Hacking Flock cameras and tracking down my wife
The short version: A YouTuber's stunt tracking his own wife through Flock camera data shows just how easily ALPR networks can be turned into a personal surveillance tool.
Our Take
Erik from Internet Comment Etiquette set out to show, in plain terms, what a lot of privacy advocates have been saying for years: if you can get access to Flock's camera network, you can follow a specific person's movements around town without their knowledge or consent. Using his own wife as the test subject keeps the stakes low and the point sharp — this isn't hypothetical, it's a demonstration of capability sitting on poles in your neighborhood right now.
What makes this video worth watching isn't the hacking angle by itself, it's the reminder that these systems were sold to city councils as tools to catch stolen cars and Amber Alerts, not as a way to reconstruct anyone's daily routine. Once that data exists and is searchable, the line between 'public safety tool' and 'stalking tool' depends entirely on who has access and how well that access is audited — and we've seen plenty of reporting showing those controls are thinner than agencies admit.
Credit to Erik for putting a human face on an abstract fear. If you want to know whether this kind of tracking is happening in your own town, check our camera map to see what's nearby, and visit our take-action page if you want to push back on unchecked ALPR deployment where you live.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of Internet Comment Etiquette with Erik, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.