RIP Google Privacy Sandbox / Flock + Ring’s New Police Partnership | Snubs On Security SOS 03
The short version: Shannon Morse flags Ring's new pipeline into Flock Safety's network, turning millions of doorbell cams into another feed for license-plate-style mass surveillance.
Our Take
Shannon Morse's rundown on her Snubs on Security series lands on a story we've been dreading: Amazon Ring formalizing a partnership with Flock Safety. Ring already normalized doorbell footage sharing with police departments through years of quiet deals and PR spin. Bolting that onto Flock's ALPR backbone means two of the most aggressive surveillance vendors in the country are now feeding the same pipeline — one that was built on scanning your license plate every time you drive past a pole camera.
This is exactly the mission creep we track: a system marketed as 'find a stolen car' quietly expanding into a searchable, cross-referenced database of who visited what house and when. Once Ring video metadata and Flock plate reads sit in the same ecosystem, the promises about 'local control' and 'opt-in only' start looking thinner every year. Morse also covers Google sunsetting Privacy Sandbox and fresh Android malware targeting passkeys and 2FA — worth a watch if you want the full week's privacy news, not just the Flock angle.
If you're wondering whether your own street already has a Flock camera watching for a doorbell-camera network to plug into, check our map, and if you want to push back on these deals at the city council level, our take-action page has the tools.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of Shannon Morse, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.