nalezneme

Nalezneme is a crowd-sourced information platform and community project focused on locating missing items, information, and people through collaborative verification. The name derives from the Czech verb naleznout “to find,” and the form nalezneme evokes “we will find.” The project emphasizes open data, privacy, and user-driven evidence.

It was started in 2021 by a group of technologists and urban researchers in Prague, initially piloted at universities to help recover misplaced equipment and documents, and expanded to public use with mobile apps and a web interface. By 2023 it had thousands of users across several countries and partnerships with local NGOs and police departments under certain protocols.

Users submit reports with descriptions, photos, timestamps, and optional location; reports are tagged with metadata; others can comment, submit evidence, and vote on credibility; automated checks use image recognition and geospatial correlation; privacy controls allow anonymization and opt-in data sharing; moderation policies exist to prevent misinformation.

Impact and reception: Supporters credit it with speeding up recoveries, fostering civic participation, and providing data for research; critics raise concerns about privacy, potential misuse for stalking, and the risk of crowding out professional responders; governance includes a code of conduct, data access rules, and independent oversight. The project also explores extensions to digital assets and public-interest information, aiming to balance effectiveness with protections for individuals’ rights.