A powerful, free flock The surveillance-tracking platform is now hosted by Proton, the creator of Proton Mail and Proton VPN. The move provides extra technical and legal protection for the interactive mapping tool, which Flock has repeatedly tried to shut down through legal threats.
The deal, announced Wednesday, will give the public access to a free database of Flock Safety’s automated license plate readers and AI surveillance cameras in the United States.
Security researcher Joshua Michael first published the interactive map in September before facing a swift trademark complaint from Flock. Despite Flock’s demands for its removal, the map remains publicly accessible.
Flock’s surveillance networks capture license plates, vehicle details, human physical characteristics, and audio signals such as gunshots or screams. While law enforcement agencies use this data to track and search suspects, privacy advocates warn that the technology enables widespread, uncontrolled tracking.
Proton also says the map shows many more Flock cameras active than Flock currently says it has. Flock said this summer that it operates more than 120,000 cameras nationwide, but the tool says there are more than 214,000 Flock devices in service, with more than 80,000 in the planning stages.
A representative from Flock Safety did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The map is one of the most useful flock tools I’ve seen. Proton’s Flock Tool has better visual clarity, faster search responses and a more intuitive interface than other sites I’ve tried and is available without a subscription to other Proton services.
I was looking for my own city that canceled its flock contact over a year ago. The map accurately reported that no active flock cameras were currently present, but correctly located deployed flock cams. Since the data is based on Flock’s own reporting, I put more faith in it than in crowdsourced tools like the Deflock app, which are subject to error or misrepresentation.
“My research at FlockSurveillance.org documents cybersecurity failures with national security consequences,” mapmaker Joshua Michael told CNET. “My research has argued that Flock Safety could not detect the exports of their data and that because they hold data on almost every American in their pattern of life, they are a national security threat to our country and people.”
Michael said Flock “promised to take all possible measures to take my research offline,” he said, suggesting that as one reason why Proton moved to preserve the map in its Swiss servers. Switzerland enforces some of the strongest privacy laws in the world. Proton’s site notes that under Swiss data protection regulations, the company is not required to comply with requests that are not supported by a Swiss court order. Flock is a US-based company.
Camera locations are constantly changing, meaning a surveillance map can quickly become dated.
“When new and reliable data becomes available, we will update the map,” said a Proton spokesman. “We are committed to keeping the public informed of any form of surveillance where reliable data can be found.”
Another watch card option
While Proton’s map offers a specialized point-in-time look at Flock Safety’s network, the Atlas of Surveillance offers a broader, historical catalog of the fluid technologies that US law enforcement agencies have quietly adopted over the years.
Powered by a network of volunteers who analyze public data and official government records, the Atlas database tracks everything from automated license plate readers to cell-site simulators and body-worn cameras. The project continuously updates its findings.
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