The rules of the map.

Last updated August 12, 2026 · Applies to the Crowded iOS app and crowded.nyc

These terms are a deal between you and Crowded ("we"): you use the app honestly, and we run a map that stays honest for everyone. By using the Crowded app or this website, you agree to them. If you don't agree, don't use Crowded.

1. What Crowded is — and isn't

Crowded shows how busy places are, based on two sources it always distinguishes: live reports from people who are actually there, and predictions, which are labeled as predictions. Both are best-effort testimony about a fast-changing world, not a guarantee. A venue that was empty nine minutes ago can be crowded now. Use Crowded to decide where to go — never as your only source for decisions involving safety, and never in an emergency.

Crowded has no relationship with any venue displayed in the app. We do not endorse, recommend, or guarantee the safety, quality, or legality of any venue. Venue information — including names, hours, and existence — may be inaccurate or outdated. You are solely responsible for your decision to visit any location and for complying with applicable age restrictions and local laws.

2. Who can use it

You must be at least 17 years old to use Crowded. The app displays nightlife venues, including bars and clubs. Venues' own age and entry requirements are between you and the venue — Crowded showing you a place is not an invitation to enter it.

3. Your account

Crowded creates an anonymous account on first launch; you can optionally attach a verified phone number for social features. Keep your verification codes to yourself. You're responsible for what happens on your account and device. One account per person — don't create accounts to evade limits, cooldowns, or a suspension.

4. Ground rules

The whole product is other people trusting your report. So:

• Report honestly, from where you actually are. Don't falsify reports, spoof your location or GPS, or automate reporting.
• Don't manipulate crowd levels. If you own, work for, promote, or are paid by a venue, you may not use Crowded to make it — or a competitor — look busier or emptier. This is the one rule we care about most.
• Don't abuse the platform. No scraping or bulk collection of data, no reverse engineering, no probing or interfering with the service or other users' accounts.
• Keep your display name clean. Nothing unlawful, hateful, or impersonating someone else.
• Photograph the place, not the people. A crowd photo exists to show how busy somewhere is. Don't post a photo in which someone is recognisable, anything sexual or violent, hate speech or symbols, advertising or spam, or anything that isn't the place you're reporting on.

If you break these, we may remove content, void Cred, restrict features, or suspend or terminate the account — at our discretion, because the map's integrity comes first.

Zero tolerance for objectionable content and abusive users. By using Crowded you agree that there is no tolerance for objectionable content or abusive behaviour here, and that posting it costs you the account. Concretely:

• Every photo is checked automatically before it can appear. Photos that fail the check are never published.
• You can report any photo from the photo itself. The reasons are sexual content involving a minor, someone is recognisable, sexual content, violence, hate speech or symbols, advertising or spam, not this place, and something else.
• We review reports and remove objectionable content within 24 hours of becoming aware of it, and we suspend or terminate the accounts that post it. A photo can be reported for as long as it is up, including after it has left the map (see §6).
• You can block an account from any of its photos. Blocked accounts are listed in Settings → Blocked Accounts, where you can also unblock them.
• Reach a human at info@crowdednyc.com.

Child sexual abuse material. There is no tolerance for it, no warning, and no second account. Where we become aware of apparent child sexual abuse material we report it to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children as U.S. federal law requires (18 U.S.C. § 2258A), preserve the material and related account information for one year as that law requires, and terminate the account. We do not notify the account holder in these cases. See the Privacy Policy for what this means for deletion.

5. Cred and bounties

Cred is reputation, not currency. It has no monetary value, can't be bought, redeemed, transferred, or exchanged for anything, and we may adjust or revoke Cred that was earned through manipulation or error. Bounties are requests for a report at a venue; placing or fulfilling one is not a payment, a job, or an employment relationship — it's asking, and answering, "how crowded is it?"

We may modify, suspend, or discontinue the Cred system or any bounty feature at any time, without prior notice and without liability.

6. Your content

You own your reports, photos, and profile information. You grant us a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license to host, use, display, and aggregate them to operate and improve Crowded — including publishing aggregated, deidentified insights that can't be linked to you. This license ends for personal data when you delete your account (see the Privacy Policy); deidentified aggregates may persist.

Photos. A crowd photo is a picture of the place you are standing in, attached to a report you just made there. You may only post one you took yourself, with the camera, in the moment — by posting it you confirm that you took it and have the right to post it. Posting photos is optional; the app works fully without it.

What happens to a photo you post:

• Faces are blurred on your phone, before upload. The unblurred version never leaves your device.
• It is public while it is live. Anyone using Crowded can see it in the Feed and on the venue, alongside the venue name, the crowd level, and how long ago it was taken. It is not shown with your display name.
• It has two lifetimes. It leaves the map when the venue closes — at least 90 minutes and at most 8 hours after you take it — because on the map a photo stands for how busy a place is right now. It stays in the Feed for 7 days, labelled with how long ago it was taken, and is then deleted.
• You keep your own copy under Your photos in the You tab, and you can delete any of them for good.
• We keep approved photos after they stop being public, so that your own history works and so the automated safety check stays accurate.

We may remove any photo, at any time, for any reason or none — including a photo that broke no rule. A photo is a live signal we publish on your behalf, not a space we owe you. The one thing we cannot do on request is delete material preserved under child-safety law (§4); the Privacy Policy sets out that exception in full.

