How can we help?

Which cameras do I get alerts for?

Cameras ahead of you. The app uses your direction of travel and alerts you for a listed camera when it is roughly in front of you (within about 60 degrees either side of your heading), or when you are already on the camera’s stretch of street and driving along it. Cameras behind you stay quiet. The app doesn’t know your route, so a camera on a cross street just ahead of you can alert too.

You hear about the nearest camera ahead once it is within your alert distance: ¼ mile, ½ mile (the default) or 1 mile. Change it in Settings > Alerts > Alert distance.

What happens when an alert fires?

• A notification titled “Speed camera ahead” with the distance and the street, such as “0.5 mi: Fairfax Ave between Clinton St and Waring Ave.”
• A spoken alert, such as “Speed camera ahead on Fairfax Ave, in 0.5 miles.”
• A sound, and a haptic tap while the app is on screen.
• The Live Activity and your Apple Watch show the alert too.

If you are already on a camera’s stretch of street, the alert says “In a speed camera zone” instead. Each camera alerts at most once every 10 minutes, so you won’t hear the same one over and over in traffic.

Can I turn off the voice, sound or haptics?

Yes. In Settings > Alerts, turn Sound, Voice and Haptics on or off. Notifications are managed in iOS Settings. With Respect Silent mode on, voice alerts follow your iPhone’s Ring/Silent switch while the app is on screen. In the background, or with that setting off, voice alerts play even in Silent mode and briefly lower other audio, such as music or a podcast, while they speak.

When do alerts work?

While Drive mode is running, including with your iPhone locked. With Background Alerts turned on, you also get alerts when the app is closed. Alerts need GPS, not a data connection.

How do I start Drive mode?

• Open the Drive tab and tap Start Drive Mode, or tap Start Drive on the map.
• Tap the Start Drive widget on your Home Screen or Lock Screen.
• Use the Start Drive control in Control Center, on the Lock Screen or on the Action button (iOS 18 or later).
• Say “Start Drive mode in SpeedCam” to Siri.
• Run the Start Drive Mode action from a Shortcuts automation, such as one for when your iPhone connects to CarPlay.

Start it before you set off, then keep your eyes on the road.

Can Drive mode start and end on its own?

Yes, with Shortcuts automations. In the Drive tab, tap Start with CarPlay for the steps:

1. In the Shortcuts app, open Automation and tap +.
2. Choose CarPlay, then Connects, and Run Immediately.
3. Add the action Start Drive Mode from this app.
4. Add a second automation for Disconnects with End Drive Mode.

No CarPlay? Choose Bluetooth and pick your car instead. To let the automation start Drive mode while your iPhone is locked, set location access to Always. Without it, the automation asks you to open the app first.

What does Drive mode show?

A large, high-contrast view with your current speed, the next camera ahead and its distance. The screen stays awake while Drive mode is open. Until the first location fix arrives it shows “Waiting for GPS…”, and the camera ahead appears once you start moving, because your heading is needed to tell what is ahead.

Where is the Live Activity?

While Drive mode runs, the next camera appears on your Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island on iPhone models that have it. If you don’t see it, check that Live Activities are allowed for SpeedCam in iOS Settings. If Drive mode stops unexpectedly, the Live Activity shows “Drive mode ended”. Tap it to open the app and resume.

What are Background Alerts?

Alerts that come even when the app is closed. Turn them on in Settings > Background > Background Alerts. They are off by default.

The app asks iOS to watch the areas around the 20 cameras nearest you and keeps that set current as you move. When you enter one of those areas, it checks your direction for about 90 seconds and alerts you if the camera is ahead. This uses slightly more battery.

What do Background Alerts need?

Location access set to Always, Precise Location on, and notifications allowed. If location access isn’t set to Always, or Precise Location is off, the app shows Background Alerts as paused and alerts only come while Drive mode is open.

iOS decides exactly when it wakes the app for these areas, so a background alert can come a little later than one in Drive mode. For the most dependable alerts on a drive, use Drive mode.

Location: While Using or Always?

While Using the App is all you need for the map, distances and Drive mode when you start it yourself. Always is needed for Background Alerts, and it also lets a Shortcuts automation, such as one for when CarPlay connects, start Drive mode while your iPhone is locked. The app asks for Always when you turn Background Alerts on, after explaining why. For automations, you can set it in iOS Settings.

Your location stays on your iPhone. See the privacy policy for details.

Why does the app need Precise Location?

With approximate location, the app can’t tell which street you are on or which camera is ahead, so it can’t warn you. If Precise Location is off, Drive mode asks iOS to allow it for the current session only. Background Alerts need it turned on in iOS Settings.

To change it: Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services > SpeedCam, then choose the access level and turn on Precise Location.

Notifications and Live Activities

The app asks to send notifications the first time you start Drive mode or turn on Background Alerts. Notifications carry the camera alerts, so keep them on. Manage notifications and Live Activities for SpeedCam in iOS Settings (Settings > Apps > SpeedCam on iOS 18 and later).

