Police departments across the U.S. are installing Flock cameras, saying the surveillance devices help deter theft and solve crimes, like helping find stolen property and missing people. But as the technology and its <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/11/07/nx-s1-5587724/some-sanctuary-states-discover-feds-mining-local-license-plate-data"target="_blank" >use by federal agencies</a> expands, a handful of people have <a href="https://www.npr.org/2026/08/21/nx-s1-5939851/flock-cameras-police-block-surveillance-vandalize"target="_blank" >taken matters into their own hands</a>. A hacker collective ripped down a Flock camera and made a copy of the software inside for investigative journalists at 404 Media and Wired. We talk to one of those journalists, <a href="https://www.404media.co/author/joseph-cox/"target="_blank" >Joseph Cox</a>, about what he and his colleagues found, how the data is being used, why some residents are pushing back against the cameras and the future of the technology. Interested in more science and technology news? Email us your question at <a href="mailto:shortwave@npr.org"target="_blank" >shortwave@npr.org</a>. Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at <a href="http://plus.npr.org"target="_blank" >plus.npr.org</a>.  See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>

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What Flock cameras really see – and how

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