FlockYou: Passive WiFi Awareness for ALPR Cameras #shorts

Our Take

Credit where it's due: STS Technologies LLC is tackling a real problem with FlockYou, a passive WiFi detector that flags known wireless signatures tied to Flock Safety ALPR cameras. The fact that a cottage industry of "detect the detectors" hardware now exists tells you everything about how normalized automated license plate surveillance has become in American neighborhoods. People shouldn't need a specialized gadget to know whether they're driving through a corridor of cameras logging their plate, location, and travel patterns — but here we are.

Tools like this matter because Flock's network is largely invisible by design. Cameras are mounted on poles, tucked into intersections, and rarely marked in any way that tells the public they exist. A passive awareness device puts a little bit of power back in the hands of drivers who simply want to know when they're being logged. It's not a jammer, not a blocker — just situational awareness, which is exactly the kind of transparency Flock and its police partners have been reluctant to provide on their own.

Of course, a $cash gadget shouldn't be the only way to find this out. That's why we built our crowdsourced camera map, so anyone can check what's already been documented in their area for free. And if you want to push back on secretive ALPR deployments in your own city or county, our take-action page has the tools to get started.