Do I need an account?

No. There is no account, sign-in, ad or tracking. Background App Refresh is optional; it lets the app check for updated camera data about once a day.

Which widgets are there?

• Nearest Camera on the Home Screen and Lock Screen: the closest camera and how far away it is.
• Start Drive on the Home Screen and Lock Screen: one tap opens the app in Drive mode.
• Start Drive control for Control Center, the Lock Screen and the Action button (iOS 18 or later).

To add one, touch and hold the Home Screen or Lock Screen, tap Edit or Customize, then add a widget and search for SpeedCam. To add the control, open Control Center, touch and hold an empty area, then tap Add a Control.

The widget shows an old distance

Widgets use the last location the app saved on your device. Open the app, or start Drive mode, to update it.

What can I ask Siri?

• “Nearest speed camera in SpeedCam”
• “Navigate to the nearest speed camera with SpeedCam” (opens Apple Maps)
• “Start Drive mode in SpeedCam”
• “End Drive mode in SpeedCam”

The same actions are in the Shortcuts app, including Start Drive Mode and End Drive Mode for automations.

How does the Apple Watch app work?

It shows the nearest camera, or the next camera ahead while you drive, and taps your wrist when an alert fires. It gets this from your iPhone, so alerts reach your wrist while Drive mode is running or Background Alerts are on. If the watch says to open the app on your iPhone, do that once to send it the nearest camera.

If the watch app isn’t installed, open the Watch app on your iPhone and install SpeedCam from the list of available apps.

Where does the camera data come from?

From public information published by California cities and agencies about the speed safety cameras they run under California law (AB 645 and SB 1297): Los Angeles (LADOT), Glendale, Long Beach, Malibu, San Francisco (SFMTA), Oakland (OakDOT) and San Jose. The app has Los Angeles and Glendale today; the other cities arrive in the next update. See the coverage table for each program’s status.

Street locations were geocoded using OpenStreetMap data, © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database License (ODbL).

What do the status labels mean?

• Confirmed live (warning period): the camera is known to be active.
• Location listed, activation unconfirmed: the city has listed this location, but we have not confirmed that the camera is active yet.

Cameras are listed by the cities, and activation status in the app may lag behind the cities’ announcements. Treat every listed location as a place to watch your speed.

How exact are the locations?

Each camera is shown as a stretch of street between two cross streets, not as an exact pole position. Some locations are approximate, and the map marks them. The camera is somewhere along that stretch.

How does the data stay up to date?

All camera data is built into the app, so it works offline. The app also checks speedcam.cc for an updated list when it starts (including when iOS relaunches it in the background for Background Alerts) and about once a day. To check now, go to Settings > Data > Check for Updates, where you can also see the data version, its source and when it was last checked.

What are the AB 645 rules?

Speeding by any amount is illegal. In short, under AB 645 (California Vehicle Code section 22425 and following):

• Cameras issue notices only for driving 11 mph or more over the posted limit.
• A city’s program starts with a 60-day warning period, and so does each camera or street it adds later. During it, drivers get warning notices instead of fines.
• After that, a vehicle’s first violation of 11 to 15 mph over in a city’s program gets a warning notice.
• Fines are $50 (11 to 15 mph over), $100 (16 to 25 mph over), $200 (26 mph or more over) and $500 (100 mph or more). Drivers with low incomes, or who receive public benefits, can get reduced fines.
• The camera photographs the rear license plate, not the driver. No points are added to your license, and the notice goes to the vehicle’s registered owner.

For the official text, see AB 645 on California Legislative Information.

How do I report a camera?

In the app, open the camera and tap Report: your email app opens with a draft that already includes the camera’s ID and street. For a missing camera, go to Settings > Data > Report a wrong or missing camera, which opens a blank template to fill in. Nothing is sent until you send it.

You can also email support@speedcam.cc directly. Please include:

• the city, the street, and the cross streets on either side;
• the direction of travel, if the camera faces one way;
• what is wrong (missing, wrong place, removed, now active);
• a link to a city announcement, if you have one.

Please don’t report while driving.

I didn’t get an alert

• Make sure Drive mode was running, or Background Alerts were on and not paused.
• Check that location access is allowed and Precise Location is on.
• Check that notifications are allowed for SpeedCam.
• The camera has to be ahead of you in your direction of travel, within your alert distance.
• If you passed the same camera in the last 10 minutes, it won’t alert again.
• The camera may not be in the app’s list yet. Report it so we can add it.

I can’t hear the voice alerts

Check that Voice is on in Settings > Alerts and that your volume is up. If Respect Silent mode is on and your iPhone is in Silent mode, voice alerts stay quiet while the app is on screen. Turn Respect Silent mode off to always hear them.

Drive mode says “Precise Location is off”

Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services > SpeedCam and turn on Precise Location.