Venue owners. If you have verified a claim on a venue, you may post photos of that business. Owner photos are permanent, labelled as the owner's, and kept separate from crowd photos — an owner may never post a crowd photo, and nothing an owner posts moves the crowd level. Post only photos of your own business, which you have the right to post.

7. Third-party data

Venue and map data come in part from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), the Overture Maps Foundation (CDLA-Permissive 2.0), and map rendering by Mapbox; venue images load from Wikimedia Commons under their respective licenses. We don't control third-party content and can't promise it's accurate — a venue's hours, existence, or name may be out of date.

8. Our property

The app, this site, the Crowded name and wordmark, the crow, and everything we made are ours. We give you a personal, non-transferable license to use the app as intended, and nothing else. © 2026 Crowded. All rights reserved.

9. Ending things

You can delete your account and data anytime, in the app (Settings → Delete Account & Data). We can suspend or terminate accounts that violate these terms or harm the service, at any time, with or without notice. Sections that by their nature should survive termination (5–17) survive.

10. Disclaimers

CROWDED IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE," WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, AVAILABILITY, MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE APP WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE. CROWD LEVELS ARE USER REPORTS AND PREDICTIONS ABOUT A CHANGING PHYSICAL WORLD; WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT ANY LEVEL, VENUE, OR OTHER INFORMATION IS ACCURATE OR CURRENT.

11. Limitation of liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, CROWDED AND ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, FOUNDERS, EMPLOYEES, AND AGENTS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS OR REVENUE, WHETHER INCURRED DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, ARISING OUT OF YOUR USE OF — OR RELIANCE ON — THE SERVICE OR ANY INFORMATION IN IT, INCLUDING DECISIONS TO VISIT OR NOT VISIT ANY PLACE, RELIANCE ON CROWD LEVELS OR VENUE INFORMATION FOR SAFETY-CRITICAL DECISIONS, OR ANY INTERACTION WITH OTHER USERS OR THIRD PARTIES.

OUR TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIM ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THESE TERMS OR THE APP SHALL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE AMOUNT YOU PAID US IN THE 12 MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM, OR (B) $50.

12. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Crowded, its officers, directors, founders, employees, agents, and affiliates from and against any and all claims, damages, losses, liabilities, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or related to:

• (a) your use of the app;
• (b) your violation of these terms;
• (c) your violation of any applicable law or regulation;
• (d) any content you submit or transmit through the app;
• (e) your decision to visit, not visit, or interact with any venue or location displayed in the app; or
• (f) any dispute between you and a third party arising from your use of the app.

This indemnification obligation survives termination of these terms and your use of the app.

13. Dispute resolution and arbitration

(a) Informal resolution. Before filing any formal proceeding, you agree to first contact us at info@crowdednyc.com and attempt to resolve the dispute informally for at least 30 days.

(b) Binding arbitration. If the dispute is not resolved informally, you and Crowded agree that any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these terms or the app (including the validity, enforceability, or scope of this arbitration provision) shall be resolved exclusively by binding individual arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association ("AAA") under its Consumer Arbitration Rules then in effect. The arbitration shall be conducted in New York, New York, or at another mutually agreed location, before a single arbitrator.

(c) Class action waiver. YOU AND CROWDED AGREE THAT EACH PARTY MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN AN INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS, COLLECTIVE, OR REPRESENTATIVE ACTION. The arbitrator may not consolidate more than one person's claims and may not preside over any form of class or representative proceeding.

(d) Exceptions. Notwithstanding the foregoing, either party may bring an individual action in small claims court for disputes within that court's jurisdiction. Either party may also seek injunctive or other equitable relief in a court of competent jurisdiction to prevent the actual or threatened infringement of intellectual property rights.

(e) Opt-out. You may opt out of this arbitration provision by sending written notice to info@crowdednyc.com within 30 days of first accepting these terms. If you opt out, the governing-law and jurisdiction provisions in §14 apply to any disputes.

14. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of New York, without regard to conflict-of-law rules. Subject to the arbitration provision in §13, any litigation must be brought in the state or federal courts located in New York County, New York.

15. Changes

If these terms change materially, we will provide at least 30 days' advance notice by updating the date above and noting the change prominently in the app. Continuing to use Crowded after the updated terms take effect means you accept them. If you disagree with a change, you can delete your account before the effective date.

16. Contact

Questions: info@crowdednyc.com

17. General provisions

(a) Severability. If any provision of these terms is held to be invalid or unenforceable, that provision will be enforced to the maximum extent permissible, and the remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect.

(b) Entire agreement. These terms, together with the Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and Crowded regarding the app and supersede all prior agreements and understandings, written or oral.

(c) Assignment. You may not assign or transfer these terms or your rights under them without our prior written consent. We may assign these terms without restriction, including in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets.

(d) Waiver. Our failure to enforce any provision of these terms is not a waiver of that provision or any other. A waiver is effective only if in writing and signed by Crowded.

(e) Force majeure. Crowded is not liable for any failure or delay in performance due to circumstances beyond our reasonable control, including acts of God, natural disasters, war, terrorism, pandemics, labor disputes, government actions, internet or infrastructure failures, or third-party service outages.

(f) Service availability. Crowded is not obligated to maintain, support, or update the app. We may modify, suspend, or discontinue the app (or any part of it) at any time without notice or liability.