What CleanSpot does that the council’s reporting platform does not
The council’s reporting platform is a channel between you and Faro council: you send the report and the case stays between you and the services. CleanSpot is something else. Every report is a pin on a public map from the first second, and neighbours see it, confirm it, add photos and can volunteer to deal with it.
That changes what happens when the services are slow. In a municipal channel the alternative to silence is chasing. In a network, the alternative is somebody acting: a dumped bag does not have to wait for a crew if three people on the street decide to clear it on Saturday.
And CleanSpot does not stop at the municipal boundary. The municipality and parish are resolved automatically from the pin’s coordinates against real administrative boundaries. Report in Faro and report anywhere else in the country with the same app.
The council’s channel: plataforma de ocorrências de Faro
Faro council takes reports on an online management platform (faro.city-platform.com/app/gso/), linked from its «Comunicar ocorrências» page. The council site also points to A Minha Rua.
Street-lighting faults do not go to the council: they are reported on the E-Redes website.
- Phone: 289 870 870
- Email: geral@cm-faro.pt
- Street lighting: E-Redes
A report that gets resolved, on any channel
What moves a report forward is nearly always the same whatever the channel: someone has to be able to find the spot and understand what is there without phoning you to ask.
- Exact location: coordinates or a pin on a map, not just the street name
- One photo close up and one from further back, so size and access are clear
- What it is: bags, rubble, furniture, a pothole, a dead street light
- How long it has been there, and whether it is the first time
- If there is a hazard (glass, asbestos, a hole on a crossing), say so first
What CleanSpot has that a municipal channel does not
- A public map of everything reported, with date, photo and coordinates
- Cleanups: anyone can volunteer, alone or as a group event with invitations and a shared recap
- Groups, comments, messages and mentions, because keeping a street clean is neighbours’ work rather than form-filling
- Vision AI that suggests severity and tags from the photo
- Duplicate detection: if a pin already exists a few metres away, your photo joins that record instead of splitting it
- Per-location recurrence history, the argument that justifies a new container or more collections
- Works offline: the report queues and uploads when there is a connection
- 30 languages, free, no advertising
Sources
- Câmara Municipal de Faro — Comunicar ocorrências (2026-10-19)
Does the council’s reporting platform work outside Faro?
No. It is Faro council’s channel for its own municipality. Elsewhere you need that council’s channel, if one exists. CleanSpot works across the whole country and resolves municipality and parish from the coordinates.
Should I use the council’s channel or CleanSpot?
Both. CleanSpot for the public record, for your neighbours and for the location’s history, which is what gives a complaint weight; the council’s channel so the services receive the request through their own workflow. It takes a minute longer and covers both fronts.
Does CleanSpot send my report to Faro council?
CleanSpot has a municipal dashboard with territory-based triage, assignment to crews or contractors and tracking to closure. When a council subscribes, reports in its territory land there directly. Until then the report is public, and anyone, the services included, can see it on the map.
How much does it cost?
Nothing. CleanSpot is free for citizens, carries no advertising and is available for iPhone and Android.