Flock Cameras make new changes after backlash
The short version: WTHR reports Flock is cutting default data retention from 30 days to 7 after public backlash, but shorter storage doesn't fix the core surveillance problem.
Our Take
Credit to WTHR for pressing Flock on its practices and getting the company to admit, in effect, that the backlash was warranted. Trimming default retention from 30 days down to 7 sounds like progress, and it's better than nothing. But let's be clear about what this change actually is: a PR-driven concession, not a structural fix. Flock is still hoovering up plate scans on every driver in a community, still building location histories, still sharing data across agencies and states through its network. Seven days of mass surveillance is still mass surveillance.
These 'reforms' also tend to arrive only after a camera, a city council meeting, or a local reporter forces the issue into daylight. That's the pattern with Flock nationwide: quiet rollout, public outcry once residents realize what's watching them, then a policy tweak meant to cool the anger without touching the business model. Retention windows can change again with the next contract renewal or the next law enforcement request for a 'temporary' extension — and often do.
If you want to know whether these cameras are already tracking your street, check the map, and if you want to push back on your city council or police department before the next backlash cycle, our take-action page has the tools to do it.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of WTHR, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.