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2 min read Articles

MapQuest now lets you locate nearby surveillance cameras, like Flock

The decades-old online map app is watching the watchers.
a screenshot showing a bunch of license plate readers located on a MapQuest app on an iPhone, showing where they are located and the direction in which they're pointing.
a screenshot from a MapQuest app on an iPhone showing a "surveillance camera" dome located on a map of San Francisco
a screenshot from a MapQuest app on an iPhone showing a close-up of a bunch of license plate readers on the same street in New York City

Screenshots by Zack Whittaker / ~this week in security~

Some good news from MapQuest, the decades-old online mapping software that let you print out driving directions before GPS navigation was a thing. The latest update to the mobile app will now let you identify nearby license plate readers and other video surveillance cameras, allowing you a better shot at opting out of their data collection.

MapQuest said in a post on Bluesky that users can switch on the "surveillance layer" in the map options to see the location and direction of known license plate readers, such as those from Flock Safety, Motorola Solutions (also known as Vigilant), Genetec, Axis Communications, Axon (which makes Tasers), Leonardo, Neology, Rekor, PlateSmart, Ubicquia, Verkada, and "other outdoor surveillance cameras."

Sites like DeFlock and Flock Surveillance Map are some of the other well-known projects that are documenting the locations of Flock, which has at least 120,000 cameras around the United States.

MapQuest's update is a good reminder that Flock is one of many companies out there profiting from mass surveillance.

Vigilantism comes for Flock
More Americans than ever are destroying Flock license plate cameras amid rising backlash against the company. Is the tide turning on intrusive U.S. mass surveillance, and where does the privacy fight go next?
~this week in security~Zack Whittaker

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