Last updated: July 10, 2026
DeFlock The USA (“we,” “us,” or “our”) runs deflocktheusa.com, an independent public-interest news and advocacy publisher covering automated license plate readers (ALPRs), Flock Safety, and mass surveillance in the United States. We report on surveillance, so we hold ourselves to the standard we write about: collect as little as possible, track only with your permission, and never sell anything about you. This policy explains exactly what we collect, why, and what you can do about it.
Who we are
DeFlock The USA is an independent publisher based in the State of Georgia, USA, and is the data controller for the information described in this policy. We are not affiliated with DeFlock (the volunteer open-source mapping project at deflock.me, whose work we support and credit), with Flock Safety or Flock Group Inc., or with any government agency.
Information you give us
- Newsletter signup: your email address, and nothing else. We store it, but we haven’t started sending the newsletter yet. When we do, every email will include an unsubscribe link, and you can ask us to delete your address at any time before then.
- Contact form: whatever you choose to include in your message — tips, questions, corrections, chapter inquiries. We receive only what you send.
- Comments on articles: the name and email you enter, the content of your comment, and your IP address (standard WordPress behavior). Your comment and the name you provide are published publicly; your email and IP address are not.
Information collected automatically
- Server logs: IP address, browser user agent, and the pages requested. We use these for security and to keep the site running.
- Cloudflare: the site is delivered through Cloudflare’s content delivery network, so traffic to the site passes through Cloudflare’s servers and is handled under Cloudflare’s own privacy policy.
- Google Analytics — only with your consent: when you first visit, a banner asks whether to allow analytics. If you click Decline, no analytics runs and no analytics cookies are set. If you click Accept, Google Analytics measures which pages are read so we can improve our coverage. No analytics loads before you make a choice. We exclude our own logged-in staff from analytics so we don’t count ourselves, and you can permanently exclude your browser at any time by visiting /?deflock-exclude=1, which sets an opt-out cookie.
Cookies
Here are the cookies this site sets:
| Cookie | When it’s set | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Consent cookie | When you click Accept or Decline on the cookie banner | Remembers your choice so we don’t ask again on every visit. |
| Google Analytics cookies | Only after you click Accept on the banner | Let Google Analytics count visits and page views on our behalf. Never set if you decline. |
| Analytics opt-out cookie | When you visit /?deflock-exclude=1 | Permanently excludes your browser from analytics, regardless of any other setting. |
| WordPress comment cookies | When you leave a comment and choose to save your details | Remember your name and email so you don’t have to retype them next time. |
| WordPress login cookies | Only when someone signs in to an account (our staff) | Keep logged-in sessions working. Ordinary visitors never receive these. |
Cloudflare, the content delivery network in front of the site, may also set its own cookies for security and bot mitigation; those are governed by Cloudflare’s privacy policy.
How we use information
- To operate the site and protect it from abuse (server logs).
- To understand, in aggregate, what people read — only if you consented to analytics.
- To respond to messages, tips, and correction requests sent through the contact form.
- To publish and moderate comments, including filtering spam.
- To send our newsletter if and when sending begins — only to people who signed up, with an unsubscribe link in every email.
- To comply with the law when we are legally required to.
What we don’t do
This site exists to report on mass surveillance, not to practice it. So, plainly:
- We do not sell or rent personal information — to anyone, for any reason.
- We do not run ad networks or ad-retargeting pixels.
- We do not share data with or buy data from data brokers.
- We do not use any tracking beyond the consent-gated Google Analytics described above.
- We do not currently use affiliate links.
Data retention
- Server logs are used only for security and operations, and we don’t keep them longer than those purposes require.
- Newsletter email addresses are kept until you unsubscribe or ask us to delete yours.
- If you want anything else removed — a contact message, a comment — ask through our contact page and we’ll honor the request unless the law requires otherwise.
Your choices and rights
You can decline analytics on the cookie banner, exclude your browser entirely at /?deflock-exclude=1, unsubscribe from the newsletter once sending begins, and ask us to access, correct, or delete your information at any time through our contact page. We respond to all requests as the law requires.
California residents (CCPA/CPRA)
If you live in California, you have the right to know what personal information we have about you, the right to request its deletion, and the right not to be discriminated against for exercising those rights. We do not sell personal information, so there is no “sale” to opt out of. To exercise any of these rights, use our contact page.
Visitors from the EU, EEA, and UK (GDPR)
Where the GDPR applies, our lawful bases are consent (analytics, newsletter signup) and legitimate interest (server logs for security, operating the site, and responding to messages you send us). You have the rights of access, rectification, erasure, data portability, and objection, and you may withdraw consent at any time without affecting your use of the site. To exercise any of these rights, use our contact page. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority.
Children
This site is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe a child has provided us information, tell us through our contact page and we will delete it.
Third-party links and embedded content
We link out extensively — it’s much of what we do. The National Index is an archive of headlines that link to the original news sources, and our reporting cites outside documents and sites throughout. Once you follow a link off deflocktheusa.com, that site’s privacy policy governs, not this one.
Our Video Library embeds third-party YouTube videos using YouTube’s privacy-enhanced youtube-nocookie.com player. We don’t host the videos; if you play one, YouTube (Google) may collect data about that playback under Google’s privacy policy.
Merchandise and support contributions
Support contributions are accepted through PayPal. PayPal processes the payment; we receive only what is needed to acknowledge the contribution, such as name and email address, and we never see or store full card numbers. Contributions are not processed through this site.
We do not currently sell merchandise. If and when we do, orders would be handled the same way, through an established third-party payment processor, and we would receive only the details needed to fulfill an order, such as name, email, and shipping address. We will update this policy before merchandise goes live.
Changes to this policy
When our practices change, we’ll update this page and revise the date at the top. If a change is significant, we’ll say so plainly rather than bury it.
Contact
Questions, requests, or anything else about this policy: reach us through our contact page.