Q: Can communities opt out of their Flock camera data being used to train Flock AI?

A: Yes. If you don’t want images from your town being used to train Flock AI, read on.

Flock has an undocumented opt-out. The question was asked by a citizen during a public hearing about Flock in Tewksbury, MA. Flock reps at the meeting said yes, there is an opt out available for communities, and confirmed that the opt-out is not listed in the Terms and Conditions — i.e., this is an undocumented option.

For details, see the recording of the June 23, 2026 Tewksbury, MA, Select Board starting at time index 1 hour, 36 minutes, 15 seconds — see meeting info at https://www.tewksbury-ma.gov/AgendaCenter/Select-Board-8.

Q: What is the field of view of a Flock Falcon camera?

A: The field of view is about 1.5 lanes wide, according to Flock. However, actual camera footage that we analyzed showed coverage and ALPR captures that spanned all lanes of a 5-lane road. The field of view of any single image is not limited to a single vehicle. The footage we saw showed snapshots of the area with cars heading in both directions. We think the published field of view is an approximate description. Passerby should not assume that the camera is not recording images across a wide field, including areas that are not on the roadway being surveilled.

Q: Do Flock Falcon cameras capture vehicles moving only in one direction?

A: No. Actual camera footage shows ALPR capture occurring in both directions. The footage we analyzed showed license plate captures from both the rear plate (vehicle moving away from the camera) and the front plate (vehicle moving toward the camera).

Q: Do Flock Falcon cameras only capture images of the rear of vehicles?

A: No. Actual camera footage shows images capture and ALPR decoding occurring for vehicles travelling in either direction on a 2-way street. We saw the backs, fronts, and sides of cars in the pictures. Each picture from actual Falcon footage showed the entire 5-lane road; the pictures showed snapshots of whatever vehicles were visible at tht moment, heading in one or both directions, plus private property adjacent to the roadway.

Q: How does Flock get permission to install equipment on private property?

A: There is a permission form that private property owners can be asked to sign. The permission form request is usually made by the Police Department or city representative. The permission form is between the property owner and Flock, and grants Flock permission to enter the private property to install and maintain Flock equipment. It appears that Flock intends to not install equipment on private property without first having a signed permission form. According to the permission forms that we’ve seen from communities in MA, the private property owner can revoke previously-agreed-to permission by giving Flock 30 days notice, during which Flock is to remove the equipment from the private property.

Q: Do Flock ALPRs record bicycles?

A: Officials have told us the answer is no, but Flock has a document that indicates otherwise.

The Flock Safety “Sole Source Letter” is a document kept with the purchasing records of numerous municipalities across the country to satisfy municipal legal and purchasing requirements. The letter describes the capabilities of “Flock Safety LPR cameras”. The capabilities statement includes:

“Motion detection allows for unique cases such as bicycle capture, ATV, motorcycle, etc.”

We know from actual Flock Falcon ALPR footage that motorcycles are captured, and “motorcycle” is part of the same Sole Source Letter statement that includes “bicycle”. An example of a Flock Sole Source Letter is available on the Waltham page of this site, in Public Records Request #2 (see page 43).

Q: Why are so many public records requests being closed with “no documents found” or closed due to exemptions?

A: It could be due to local and state laws, the decisions of local officials, or town-specific circumstances.

However, it is possible that the vendor could be influencing these decisions. Flock is known to advise customers on what they can choose to report or not report. Consider Flock’s “Guide to Flock Safety Data for Open Records Law” (last updated September 2025) document for customers, as described in the article Flock vs. FOIA: The Suppression Manual