Flock Safety pole cameras detect people and stored an on-device key — a stolen unit unlocked weeks of street photos
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Claims made
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On September 16, 2026, 404 Media and WIRED published a joint analysis of files from a Flock Safety license-plate camera taken off a roadway.
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Software on the device detects vehicles, plates, bicycles, and people, logging where a person sits in the frame and a confidence score.
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Crops then go to Flock over cellular.
Crops then go to Flock over cellular.
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Plate reading appears to happen on Flock’s servers.
Plate reading appears to happen on Flock’s servers.
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The cameras do not use facial recognition.
Flock says the cameras do not use facial recognition.
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The same files held an encryption key on an unencrypted “media” partition.
The same files held an encryption key on an unencrypted “media” partition.
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That key unlocked videos of thousands of detections.
That key unlocked videos of thousands of detections.
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Twenty‑one days of logs recorded about 50,200 vehicles and 1.6 million images.
Twenty‑one days of logs recorded about 50,200 vehicles and 1.6 million images.
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Detectors also cropped bumper stickers and, in one test, an American‑flag patch as if they were plates.
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Flock markets on‑device encryption.
Flock markets on‑device encryption.
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Flock sells the network as a crime tool cities can share.
Flock sells the network as a crime tool cities can share.
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Person detection on the camera is documented even if face identification is not.
Person detection on the camera is documented even if face identification is not.
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No federal ALPR statute covers this hardware.
No federal ALPR statute covers this hardware.
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Drivers and riders cannot opt out of a street they already use.
Drivers and riders cannot opt out of a street they already use.
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A city can still demand the contract, retention setting, and audit CSV, or vote the cameras out.
A city can still demand the contract, retention setting, and audit CSV — or vote the cameras out.
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Flock updated privacy, accountability, security, and transparency safeguards on August 13, 2026.
Flock Updates Privacy, Accountability, Security, and Transparency Safeguards. Garrett Langley, Flock Safety. August 13, 2026.
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The outlets found much of the most sensitive storage still locked — and the key that opened the rest stored on the unit.
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