Built for the
chalk-dodgers.
Chalked is a real-time, crowdsourced parking ranger warning app for Sydney. Drivers and pedestrians spot a parking officer, drop a pin, and everyone else parked nearby gets a heads-up before they get fined.
Free. Anonymous. Made for the city it lives in.
Why this exists
Sydney is one of the most aggressively patrolled parking cities in Australia. Council rangers and tow contractors operate from 5:30am to midnight. Licence plate recognition cameras scan thousands of bays per shift. The first time most drivers know they've been spotted is when they walk back to a $330 fine, or worse, a missing car.
That asymmetry — them watching constantly, you finding out hours later — is the problem we're solving. Drivers have always swapped warnings about ranger sightings. Traffic radio has done it for decades. Group chats do it now. Chalked is just that, scaled up and made instant.
How it works
Three steps:
- Spot. See a ranger on your block? Open the app.
- Drop. Tap the orange button. A pin lands on your exact spot.
- Ping. Every driver checked-in nearby gets a notification. One tap from you, one less fine for a stranger.
You don't need to sign up. You don't need to share your location in the background. The app only knows where you are when you're actively reporting or when you've checked in at a parking spot to receive warnings.
What we believe
Anonymous by default
You can use the entire app without making an account. Your phone gets a random ID, that's it. We don't ask for your name, email, or licence plate. No sign-up form, no friction.
Free, properly
The core features (reporting, alerts, check-ins) are free and will stay free. The app exists because we wanted it to exist, not because there's a giant pile of money in parking warnings.
Privacy isn't a feature
We don't track you in the background. We don't sell location data. We don't sell anything. Reports are stored as a coordinate and a time, then expire. Read the privacy policy for the technical details.
Honest about limits
Chalked works best when the people around you are using it too. In a suburb where the app hasn't caught on yet, there might be no one nearby to spot a ranger and report it. Coverage compounds with users. We're growing the network steadily, and we'd rather tell you that than oversell.
Is it legal?
Yes. Drivers sharing real-time observations of public-street activity is the same thing CB radio, traffic radio, and group chats have done for decades. Chalked doesn't help anyone break the law. It helps drivers comply with the law in time, by getting back to their car before a time limit lapses or before a tow truck arrives.
Made in Sydney
We're based in Sydney, NSW, and the app is launched here. We focus on Sydney parking rules, NSW Road Rules, Revenue NSW processes, and council enforcement patterns specific to this city. The app technically works anywhere, but the writing, the guides, and the local knowledge are Sydney-first.
The guides
Alongside the app, we publish free guides on Sydney and NSW parking: how to read parking signs, how to appeal a fine, what to do if your car has been towed, what each NSW fine actually costs. Written by people who get fined like everyone else, sourced from NSW Government and Revenue NSW publications, and updated as rules change.
Get in touch
Questions, feedback, press, partnership, bug reports — all welcome at hello@chalked.cc. We read everything.
Download the app on the App Store.