Flock Cameras Are About to Track Your AirPods Too (Day #229 Office Hours)

Our Take

Credit where it's due: The Modern Rogue's Brian and Josh use their Office Hours livestream to surface a claim that should worry anyone who thought Flock Safety was 'just' reading plates — that the company's camera network may be expanding into tracking Bluetooth signals like the ones your AirPods and phone constantly broadcast. We haven't independently verified the technical details here, and the video itself is a teaser for a deeper dive, so we're not going to pretend we have specifics we don't. But the direction of travel is exactly what critics of Flock have warned about for years.

This is the pattern with automated surveillance infrastructure: it never stays in its lane. A system sold to city councils as a narrow tool for catching stolen cars or hit-and-run drivers quietly grows new sensors, new data streams, and new partners. Bluetooth and Wi-Fi signal detection would mean the system isn't just logging your car — it's potentially logging you, your passengers, and anyone walking past with a phone in their pocket, whether or not they're suspected of anything. That's a massive expansion of surveillance capability with little public debate and even less consent.

Whatever the final technical answer turns out to be, the lesson for communities is the same: don't wait for a feature announcement to find out what's watching you. Check our camera map to see what's already deployed near you, and if your city is considering a Flock contract — or already has one — head to our take-action page to learn how to push back before the next 'upgrade' lands.