Flock Safety, a company that produces AI-enabled license plate recognition (ALPR) cameras, announced new privacy measures on October 4, 2026. This decision follows numerous reports of law enforcement misuse and growing public concern over mass surveillance technology, as ABC News reported.
These changes aim to address privacy concerns and prevent abuse of the system. For drivers, these updates mean that data collected by Flock cameras might be handled differently and with tighter controls, depending on local agency policies. You can explore how ALPRs work and what data they collect on our /learn page.
What are the new privacy safeguards for Flock cameras?
The new safeguards include several key policy changes:
- Mandatory Case Numbers: Law enforcement officers must now label every search with a criminal case number.
- Automated Review: An automatic review system will flag abnormal search activities, leading to proactive lockouts for users who abuse the system.
- Reduced Data Retention: The default data retention period will be shortened from 30 days to seven days.
- Customizable Data Sharing: Cities can now specify the types of offenses for which other agencies can access their camera data. For example, a city could restrict data access to only stolen vehicle cases, missing persons, or violent crimes, while blocking searches related to immigration enforcement.
Flock Safety CEO Garrett Langley stated that these changes are a "continuation of our commitment to both safety and privacy." He also noted that an "Audit Assistance" tool, introduced 16 weeks prior to the announcement, which detects abnormal activity, has already been linked to the arrests of several law enforcement officers for alleged system abuse. This feature, previously adopted by about a third of Flock's customers, will become mandatory by the end of the year.
What happened with previous data misuse and security issues?
The company's announcement comes after increased scrutiny regarding law enforcement's use of its system. The Washington Post reported that at least 50 officers had been accused, charged, or convicted of using Flock's system and other license plate readers to spy on individuals, often stalking ex-partners. The Post later confirmed over a dozen additional cases.
Flock Safety also acknowledged and fixed a glitch discovered in December 2025 where some of its AI-powered PTZ cameras were publicly accessible. The company attributed this to a vendor's network configuration error.
Despite these new measures, some civil rights advocates, like Tom Bowman from the Center for Democracy & Technology, believe the changes do not go far enough. Bowman stated that it is still "the same 'Just Trust Us' policy with a fresh coat of paint," arguing that the changes do not prevent pervasive tracking or abuse. The Institute for Justice, a non-profit law firm, has documented over 100 incidents of ALPR abuse, including stalking and wrongful stops.
For drivers, these new safeguards mean that while there are stricter rules in place for how police access and share data, the cameras themselves are still collecting information. It's important to understand that your vehicle's movements could still be tracked, though the duration of data retention has been reduced. You can see where ALPRs are known to be located by checking the /map.