# Flock Camera - see every plate reader between you and where you're going > Map 137,000+ Flock Safety and ALPR licence plate readers, see which way each camera faces, and get an alert before you drive past one. Free on iPhone. Source: https://flockcamera.app/ Last updated: 2026-08-16 ## What Flock Camera is Flock Camera is a free iOS app that maps 137,416 automatic licence plate readers, shows the direction each one faces, and warns you before you drive past one. It covers Flock Safety cameras and every other ALPR brand. The whole database ships inside the app, so it works with no signal, needs no account, and sends nothing off the phone. ## The numbers - 127,344 plate readers documented in the US, across 49 states. - 137,416 worldwide. - 104,883 US readers (82%) are Flock Safety equipment. The rest are other brands. - 121,036 US readers have a recorded compass bearing. ## How it works 1. **Open the map.** Every mapped reader around you, coloured by brand, with a view cone showing which way each one points. Tap a pin for the operator and the exact bearing. 2. **Arm alerts.** Pick a warning distance from 200 m to 1.5 km. The app runs in the background while you drive and warns you as you approach, then again if you enter a camera's field of view. 3. **Check your history.** Every reader you passed, with street and town, marked "likely captured" when the geometry says it saw you. Stored on the device only. ## Frequently asked questions ### What is a Flock camera? A Flock camera is an automatic licence plate reader (ALPR). It photographs every vehicle that passes, reads the plate with OCR, records the make, colour and distinguishing features, and stores a timestamped record that the operating agency can search later. ### Are Flock camera locations public? No. Flock Safety publishes no location list, and most agencies are not required to disclose one. What is public is a crowd-sourced map: volunteers record camera positions in OpenStreetMap, which now documents 127,344 US plate readers. ### How many Flock cameras are there in the US? The open dataset documents 127,344 plate readers across 49 US states, of which 104,883 are tagged as Flock Safety equipment - about 82%. Worldwide the total is 137,416. ### Can I tell if a Flock camera photographed my car? You can estimate it well. Capture depends on the direction the camera faces, not just how close you drove. The app logs every reader you pass and marks the ones where you were inside the field of view as "likely captured". ### What does a Flock camera look like? A small dark rectangular box on a slim pole about four metres up, usually with a solar panel above it and a cylindrical lens aimed at one direction of traffic. Most carry no markings and no warning sign. ### Who can access Flock camera data? The operating agency and its authorised users, plus any agency it shares access with. Network-wide lookup can extend that much further. Private operators such as retailers and HOAs run their own cameras under their own policies. ### How long is licence plate data kept? Flock Safety's standard retention is 30 days. Agencies can set shorter windows, some states legislate their own limits, and any read attached to an investigation is kept under that agency's evidence rules instead. ### Does the app track my location? No. The camera database ships inside the app, your position is compared against it on your phone, and nothing is transmitted. There is no account, no sign-in and no analytics in the app. ### Where does the camera data come from? OpenStreetMap - the ALPR slice that the DeFlock community crowdsources. Every camera was observed from a public road by a volunteer. The data is open under the ODbL, and you can add cameras yourself. ### Is this app affiliated with Flock Safety? No. Flock Camera is an independent project and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Flock Safety, Inc. It documents publicly visible equipment using open community data. ## Largest states by reader count - California: 19,161 plate readers (https://flockcamera.app/locations/california) - Texas: 15,600 plate readers (https://flockcamera.app/locations/texas) - Georgia: 8,845 plate readers (https://flockcamera.app/locations/georgia) - Florida: 8,832 plate readers (https://flockcamera.app/locations/florida) - Illinois: 6,622 plate readers (https://flockcamera.app/locations/illinois) - Ohio: 6,400 plate readers (https://flockcamera.app/locations/ohio) - New York: 4,237 plate readers (https://flockcamera.app/locations/new-york) - Michigan: 3,523 plate readers (https://flockcamera.app/locations/michigan) - Indiana: 3,457 plate readers (https://flockcamera.app/locations/indiana) - North Carolina: 3,419 plate readers (https://flockcamera.app/locations/north-carolina) - Tennessee: 3,250 plate readers (https://flockcamera.app/locations/tennessee) - Missouri: 3,180 plate readers (https://flockcamera.app/locations/missouri) - Virginia: 3,169 plate readers (https://flockcamera.app/locations/virginia) - Colorado: 2,525 plate readers (https://flockcamera.app/locations/colorado) - Arizona: 2,470 plate readers (https://flockcamera.app/locations/arizona) Full list: https://flockcamera.app/locations.md ## Guides - How to find the Flock cameras near you (https://flockcamera.app/guides/flock-cameras-near-me.md): Find the Flock Safety and ALPR cameras near you on a live map of 127,344 documented US plate readers - including which way each camera faces. - What does a Flock camera look like? (https://flockcamera.app/guides/what-does-a-flock-camera-look-like.md): A Flock Safety camera is a small dark rectangular box on a slim pole, about 4 metres up, with a solar panel and a black cylindrical lens facing one lane of traffic. - Are Flock camera locations public? (https://flockcamera.app/guides/are-flock-camera-locations-public.md): Flock Safety does not publish camera locations, and most agencies are not required to. Here is what is actually public, and where the crowd-sourced map comes from. - How do Flock cameras work? (https://flockcamera.app/guides/how-flock-cameras-work.md): A Flock camera photographs every passing vehicle, reads the plate with OCR, records make, model, colour and distinguishing features, and uploads a timestamped record. - Did a Flock camera photograph my car? (https://flockcamera.app/guides/did-a-flock-camera-photograph-my-car.md): Whether a plate reader captured your car depends on the direction it faces, not just how close you drove. Here is how to work it out, and how to log it automatically. - Who can access Flock camera data? (https://flockcamera.app/guides/who-can-access-flock-camera-data.md): The operating agency controls its own reads, but national lookup and agency-to-agency sharing mean far more people can search them than run the cameras. - How long does Flock keep licence plate data? (https://flockcamera.app/guides/how-long-does-flock-keep-data.md): Flock Safety's standard retention is 30 days, after which non-flagged reads are deleted. Agencies and state law can change that, and flagged reads are kept longer. - Flock camera vs speed camera vs red-light camera (https://flockcamera.app/guides/flock-camera-vs-speed-camera.md): A Flock camera records that your vehicle passed a point. A speed or red-light camera exists to issue you a ticket. Different hardware, different law, different consequences. - ALPR brands: who makes the plate readers on your road (https://flockcamera.app/guides/alpr-brands-explained.md): Flock Safety is 82% of documented US plate readers. The other 18% come from Motorola Solutions, Genetec, Axis, Leonardo, Rekor and a dozen more that do the same job. - Plate readers in shop car parks (https://flockcamera.app/guides/alpr-cameras-at-stores.md): Retailers are among the largest private operators of licence plate readers. The open dataset documents about 1,650 at Lowe's and 1,050 at Home Depot across the US. - How to report a Flock camera (https://flockcamera.app/guides/how-to-report-a-flock-camera.md): Spotted a plate reader that isn't mapped? Add it to OpenStreetMap with the right tags and every app built on the dataset improves - including this one. - Flock cameras on your route (https://flockcamera.app/guides/flock-camera-on-my-route.md): You cannot realistically drive around a 127,000-camera network. What you can do is know where the readers are, which way they face, and when you pass one. - How many Flock cameras are there? (https://flockcamera.app/guides/flock-camera-coverage-by-state.md): 137,416 plate readers are documented worldwide and 127,344 in the United States across 49 states. Here is the full state-by-state breakdown. --- 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