Terms of service
These terms cover the FlockDetour app and this website. Using either means you accept them. They are short, and the section about driving safely is the one that actually matters.
What this is
FlockDetour maps roadway surveillance equipment documented in open community data and compares the fastest route between two points with one that passes fewer of those cameras. It is an information and navigation tool.
FlockDetour is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Flock Safety or any surveillance vendor.
Drive safely — this part is not boilerplate
- The road wins, always
Follow posted signs, signals, and the law. If FlockDetour's guidance ever conflicts with a road sign, a traffic control device, or an instruction from a police officer, the real world is right and the app is wrong. Obey it and not us.
- Do not operate the app while driving
Set your route before you move off. Interacting with a phone while driving is dangerous and illegal in many places. Voice guidance and CarPlay or Android Auto exist so you do not have to look at a screen.
- A route is a suggestion, not an instruction
We do not know about the closure ahead of you, the school zone that just let out, the weather, or the condition of the road. You are driving. Every decision about how to drive is yours.
- Never use this to evade law enforcement
FlockDetour exists so ordinary drivers can make an informed choice about routine surveillance of routine journeys. It is not a tool for evading a lawful stop, a warrant, or an investigation, we do not support that use, and our data — a periodically refreshed public map of fixed hardware — would be useless for it anyway.
What we don't guarantee
We would rather be plainly useful than sound impressive, so:
FlockDetour reduces exposure to cameras documented in its current data. It cannot identify every camera, guarantee avoidance, replace traffic laws, or ensure a route is surveillance-free. Always follow posted signs and drive safely.
Acceptable use
- Do not interfere with any equipment
Do not obstruct, tamper with, damage, move, or disable any camera or other device, whether or not it appears on our map. This is a crime, we say so plainly throughout this site, and anyone doing it is not acting on our behalf.
- Do not obscure your license plate
Plate covers, sprays, flipping mechanisms and every similar device are illegal in all fifty states. Nothing in FlockDetour suggests otherwise, and using our service does not license you to break that law.
- Do not submit false reports
The map is shared. A deliberately false camera report degrades it for everybody and wastes the time of the people who verify submissions. Report what you actually saw, and leave a field blank when you are unsure.
- Do not scrape, resell, or misrepresent the service
Do not attempt to extract our data in bulk by automated means, resell access, or present FlockDetour as your own product or as affiliated with anyone it is not.
Reports and content
When you submit a camera report you keep whatever rights you have in it, and you grant us permission to publish it, to verify it, and to merge it into the shared public map. Because the map is built on open data, a report that is accepted becomes part of a public dataset that anyone can use — including projects that compete with us. That is the arrangement, and it is deliberate.
We moderate submissions before publication and may reject or remove any report. You can delete your own reports from the app; the privacy policy explains how that works without an account.
Data and attribution
Camera locations derive from OpenStreetMap and other open sources. OpenStreetMap data is licensed under the Open Database License, which requires attribution and carries obligations for anyone redistributing it. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Our own writing, design and software are ours. Referring to FlockDetour by name to discuss or review it is fine; presenting our work as yours is not.
Cost
The map and the route comparison are free, and there is currently nothing to buy in the app. If that changes, the price, what it covers, and how to cancel will be stated before you are asked for anything — and any purchase would be processed by Apple or Google under their terms, not by us.
Liability
FlockDetour is provided as it is, without warranties of any kind, express or implied. To the fullest extent the law allows, we are not liable for indirect, incidental, or consequential damages arising from your use of it — including any traffic citation, collision, delay, or enforcement action. You are responsible for how you drive and for obeying the law.
Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations, so parts of this section may not apply to you. Nothing here limits liability that cannot lawfully be limited.
Changes
We may update these terms. When we do, the date at the top changes, and continuing to use FlockDetour after that means the updated terms apply. If a change is significant we will say so rather than hoping you do not notice.
See also the privacy policy and our position on what this site is.