More than 120,000 Flock cameras are already monitoring roads across the United States, but a leaked document suggests the company explored a far larger expansion of its surveillance footprint.
The AI-enabled cameras, usually fixed to roadside poles, capture images of vehicles as they pass and log identifying details such as license plate numbers, color and make.
Law enforcement agencies can use Flock’s database to search for vehicles connected to crimes or active investigations.
A company presentation obtained by 404 Media through a public records request shows Flock floated a proposal to bring about 350,000 Nexar dashcams—installed in Uber, Lyft and delivery vehicles—into its system.
A Flock spokesperson told Our News Outlet that the Nexar partnership was never put into operation. Still, a screenshot from the presentation depicted the devices as an add-on to Georgia’s existing license plate reader network.
If carried out, the plan could have turned hundreds of thousands of rideshare and delivery vehicles into roaming surveillance cameras.
The presentation, created by Flock for the Georgia Office of the Attorney General last August, said: “Hundreds of Commercial Business and HOA [homeowners associations] in GA [Georgia] are part of the network.
“Plus Nexar partnership which includes 350k Uber/Lyft and other delivery service devices.”
Flock pitched a plan to incorporate roughly 350,000 Nexar dashcams installed in Uber , Lyft and delivery vehicles. Above is a screenshot of the presentation
Flock had proposed the expansion in August 2025, according to 404 Media, which was then described as ‘an integration in the early stages.’
At the time, Flock told 404 Media that it was exploring a relationship with Nexar, but did not have a product offering.
Nexar offers dashcams costing several hundred dollars that are designed for everyday motorists, commuters, frequent travelers and rideshare drivers.
Depending on the model, the devices can film the road, cabin and rear of the vehicle, record exact GPS data and capture license plates in high-definition video.
Flock’s existing surveillance network, by contrast, largely relies on fixed cameras purchased by police departments and local communities and installed along roads or throughout neighborhoods.
However, the partnership with Nexar would have transformed its stationary network into a mobile venture.
Flock has come under fire as privacy advocates warn that the system can create a searchable record of people’s everyday movements.
While police say the technology helps locate stolen vehicles and criminal suspects, civil liberties groups argue that innocent motorists can also be swept into the system and their movements searched without officers first obtaining a warrant.
The AI-powered cameras, typically mounted on poles along roads, photograph passing vehicles and record details including their license plates, color and make
Garrett Langley, chief executive and co-founder of Flock Safety, said in a previous statement: ‘I take nothing more seriously than the values we built this company upon, to give cities tools to uphold public safety, while enabling accountability and transparency.
‘Public safety does not need to come at the expense of community values.’
The company has also noted that its ALPRs ‘are not mass surveillance tools.’
Flock Safety shared in a blog post: ‘They capture point-in-time images of license plates on public roadways and cannot track people or vehicles over time.
‘Most data is never accessed and is deleted on a set retention schedule.’
‘Reviews citing concerns (e.g., protest-related searches or inappropriate search terms) reflect isolated instances across thousands of agencies and millions of searches, not evidence of widespread, systemic monitoring or bias built into the technology.’
Unlike traditional speed or red-light cameras, ALPRs can scan every vehicle passing through their field of view, regardless of whether the driver is suspected of committing a crime.
Flock’s readers convert the images into searchable records that can include a vehicle’s license plate, make, model, color and distinguishing features, along with the time and location it was photographed.
The technology is promoted as a tool for finding stolen vehicles, locating missing people and helping police identify criminal suspects. However, critics claim that it can also be exploited for more intrusive and potentially abusive forms of surveillance.
Flock cameras, an advanced Automatic License Plate Reader, have been hit with controversy, as many believe the devices are mass surveillance. However, the company has said otherwise
Concerns have intensified following allegations that officers used the system to monitor former partners, documented cases in which incorrect alerts led to innocent motorists being detained and audits showing that outside agencies searched locally collected records for immigration-related investigations.
The company says information is deleted after 30 days by default, although retention periods can vary under local contracts and state laws. Flock also maintains that its customers control access to their information and that searches are logged and can be audited.
However, a growing number of American communities are imposing restrictions on the technology or abandoning the company altogether.
The American Civil Liberties Union said in June that more than 55 communities had ended Flock contracts during the previous year, citing fears that the technology could enable warrantless surveillance, federal access to locally collected records and searches without sufficient municipal oversight.
While those concerns do not mean such misuse occurred in every community, investigations have documented cases in which outside agencies accessed locally collected information for purposes that officials said violated their policies.
In response to pushback, Langley has described criticisms as coordinated attacks from ‘activist groups’ aiming to ‘defund the police’ and ‘normalize lawlessness.’
