# Flock camera apps compared: alert apps, maps and the police app

> The official Flock app is for police. Five public apps map plate readers instead. What each one does, costs and collects, compared by one of the makers.

Source: https://flockcamera.app/guides/flock-camera-alert-apps-compared
Last updated: 2026-10-12
Camera figures as of October 8, 2026.

**There are two kinds of Flock camera app. The official Flock Safety app is for police and security staff and needs an agency account. The public apps map community-reported plate readers from OpenStreetMap: Flock Camera and Flock Alert send alerts on iPhone, DeFlock.me lets you add cameras, and FlockHopper and FlockDetour plan routes. They share the same crowdsourced data, so they differ in alerts, direction and privacy.**

## Two different things share the name

Search "Flock camera app" and you get two kinds of result. One is Flock Safety's own app, which is a police tool. The rest are independent apps that show the public where plate readers are, built on the community map in [OpenStreetMap](https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Deflock). (There's also a 2012 photo-sharing app called Flock, from the makers of Bump. It has nothing to do with cameras.)

Disclosure up front: we make Flock Camera, one of the apps below. Every detail about the other apps comes from their own App Store listings, project pages or press coverage, linked where it appears, as of October 2026. Check the listing before you install, because these apps update often.

| App | For | Platforms | Price | Approach alerts | Shows facing direction | Route planning |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Flock Safety | Police and security staff | iOS | Agency account | Hot list hits, not camera locations | No | No |
| Flock Camera (ours) | Drivers | iPhone, iPad (iOS 17+) | Free, optional Pro subscription | Yes, 200 m to 1.5 km, plus an in-view alert | Yes, view cones | No |
| Flock Alert | Drivers | iPhone, iPad (iOS 17+) | Free, optional tips | Yes | Not listed | Yes |
| DeFlock.me | Mappers | iOS 15+, Android | Free | Basic radius check | Yes | Yes, via FlockHopper |
| FlockHopper | Trip planning | Web, iOS, Android | Free | Not listed | Not listed | Yes |
| FlockDetour | Trip planning | Web, iOS, Android | Map free, navigation paid | Not listed | Not listed | Yes |

## The official Flock Safety app is for police

Flock Safety's app is on the [App Store](https://apps.apple.com/app/id1667653638), but the listing says the sign-in "does not support account creation"; an organization administrator has to set you up. Flock's [launch post](https://www.flocksafety.com/blog/flock-safety-launches-mobile-app-to-revolutionize-patrol-efficiency-and-law-enforcement-fieldwork) describes it as available to "law enforcement and security personnel with a Flock Safety account." It sends officers hot list alerts with vehicle photos, gunshot and other audio alerts, and runs plate lookups.

So if you want to know where cameras are, this isn't it. It's the other end of the system: it tells police when a camera has read a plate they're looking for.

## Apps that alert you as you drive

**Flock Camera** and **Flock Alert** are the two built mainly around alerts. Both are iPhone apps, both are free to start, and neither needs an account.

Flock Alert's [App Store listing](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id6774017307) says "everything is free," with optional supporter purchases from $0.99 to $24.99. It lists proximity alerts, a route planner, one-tap camera reporting, an alert history, a home-screen widget and weekly reports. A third-party [app profile](https://mwm.ai/apps/flock-alert/6774017307) describes voice alerts and "in-view detection" as a $3.99/month Pro tier, which contradicts the listing, so check before you pay for anything. Its privacy label lists precise location and device ID as collected but not linked to you.

Where ours differs: view cones, a second alert when you enter a camera's field of view, and a History that marks encounters "likely captured". More on those below.

## Apps for mapping and trip planning

**DeFlock.me** is the community's editor. Its [listing](https://apps.apple.com/app/id6752760780) describes a map showing camera direction and field of view, plus tools to add or correct cameras and send the edits to OpenStreetMap. The developer's privacy label says it collects no data. If a camera on your street is missing from every app, this is how you fix it for all of them at once, and [our reporting guide](https://flockcamera.app/guides/how-to-report-a-flock-camera) walks through it.

