What Else Can The Bull Detect? A Lot, Actually! #flock #diy #esp32 #wifi #bluetooth
The short version: A hobbyist named deamonmist shows an ESP32 rig sniffing out Wi-Fi and Bluetooth signals leaking from Flock's camera housings, hinting at how much these boxes broadcast beyond just plates.
Our Take
Credit to deamonmist for the kind of grassroots poking-around that keeps this fight interesting. Instead of just cataloging camera locations, this build treats a Flock unit ('the Bull,' in the creator's parlance) as an RF-emitting device worth interrogating — checking what Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chatter leaks out of the housing. That's the kind of low-cost, DIY reverse engineering that citizen watchdogs have always relied on, since the companies selling this gear aren't exactly publishing spec sheets for the public.
It matters because these cameras aren't just passive eyes — they're networked computers bolted to poles, and networked computers talk. Every protocol they expose is a potential vector for someone to independently verify what a camera is doing, how it's phoning home, and whether it's leaking more than the company admits. That kind of technical transparency is a check on a system that otherwise operates almost entirely on vendor claims and law enforcement press releases.
None of this replaces the basic work of knowing where these things are pointed at you. If you haven't already, check our camera map to see what's nearby, and head to take action if you want to push back on ALPR deployment in your own town.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of deamonmist, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.