Frequently Asked Questions

No. InterFact is for information and planning only. The status comes from automated monitoring devices and can be delayed, wrong, or missing, and a crossing shown as open may be blocked by the time you reach it.

Always obey crossing signals, gates, and posted signs, and never drive around lowered gates. Check the status before you set off rather than while driving. See our Terms of Service for the full safety disclaimer.

No. InterFact uses anonymous accounts on both the website and the mobile app — no signup, no password, no email required. On the website, an anonymous identity is created for your browser once you pick a city and accept the safety notice; the mobile app creates one for your device when you set it up. It is used to remember your city and preferences and, in the mobile app, your favorite crossings. Your name, email, and other personal info are not collected.

Open the map or the list on the website or in our mobile app to see the latest status of each crossing. For push and email notifications when your favorite crossings change state, install the mobile app — notifications aren't available on the website.

⚠️Note: Even in the mobile app, push and email notifications depend on your device and provider settings and may experience delays.

• Open — the crossing appears to be open.
• Blocked — the crossing appears to be blocked.
• Open or Blocked with a warning sign — the reading is low confidence. Check the picture from the crossing before trusting it.
• Stale — the latest reading is older than expected, so the status may have changed.
• Maintenance — live status is temporarily unavailable for that device. Where neighboring crossings suggest it, the icon also shows whether the crossing appears open or blocked; treat that as a hint only.
• Overpass / Underpass — the road goes over or under the tracks, so it is never blocked by a train.

On the website, the ? button on the map and the Status legend button above the list show the same legend with the icons.

Press the red flag next to a crossing in the list, or open a crossing on the map and choose Report, then confirm. Reports go to our team and are used to check the monitoring device and improve the system. Reporting does not change the status shown.

On purpose, for privacy. Some cameras also see nearby homes, businesses, or people, so their pictures are blurred before they are published. On the map, those pictures carry a small Why blurry? label.

The blur does not affect the status. Whether a crossing is open or blocked is worked out from the original picture; only the published copy is blurred.

It's likely that a different city is selected. Open the Settings screen and choose your city.

Don't see your city in the dropdown?

Yes! InterFact is free for residents and emergency personnel in cities that have partnered with us. The mobile apps are free too.

All of the monitoring devices operate 24/7.

InterFact partners with cities, so the first step is to ask your city government about installing monitoring devices. If your neighborhood is seriously interested and the cost of adding and maintaining a device can be covered, you are welcome to suggest a location: contact Dr. Huseyin Ergin to learn more.

You can also open the map, tap any crossing without a monitoring device, and choose "Request monitoring at this crossing." We use these requests to understand demand for specific crossings.

Why doesn't a crossing have a monitoring device yet?

No. Each device — phone, tablet, browser — gets its own anonymous account. Your city and settings live on the device that created them, so you'll need to set them up separately on each device you use.

Favorites exist only in the mobile app, where they choose which crossings you are notified about. The website has no favorites, because it sends no notifications.

This is the trade-off for not requiring a signup: nothing personal is collected, but there's also no central account to sync from.

Your city and settings, and in the mobile app your favorites, belong to an anonymous account that exists only in one browser or one app installation, and we cannot restore it. It is gone if you:

• cleared your browser's site data, or used a private window;
• switched to another browser or device;
• uninstalled the app; or
• used Delete my data.

Accounts that have not been used for 30 days are also removed, as described in our Privacy Policy. In each case, pick your city again and set things up as before.

Open the Settings screen, scroll to Account, tap Delete my data, then confirm. This permanently deletes your settings and anonymous account from our servers and, in the mobile app, your favorites, email, and notification preferences.

Afterward you are taken back to the start. Nothing new is stored until you pick a city again, at which point a fresh anonymous account is created.

On the website, an anonymous user ID and what you choose to save or send with it:

• your selected city and map starting point;
• reports you file about an incorrect status;
• requests you make for monitoring at a crossing; and
• feedback you send from Settings.

In the mobile app, additionally:

• Your favorite crossings
• Notification settings (days, time slots, which channels are enabled)
• Your push notification token (if you enable push)
• Your email address — but only if you choose to add one for email notifications

We do not collect your name, profile photo, phone number, or any other personal identifier. See our full Privacy Policy for details.

Notifications can only be delivered if you grant permission. The mobile app uses native push — FCM on Android and APNs on iOS — which is significantly more reliable and timely than what a website can offer. That's why notifications live in the mobile apps and not on the website.

⚠️Note: Even with permission granted, push and email delivery still depends on your device and provider settings and may experience delays.

• Notifications — so we can deliver crossing status alerts you've opted into. You can decline and still use the app; you just won't receive push notifications.
• Location (optional) — used in real time to center the map on your current position when you tap "show my location." Your precise location is never sent to or stored on our servers.

We do not request access to contacts, photos, microphone, camera, or any other personal data.

Notifications are sent based on your preferences. In the mobile app, open the Settings tab and adjust:

• Your active days of the week
• Your active time slots
• Which crossings are favorited (you only receive notifications for favorites)

First make sure notification permission is granted for InterFact in your phone's system settings.

Beyond that, many Android manufacturers (Xiaomi, Huawei, Oppo, OnePlus, Samsung, and others) ship aggressive battery managers that kill background apps and silently suppress notifications. Two things to check:

• Battery optimization: Settings → Apps → InterFact → Battery → set to Unrestricted.
• Auto-start / protected apps: some manufacturers have a separate "auto-start" or "protected apps" list. Add InterFact to it.

For step-by-step instructions for your exact device, see dontkillmyapp.com.

First make sure notification permission is granted for InterFact in your phone's system settings.

iOS also bundles low-priority notifications into the Notification Summary, and Focus Modes, Do Not Disturb, and Low Power Mode can delay delivery. InterFact marks crossing alerts as time-sensitive, but you have to allow that interruption level for the app:

• Open Settings → Notifications → InterFact.
• Enable Time-Sensitive Notifications.
• If you use Focus Modes, allow InterFact to break through your active Focus.

Email notifications are configured in the mobile app. The website does not send email alerts.

In the mobile app:

1. Open Settings and add your email address in the Email Address row.
2. Enable Email Notifications.
3. Set your notification frequency (days and time slots).

If you've done all of the above and still don't receive emails:

• Check your spam folder. If our emails landed there, mark them as not spam.
• Whitelist no-reply@mailer.interfact.live to prevent filtering.
• Search "how to whitelist an email" with your email provider's name (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo).

Delivery also depends on your email client and provider, and there may be delays beyond our control.

To send feedback, open Settings and choose Send feedback, on the website or in the mobile app. Please do not include personal information.

For any other question about this system, please contact Dr. Huseyin Ergin.