**FlockHopper** and **FlockDetour** are route planners. Per [CBS12](https://cbs12.com/news/local/flockhopper-dontgetflocked-avoid-flock-cameras-alpr-website-app-map-routes-around-cameras-tracking-find-cameras-drive-around-them-map-routes-privacy-surveillance-movements-tracked), FlockHopper shows the fastest route next to one that passes fewer known cameras, with the counts for each, and says it calculates routes on the device. Its terms say the data may be incomplete and forbid using it to break the law. [FlockDetour](https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/FlockDetour) offers fastest, balanced and fewer-camera routes, with turn-by-turn navigation as a paid upgrade.

## What none of them can do

They all draw from the same pool. FlockHopper, FlockDetour and DeFlock.me name OpenStreetMap as their source, and Flock Camera uses OpenStreetMap and DeFlock data. A camera nobody has mapped is missing from every app, and a wrong position is wrong everywhere. Comparing apps by camera count mostly compares how recently each one pulled the data.

None of them detects anything. By their own descriptions, every alert is your GPS position compared with a list of known positions. And none can tell you whether your plate was actually read or searched. Only the agency's records show that, which is why [checking for searches](https://flockcamera.app/guides/was-my-plate-searched-by-flock) takes a public records request, not an app.

## Where Flock Camera fits

Flock Camera is the one to pick if you want alerts that account for which way a camera faces. It maps 155,157 plate readers worldwide and 143,415 in the US, covering Flock Safety (red pins) and every other brand (amber). Where a camera's facing direction is known, the app draws a view cone. In the data behind our [map](https://flockcamera.app/map), that's 136,653 of the US cameras. A camera across the road pointing the other way isn't looking at your lane, and a dot can't show that.

Alerts run in the background with the phone in your pocket, at a distance you set between 200 m and 1.5 km, with a second alert when you enter a camera's field of view. The History logs each camera you pass and marks it "likely captured" when you were close and in front of the lens. That's a geometric estimate, not a confirmation, as [our guide to being photographed](https://flockcamera.app/guides/did-a-flock-camera-photograph-my-car) explains.

Your location is compared against the map on the phone and never transmitted, and there's no account, no ads and no analytics in the app. It doesn't plan routes; you can look along a drive on the map yourself, as [checking your route](https://flockcamera.app/guides/flock-camera-on-my-route) shows. It runs on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch with iOS 17 or later. On Android or a computer, the web map shows the same data in a browser, though it isn't the app.

### Is there an app that alerts you to Flock cameras?

Yes. Flock Camera and Flock Alert on iPhone send a notification as you approach a mapped plate reader, and DeFlock.me's release notes describe a basic nearby-camera check. All of them work from maps of known positions, not sensors, so a camera nobody has mapped won't trigger anything.

### Can the public use the Flock Safety app?

Not in any useful way. It's listed on the App Store, but you can't create an account in it; an agency's Flock administrator has to set one up. It's built for officers: hot list alerts, gunshot audio alerts and plate lookups. It doesn't show anyone where cameras are.

### Do Flock camera apps track my location?

They need your location to alert you, so check where it goes. Flock Camera compares it against the map on the phone and never transmits it. Flock Alert's privacy label lists precise location as collected but not linked to you. DeFlock.me's label says the developer collects no data.

### Are Flock camera apps free?

Mostly. Flock Camera is free with an optional Pro subscription. Flock Alert is free with optional supporter tips. DeFlock.me and FlockHopper are free. FlockDetour's map is free, but its turn-by-turn navigation is a paid upgrade.

### Is there a Flock camera app for Android?

Flock Camera and Flock Alert are iOS only. DeFlock.me, FlockHopper and FlockDetour have Android apps, and FlockHopper and FlockDetour also run in a browser. The map on this site works in any browser too, though it isn't an app.

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Camera data (c) OpenStreetMap contributors, licensed ODbL. Positions and facing directions are community-mapped estimates.

Flock Camera is a free iOS app and an independent project. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by Flock Safety, Inc. App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/flock-camera/id6799255747