10 Best Police Scanner Apps for Free on Android

Some people use police scanner apps for listening to police, fire, weather and rescue feed from all over the world while others use them just for fun and entertainment. No matter for what purpose you are using the police scanner apps, there are many good police scanner apps available in the app marketplaces like Google Play Store and App Store. In this post, I’m going to showcase some of the best police scanners apps for free on Android.

Android is one of the most customizable mobile operating systems and you can do nearly everything using your Android phone. From downloading music to tracking your step counts or even the burnt calories as well as killing some boredom with offline games that don’t need wifi – Android has everything. You can use your Android phone to listen to police radio as well. All you need is the free police scanner apps for Android. But before we proceed, do you know what do police scanner apps do?

What are Police Scanner Apps?

Police scanner apps are specific police radio apps built to help you listen to police radio broadcasts. Years ago, the police departments used to broadcast the city crime happening and daily reports of their work. Police scanners have been a tool for journalists and people who are the enthusiast in knowing the crime report and what’s happening in their city.

Now things have changed and very few police departments still broadcast in the classical fashion like earlier. However, still many people are using police scanner apps on Android for fun and entertainment.

Are Police Scanner Apps Legal?

If you own a smartphone and having police scanner apps to listen to police movements, you could be either breaking or not breaking some laws in your country. You might be wondering when it is legal to download a police scanner app and when it is illegal to download police scanner apps, right?

The answer is “it depends on the country or state you are living and how you are using these police scanner apps”. Each state has different rules for listening to police scanner apps. Some say listening to police scanners in the home is not illegal but taking police scanner out of home is illegal. Thus, when you are listening to police scanners in the form of police scanner apps, you are listening to police radio outside as you are taking police scanner apps with you outside the home.

While in other states, listening to police radio with the help of police scanner apps is not illegal.

So before you proceed to download any police scanner apps, do your due diligence and make sure you are not breaking any local laws. Otherwise, you’ll end up spending some hours in the police station.

Disclaimer:

As police scanner apps are illegal in some states while legal in other states, we are providing this information just for the sake of general awareness. Do your due diligence before downloading any of the mentioned police scanner apps for Android. If you get yourself in trouble, we won’t be responsible for that.

Also Read: Is Music Downloader Legal? Is Downloading Music from Music Downloaders Illegal?

What are the best Police Scanner Apps on the Market?

Now here comes the crucial part you are waiting for. There are many free police scanner apps for Android. You’ll come to know them in a moment. Stay tuned.

Scanner Radio, Police Scanner X, Broadcastify, Police Scanner Radio Scanner, Police Scanner 5-0 (Free), Police Scanner Free, My Scanner Police Radio Scanner, Ontario PD Live Scanner Radio, California Scanner Radio FREE, and Chicago Police Scanner Radio are some of the best police scanner apps on the market available for free.

Top 10 Best Police Scanner Apps for Free on Android

Maybe you wanted to be a cop when you were small, but things just kept getting in the way. Or, perhaps you have a huge necessity to know what’s going on around you. Whatever the reason for wanting to hear a police radio, you can now use your Android device for it.

You can go ahead and throw away that massive police radio you got like a million years ago. By just installing an Android police radio app, you’ll feel like you’re part of the action. Just make sure you don’t try anything dumb and leave things to the pros.

1. Scanner Radio

If you’ve never tried a police radio before then Scanner Radio is the best police radio scanner app you can start out with. It is one of the most popular police scanner apps for Android. It has a fluid and user-friendly interface that makes it very easy to navigate through. This police scanner app is regularly updated, and that makes it one very efficient police scanner radio app. It also runs smoothly on older or newer Android device.

Scanner Radio can offer you over 5300 radio stations from anywhere on the planet. You can hear scanner from entities such as Fire, Police, and weather broadcasts. You also get notifications when a large number of users listen to one of your favorite stations.

Either choose to hear to the top 50 scanners the police radio scanner app has or only nearby scanners. Even though the police scanner app is free to download, you will need to upgrade to the Pro versions to enjoy everything the app has to offer. For example, you won’t be able to change the app’s color unless you buy it.

2. Police Scanner X

If you’re looking for a police scanner app with a cutting-edge police scanner, then you have to try Police Scanner X. This police scanner radio app allows you to listen to a scanner that is closest to your location or by Most Popular.

When you first open the Police Scanner X app, you can choose the country, state, and city the scanner you want need to look for. Once you have those settings up you can also choose what law enforcement group you want to listen to.

