- A researcher mapped more than 300,000 devices connected to Flock’s network.
- More than 170,000 of those devices appear to be cameras.
- Flock reportedly wants the public map taken offline.
Flock Safety touts some 120,000 cameras across the U.S. Deflock.org, a crowd-sourced mapping tool that keeps track of the automated license plate recognition (ALPR) devices, says that of the 142,000+ it knows of, including those from Motorola, Axon, and other brands, Flock owns 81 percent of them. Now, a new researcher says that Flock’s reach is even larger than both of those figures might suggest. His map, allegedly from Flock data itself, is eye-opening, and it appears to have directly drawn demands from a Flock proxy for its takedown.
The map, found at FlockSurveillance.org, is the work of cybersecurity researcher Joshua Michael and was initially detailed by The Intercept. Unlike crowdsourced projects where users physically spot cameras and submit their locations, Michael says his data came from a December 2025 snapshot of Flock’s own records. According to Michael, he discovered an access token on a publicly accessible Flock website that didn’t require him to log in. That token allowed him to query an ArcGIS system and retrieve device-location information.
Read: Viral Posts Are Urging People To Target Flock Cameras This Halloween
Michael says he first contacted Flock about the issue in November 2025. After several attempts, the company acknowledged that it was looking into his findings, but he says he never received a substantive follow-up. The access was eventually closed. There is an important caveat to that enormous 300,000-device number. Not all of them are license plate readers.
The database reportedly contains more than 170,000 cameras, while the remaining 130,000 or so entries include networking hardware, equipment used to integrate third-party cameras, and approximately 27,000 acoustic detection devices. Again, Flock itself currently says its LPR network includes more than 120,000 cameras across 49 states.
In other words, comparing 120,000 cameras with 300,000 devices isn’t exactly apples to apples. The more interesting comparison is 120,000 versus 170,000, although differences in methodology and exactly what qualifies as a camera could explain at least some of that gap. Importantly, some of the locations are particularly interesting. The database reportedly contains devices associated with detention facilities and even an entry labeled “FBI Pilot Camera” near the J. Edgar Hoover Building in Washington, D.C.
Flock Apparently Isn’t A Fan Of Being Watched
Michael published his map on September 23, the same day the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism held a hearing titled “Always Watching: Flock’s Nationwide AI Surveillance Network.” The hearing examined the privacy and oversight questions surrounding automated license plate readers.
One day later, Michael received a trademark complaint from Doppel, an AI-powered security company that said it was acting on Flock’s behalf. According to reports, the complaint alleged that Michael’s use of the Flock Safety trademark could cause customer confusion and requested that the site be removed. Michael’s website prominently says it is independent and isn’t affiliated with or endorsed by Flock. The irony is thick.
Regardless of what happens to FlockSurveillance.org, the research offers a wild glimpse at just how large the network is. Considering that it evidently comes from late in 2025, one can only wonder how much larger it is today.