Live ALPR / Flock camera map & surveillance tracker
Pan to any city or neighborhood, click Scan this view, and the page queries OpenStreetMap via Overpass to plot every reported automated license plate reader, surveillance camera, gunshot detector, and speed camera in the visible area — with full metadata: manufacturer (Flock, Motorola, PlateLogiq, Axis), operating agency, direction, mount type. Click any marker for cross-references to the raw OSM node, DeFlock, and Google Streetview at the camera's exact location.
For privacy advocates, journalists, and researchers: the same dataset is used by DeFlock.me, Have I Been Flocked, the EFF Atlas of Surveillance, and ATAK overlays for first responders and civil organizations. This page is a fast, no-signup, no-app-install live viewer that goes straight to the source. Export filtered slices to GeoJSON for offline analysis or import into QGIS, JOSM, or Google Earth.
A November 2025 Washington state court ruling held that Flock camera data are public records. As more transparency portals come online, the OSM dataset will be enriched — but it relies on volunteer mapping. If you spot a camera that isn't on the map, see the OSM tagging guide or use the DeFlock app to contribute.
Frequently asked questions
Where does the map data come from?
OpenStreetMap. Specifically, nodes tagged man_made=surveillance with various surveillance:type values (ALPR, camera, gunshot_detector). Plus speed cameras tagged highway=speed_camera. The data is contributed and verified by volunteers — DeFlock.me and similar projects coordinate the mapping effort. The map is fetched live via Overpass at the moment you click Scan, so it always reflects the current state of OSM.
Why is my area empty?
Either no cameras are installed there, or no one has mapped the ones that exist. ALPR coverage is heavily uneven — some neighborhoods have hundreds of mapped cameras, others have zero. If you see a Flock or similar camera that isn't on the map, you can add it yourself: create a free OpenStreetMap account, drop a node at the camera's location, and tag it with man_made=surveillance and surveillance:type=ALPR. The DeFlock app makes this easier on mobile.
Is this data accurate / up to date?
It's as accurate as the contributors who mapped it. ALPR cameras get added when someone notices and tags them, removed when someone confirms removal. Most entries include the manufacturer (Flock, Motorola Vigilant, PlateLogiq, Axis), the operator (HOA, police department, township), and the direction the camera faces. Treat any single entry as "reported" rather than "verified" unless it has a recent edit history. The Washington state court ruled in November 2025 that Flock camera data are public records, which is gradually opening up more authoritative sources.
Can I see who's being watched?
No, and you shouldn't be able to. The map shows where surveillance is, not who it captures. To see whether your plate has been queried, see Eyes On Flock and Have I Been Flocked? — they aggregate the public transparency portals that Flock Safety provides for participating departments. Coverage is partial; many departments don't publish transparency data even when their state requires it.
Why include speed cameras and gunshot detectors?
They're part of the same "automated public-space monitoring" infrastructure and they share the same OSM tag namespace. Speed cameras (highway=speed_camera) are useful context — they often indicate corridors where additional ALPRs may follow. Gunshot detectors (typically ShotSpotter, tagged surveillance:type=gunshot_detector) are a separate but related law-enforcement-tech category covered by the same vendor ecosystem.
What data fields are available per camera?
When contributors fill them in: operator (who runs it), manufacturer (Flock, Motorola, etc.), camera:type, camera:mount (pole, traffic light, building), direction (in compass degrees), surveillance (public/private), surveillance:zone (traffic, parking, perimeter), and power (grid/solar). Click any pin to see all populated fields plus deep-links to the OSM node, DeFlock, and Google Streetview at that location.
How does this relate to wardriving and BLE scanning?
Different layer of the surveillance stack. ALPRs read license plates; BLE/WiFi scanning identifies devices. Both fall into the broader category of ambient signals that can be collected by anyone — government, police, private companies, or you. The same OpenStreetMap data here is consumed by ATAK (military/first-responder mapping software) via the Guerrilla Dynamics overlay, demonstrating that this is real operational data, not just academic curiosity.
Why not just use the Flock website?
Flock Safety doesn't publish a public map of their cameras. The transparency portals individual departments operate (mandated in some states) are scattered, often broken, and don't show camera locations — they show search audit trails. The community-mapped OSM data you see here is the only comprehensive public source. The same is true for ShotSpotter, Motorola Vigilant, and the rest of the surveillance-vendor ecosystem.
What does "Find me" do?
It asks the browser for your current GPS position one time, drops a green pulsing pin at your coordinates with an accuracy circle, and re-scans the surrounding area for cameras. Useful for "what surveillance is right where I'm standing?" Permission must be granted; if you deny location access at the browser prompt the button will fail. Works on phones (uses GPS hardware), laptops (uses WiFi-based geolocation, less precise), and over HTTPS only.
What does "Track me" do? Is it really wardriving?
It opens a continuous GPS watch via navigator.geolocation.watchPosition(). Your green pin moves as you move; the map auto-pans to follow you; and the camera scan refreshes whenever you've moved more than ~500m from the last scanned area. So you can drive, walk, or cycle and watch the surveillance density update around you. It is not true wardriving in the WiGLE sense (that requires a native app to capture WiFi/BLE devices) — this only shows pre-existing OSM-mapped cameras as you move past them. Click the button again to stop tracking.
Will tracking work with my screen off / in the background?
No. Browser-based GPS tracking requires the tab to be visible. When you lock the screen or switch apps, mobile browsers throttle or pause the geolocation watch — it resumes when you return. This is a fundamental limit of the Web Geolocation API; it is not bypassable. For continuous background recording, use a native app like the WiGLE WiFi Wardriving app on Android or the DeFlock app, both of which can capture continuously while the screen is off.
How accurate is the position?
Highly variable. On a phone outdoors with clear sky, GPS gives 3–10m accuracy. On a phone indoors or in dense urban canyons, accuracy degrades to 30–100m or worse. On a laptop, geolocation is usually WiFi-based (matches nearby SSIDs against Google's database) — accuracy ranges from 20m to several kilometers. The green accuracy circle on the map shows the browser's reported uncertainty radius. We pass enableHighAccuracy:true which prefers GPS over WiFi when both are available, but it consumes more battery.
Why does the map re-scan automatically when I pan or zoom?
There's an ⚡ Auto-scan toggle in the top toolbar (default ON). When enabled, panning or zooming the map fires a debounced re-scan ~800ms after the move ends, so new cameras appear as you explore — same UX as Google Maps, Bellingcat tools, and most other live mapping apps. The scan is smart: it skips if the new view already fits inside what you last fetched, so panning a tiny bit doesn't hammer the Overpass API. Turn the toggle off if you want manual control with the Scan this view button.