They Knows Everything You've Ever Searched #digitalprivacy
The short version: A creator's viral clip on search-history tracking is a reminder that the same data-broker pipelines feeding ad platforms also fuel ALPR networks like Flock Safety.
Our Take
Mading Thok's video taps into a feeling a lot of people have lately: that someone, somewhere, has a file on everything you've ever typed into a search bar. We can't vouch for every specific claim in the clip, but the broader point lines up with what we track every day — personal data, once collected, rarely stays contained. It gets bought, sold, merged, and cross-referenced in ways most people never consent to.
That's exactly the dynamic driving the spread of automated license plate readers. Flock Safety and similar companies aren't just reading plates — they're building searchable, timestamped location histories on ordinary drivers, often shared across agencies and sometimes with private companies, with little transparency about who sees it or how long it's kept. Your search history and your driving history are converging into the same kind of permanent record, assembled by companies you never agreed to deal with.
If a video about search tracking makes your stomach turn, it's worth checking whether that same unease applies to the cameras on your own street. Take a look at our camera map to see what's been documented near you, and visit our take-action page if you want to push back on local surveillance expansion. Credit to Mading Thok for keeping this conversation visible, suppressed views and all.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of Mading Thok, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.