A public lookup website can provide part of the answer for anyone trying to learn whether a license plate has been searched in Flock Safety's extensive camera network, as CBS News reported.
The website's lookup tool arrives as concerns continue to mount over how automated license plate reader systems are being used, and whether everyday drivers are being swept into surveillance systems without their knowledge.
Here's what to know
As the outlet detailed, people can use a site called HaveIBeenFlocked to type in a license plate number and see whether it appears in Flock search records.
That does not mean the tool shows every time a vehicle was captured by a camera. Instead, the site says it shows what Flock customers manually searched.
"The license plates and search reasons are what someone manually entered into the system," the site explains.
CBS News reported that the database contains more than 4.6 million license plate entries connected to about 242 million Flock queries. HaveIBeenFlocked says those records were assembled from public audit logs obtained through records requests and government transparency portals.
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In its FAQ, the site says it does not retain the plate numbers people check: "This website does not save, store, or log the license plate numbers or search terms you enter."
More background
Flock's customers also include local communities, schools, and businesses, meaning a routine trip to work, school, or the store could overlap with a private surveillance network that many people know little about.
Supporters of the technology say it can help recover stolen vehicles, locate missing people, and identify suspects. But those potential benefits have increasingly been overshadowed by concerns that agencies and companies have built powerful tracking systems without strong enough protections for the public.
In a Washington Post report cited by CBS News, 46 officers were accused or charged over improper uses of the technology, including allegations that some used it to stalk women.
Flock has said it is working to address misuse. Garrett Langley, the company's founder and CEO, apologized and told CBS News Flock was implementing changes, while also disputing claims that the company tracks cellphones or uses facial recognition.
Many communities are unconvinced, and there is a growing movement to cancel contracts with the company over privacy concerns.
What can be done?
HaveIBeenFlocked is not a live tracker, and the website warns that older searches can take a long time to appear, as CBS News noted.
"There can be a significant delay — months or even years — between when a search occurs and when it appears on this website," the site said. It also notes that its database is incomplete because it has only limited access to logs, some of which may be redacted.
That means a clean result should not be treated as proof that a license plate was never searched. Still, the tool offers another way to understand how data may be circulating within a system that has often operated outside public view.
CBS News also highlighted DeFlock, a separate project that uses volunteer submissions to build a map of where Flock's automated plate-reader cameras are located.
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