License Plate Cameras Now Track Your Phone
The short version: CyberSecureDad flags Leonardo's ALPR cameras reportedly adding phone-signal tracking, a mission-creep leap worth watching closely.
Our Take
Credit to CyberSecureDad for digging into this one: a surveillance vendor called Leonardo is apparently pitching license plate cameras that don't just grab your plate, they also sniff out nearby phones. If that's accurate, it's a textbook example of mission creep. ALPR systems were sold to cities as a narrow tool for catching stolen cars and wanted plates. Tack on device-tracking capability and you've quietly built a system that can link your car, your phone, and your location into one tidy profile — without ever asking if that's what residents signed up for.
This is exactly the pattern we track at DeFlock: a camera goes up for one stated purpose, then the vendor adds features that expand what it collects and who can access it. Phone-level tracking means even pedestrians, passengers, and bystanders with no connection to any investigation get swept into the net. There's rarely a public vote on these upgrades, and oversight almost never keeps pace with the hardware.
If you want to see how far this network already reaches in your area, check our camera map, and if you'd rather not wait for your city council to notice, our take-action page has concrete steps for pushing back before phone-tracking cameras become the new normal.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of CyberSecureDad, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.