In a move that has intensified debates over privacy, transparency, and corporate control of public information, Swiss privacy company Proton is hosting an interactive map of more than 300,000 Flock Safety devices across the United States. The map, originally created by cybersecurity researcher Joshua Michael, catalogs locations of automated license plate readers (ALPRs) and related hardware used by police departments and communities nationwide.?
Michael uncovered the data in November 2025 after discovering that Flock’s systems exposed an access token anyone could obtain without logging in. He reported the issue to the company, archived an inventory in December 2025, and later published his findings along with an interactive map. The dataset lists more than 170,000 cameras and over 130,000 secondary devices such as acoustic detectors and networking equipment—substantially higher than the roughly 120,000 cameras Flock has publicly cited. The map is a static snapshot from late 2025; newer installations or removals are not reflected.?
Flock Safety, which markets its systems as tools that help solve crimes by logging license plates, vehicle characteristics, locations, and timestamps, responded with legal pressure. A brand-protection firm acting for Flock filed a trademark complaint in September 2026, arguing that the map’s use of the “Flock Safety” name risked consumer confusion. Michael has also faced a cease-and-desist letter. Critics of Flock’s network argue it enables widespread, warrantless tracking of ordinary drivers, creating searchable records that are difficult for the public to understand or avoid.?
Proton, known for encrypted services including Proton Mail and Proton VPN, stepped in by hosting a version of the map on its Swiss servers (available at proton.me/flock-camera-map). Users can search by ZIP code to see devices near them. Proton has called the takedown efforts “frivolous” and “an attempt to suppress information, not to prevent consumer confusion.” The company states that people have a right to know who is recording them when a private firm controls the data and law-enforcement uses are not always clear. Hosting the map in Switzerland also complicates efforts to force its removal under U.S. legal processes.?
The episode highlights a collision between two interests: law-enforcement and community tools that rely on dense networks of sensors, and public efforts to make the scale and locations of those sensors visible. Flock maintains that local agencies control how data is used and that the systems aid crime-solving. Privacy advocates and researchers counter that the sheer volume of passive collection of vehicle movements amounts to mass surveillance with limited oversight.
Whether the map’s continued availability promotes useful transparency or undermines legitimate security tools remains contested. The data itself comes from Flock’s own systems via an exposed token that Michael reported; Proton is not distributing the underlying raw dataset.
Are you cool with Proton hosting this public map of surveillance camera locations in defiance of Flock’s legal threats, or do you believe what they’re doing is wrong?