ShieldNav does not predict crime, score neighborhoods, or make claims about the people in an area. Please read the Crime Data Disclaimer in full — it covers accuracy limits and our Fair Housing position.
Saved places and scheduled drives
Save home, work, and any custom destination so they are one tap away, and schedule drives ahead of time. When you are signed in to an account, saved places, recent destinations, and scheduled drives are stored against it rather than only on the device, so they survive a phone upgrade. Scheduled drives need an account; as a guest, saved places stay on your phone.
You can view, correct, or delete any of this from within the app. See the Privacy Policy for what is stored and for how long.
Accounts and sign-in
An account is optional. You can subscribe and use ShieldNav as a guest, without giving us a name or email address. Create an account if you want your saved places to follow you to a new phone, or to use scheduled drives, invites, and in-app feedback. You can sign in with:
- Email and password, with email verification and password reset;
- Sign in with Apple, including Apple’s private email relay if you prefer not to share your address;
- Google Sign-In.
You can delete your account and all associated data at any time from Settings → tap your profile card → Delete Account. Guests can use Settings → Delete Guest Data. You can also email us. See Support for the full procedure.
What the subscription includes
ShieldNav is a single app with a single subscription. There is no limited free version and no feature held back for a higher tier — everything listed below is included:
- Turn-by-turn voice navigation with automatic rerouting
- Map display and route planning
- Routes and place searches for normal personal use (fair-use limits apply, and one device can navigate per subscription at a time)
- Live address autosuggest
- Crime heatmap overlay
- Crime radar — incident type, date, and block-level location
- Real-time speed limit display
- Toll information and cost estimates
- Saved places and scheduled drives
ShieldNav is an auto-renewing subscription sold through the Apple App Store, available as a monthly or an annual plan. New subscribers start with a 7-day free trial (Apple decides eligibility based on your Apple ID). If you do not cancel at least 24 hours before the trial ends, it converts automatically into a paid subscription and your Apple ID is charged the price shown at sign-up; it then renews automatically each period until you cancel. Current pricing is shown in the App Store and in the app before you subscribe.
Apple processes all payments, renewals, and refunds. The full subscription disclosure is in our Terms of Use, and cancellation and refund instructions are on our Support page.
Requirements and availability
- Platform: iPhone, running iOS 15.2 or later. An Android version is not currently in development.
- Availability: United States App Store. Crime data covers Chicago, Schaumburg, Downers Grove, and Hanover Park, Illinois.
- Age: 18 or older.
- Permissions: location access is required for navigation and for the crime layer to centre on where you are.
- Connection: an internet connection is required for routing, search, and crime data.
- Status: in active development, not yet released on the App Store. Join the waitlist to hear at launch.
Technology and data sources
We name our providers rather than describing them vaguely, because you should be able to check what your data touches.
- Mapping and routingHERE Maps SDK — navigation, places search, speed limits, toll estimates
- Crime recordsCrimeoMeter — incident reports published by police departments and city open-data portals
- Accounts and storageFirebase (Google LLC) — authentication, account data, product analytics (you can turn analytics off)
- SubscriptionsRevenueCat — subscription status; Apple processes payment
- Sign-in providersSign in with Apple, Google Sign-In
What each of these receives, and what they do not, is set out in section 6 of our Privacy Policy.