For example, let’s say you’re listening to the Los Angeles Police Department. You can decide if you want to hear to the California Highway Patrol or the LAPD. This police radio scanner app also has an easy to understand interface which is perfect for the beginners looking for the best police scanner app.

3. Broadcastify

Another great option to see what your local law enforcement officers are up to is Broadcastify. With this police scanner radio app, you won’t be able to complain about the lack of options since it comes with over 5,700 fire dept, police, aviation, rail marine and amateur radio streams.

If you want the latest on what’s going on around you, that’s exactly what you’re going to get with this police scanner app for Android. You can either enjoy the free version or upgrade to the Premium version. The feeds in the police scanner app are organized by name and location,

You can also opt to get notifications for any major incidents and any new feeds. Be aware that the free version of the app has ads. But, if you’re willing to upgrade and get the Premium version you can have access to archives of last three or six months.

4. Police Scanner Radio Scanner

With Police Scanner Radio Scanner you’ll have so many options, you won’t know where to start. It offers you over 3000 police radio options from around the planet. If you have family in another country, you can listen to what’s going on in their area.

You can choose from countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, and Chile. You can choose from other countries as well but if you want to listen to the most popular police radio stations just go to the top 50 categories.

5. Police Scanner 5-0 (Free)

With Police Scanner 5-0 you get to hear what’s going on the law enforcement department. The only downside is that it may seem a little old if you compare it to other police scanner apps on the list. But, before you cross it off as an option you should know that it does great when it comes to functionality, and it gets quite a few updates.

Despite its old look, it is one of the most popular police scanner apps for Android out there. With this police scanner radio app, you can listen to 2500 fire, and police rescue feeds. The police scanner app also features GPS enabled localization so you can listen to the feeds that are closest to you.

6. Police Scanner Free

Logicord LLC has one great police scanner app that you’re going to love. It’s called Police Scanner Free, plain and straightforward. The police scanner app offers a whopping 500 rescue, fire, police, and other radio feed. The app even allows you to listen in even if you have a weak Internet connection.

You can also find certain feeds using GPS, and you can also use feeds from other countries as well. There is also a favorites section where you can easily save all the feeds you like for easy access later. The police scanner radio app is free, but it also has a paid version that apparently offers more features.

7. My Scanner Police Scanner Radio

If you still haven’t found a police scanner app for free on Android that you like maybe you’ll stick with My Scanner Police Scanner Radio. This police scanner app may not have as many feeds as other police radio apps, but it’s one you won’t have any problems using since it’s so easy to use.

It offers 300 scanner stations from all over the world and if you find one you like you can go ahead and save it to your favorites. It’s best that you use the app with one of the latest Android versions since you might experience some bugs. If it does give you issues, just uninstall and try another police scanner app from the list.

8. Ontario PD Live Scanner Radio

The Ontario PV Live Scanner Radio app is another app that will satisfy your scanner listening needs. Though it’s not so popular police scanner app, it’s quite useful. A useful feature that you’re going to find on this police scanner radio app is that you can record the feed you’re listening to so you can listen to it later.

If you prefer, you can also share what you’ve recorded with others with the options that app has. Keep in mind that the Ontario PD Live Scanner Radio app will not work with your Bluetooth receiver, but overall it’s a great police scanner app. If you want you can also make a donation to help improve the app even more.

9. California Scanner Radio Free

If you’ve always wanted to know what law enforcement is up to in the sunny state of California this is your chance. With California Scanner Radio Free you can hear what the LAPD is up to and who’s getting in trouble.

The police scanner radio app features an easy to use interface and it won’t take up too much of your phone’s resources. You can hear feeds from places such as Fresno, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco and even the National Weather Radio. You can bet that you won’t be bored listening to this police scanner app.

10. Chicago Police Scanner Radio

Last but not least you have the Chicago Police Scanner Radio. Listen to thousands of conversation in the Chicago area that nothing short of entertaining. The police scanner radio app does launch in the background but you don’t need to worry as it doesn’t take so many resources that it will slow down your phone.

Make sure you get the latest version of the app since it’s that version that features such as battery saving mode and buffering acceleration. You will also need at least 3G or above to use the police scanner app but you can always use WiFi as well.

Also Read: 15 Best Wifi Booster App for Android to Boost Wifi Signal Strength for Free

The Pro Review from TechReviewPro

Thanks to these free police scanner apps you can at least listen to what law enforcement is up to in your area or in other cities around the world. Every single police scanner radio app is free so if you don’t like it you can just uninstall and choose another one from the list. What are are you going to try first? Drop a comment below and let me know.

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