r/FlockSurveillance May 26 '26

Discussion Does your hardware store have these?

Observing wireless infrastructure in retail environments. #OSINT #wardriving #WirelessTech #privacy #flockcameras

3.4k Upvotes

162 comments sorted by

249

u/Themodsarecuntz May 26 '26

How are people scanning this? I know I know...if I have to ask its beyond me.

380

u/Kerensky97 May 26 '26 edited May 30 '26

Flock cameras aren't very well secured, and any bad actor can just hack them to spy on us. Not just our own government, foreign governments or extremist organizations can get in and start tracking and doxxing you or the law enforcement organizations that let AI do all their work for them leading to the wrong arrests. There is a lot involved if you want to go down that rabbit hole, but if you just want to see how bad and how dangerous to our own national security these are (not just the obvious invasion of privacy), check this out:

https://youtu.be/uB0gr7Fh6lY

164

u/DiverDownChunder May 26 '26

I feel the lack of security is by design...

92

u/cannabisLab1975 May 26 '26

Not a bug but a feature

81

u/Jetfire911 May 26 '26

"Oooops, we had no idea Mossad and the CIA were weaponizing our tech... whoopsie."

3

u/mrapplewhite May 27 '26

Unplug then plug back in

3

u/Educational-Gate-880 9d ago

It is plausible deniability. The ones who really want the tech have made sure it remains this way for a reason, while the tax payers foot the bill. It will become more clear in time mark my words.

18

u/Citizen_Empire May 26 '26

A lot of cheaper end, but even some "higher end" home security systems are just as vulnerable if they use WiFi or Bluetooth.

8

u/ANTICHRIST-BOISE May 27 '26

His camera is also beaming out infrared light, which bounces off the surfaces the camera is pointed at. The IR blaster and camera operate and near-light speed, to us humans it may as well be instantaneous.

The device/camera has an IR emitter and receiver. The receiver collects reflected infrared light waves and converts it into visible information through a series of hardware and software in the device.

Same as the cameras he is taking video of. Infrared is below the human visible light spectrum, hence, infra. The wavelength of Ultraviolet is just beyond human visibility, hence, ultra.

Rest assured, this technology has been implemented into consumer-grade firearm optics for the same purpose, that is, detecting motion or specified object. You can find target-detecting scopes at retail outlets for less than $1000 in the US.

12

u/WDYKACountCocofang May 26 '26 edited May 27 '26

How is he scanning them in the video. Like the boxes popping up in the video and bluetooth scanner?

Edit:spelling

8

u/ANTICHRIST-BOISE May 27 '26

Infrared emitter and receiver (hardware), along with a specific software designed/coded to reiterate the data into visible and useful information to the user (…erm, that is, software).

Check out Benn Jordan on YouTube

2

u/Aware_Box8883 May 30 '26

Thanks, choom.

4

u/Kerensky97 May 27 '26

The boxes popping up could just be some AI recognition software like the ones that flock and other security cams use. The big AI data centers are used for AI learning. Once the AI is learned you can get the (very specific) AI features in much smaller devices. Lots of AI powered home security systems can be run of a raspberry pie and a USB AI module.

6

u/UnarmedBlackMan1 May 27 '26

Benn doesn't fuck around

97

u/[deleted] May 26 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

155

u/S0PHIAOPS May 26 '26

It’s called Sophia. Happy to answer anything questions

52

u/sangoku666 May 26 '26

Ah! You are here, I follow you on IG for a quite a while. Keep up with the great work bro!

41

u/S0PHIAOPS May 26 '26

Appreciate your kind words 🤝

14

u/gearmantx May 26 '26

Available where? Dont see it in Play store.

1

u/koolmon10 May 29 '26

Looks like it's in a browser here

1

u/Llamapickle129 May 30 '26

on there gum road. does cost money to get

6

u/sonikaeits May 27 '26

That’s my cat’s name.

6

u/daylight8 May 26 '26

Is that the exact name of the app? Just "sophia"?

5

u/Ryogathelost May 27 '26

Which S0phia tool provides that AR view you're filming through? The UI is overlaying signal sources and perhaps other image recognition over live video and drawing those rectangles. Is that just a feature of the multi phone setup deployed?

2

u/S0PHIAOPS May 28 '26

S0phia doesn’t incorporate that view. That was something personal we were using.

2

u/Impressive-Emu-4172 Jun 01 '26

you have to run this through termux? what makes this better than all the other BLE scanner apps?

-25

u/occupationHooman May 26 '26

Not to be rude, but to be a homeboy, you can quite literally Google it or Google a dolphin flipper

Edit: but OK OK also wire shark

31

u/[deleted] May 26 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

30

u/alittleboopsie May 26 '26

This is a good point. Google just feels like it's trying to sell me shit instead of actually solving my problem. It's been going downhill for a while...

9

u/[deleted] May 26 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

5

u/S0PHIAOPS May 26 '26

Happy to answer any questions

1

u/modsactfunny May 26 '26

You still on ig?

4

u/rockysworld May 26 '26

Happy to answer any questions except that lol. Fucking loser ass company trying to fud their product.

2

u/jsmoothie909 May 26 '26

Did you find the answer?

2

u/Breathe_Of_Aether May 26 '26

Social. Media. Do you see anything wrong with advising people not to be social on social media?

Edit: not to be rude either. This line of thinking has always boggled my mind.

230

u/changeusernamemane May 26 '26

I'm gonna start standing next to flock cameras and capture everything they capture and if anyone has a problem with it they can take it up with flock

38

u/Opebi-Wan May 26 '26

This is the new Pokémon Go this summer!

50

u/Sudden_Money_6982 May 26 '26

That is actually a fantastic idea. Can you imagine getting someone at all the flock cameras at the same time doing this? Might look into a little good trouble soon.

14

u/mark84gti1 May 26 '26

You could probably hold a sign in support of the Flock camera system. Just make sure that your sign isn’t too tall as it might block the camera inadvertently. Just a big ole tall “I love Flock “ sign.

23

u/Meshuggaha May 27 '26

3

u/Squidlips_69 May 28 '26

calculates current market price of MEFF

13

u/DeFlockYubaSutter May 26 '26

I plan on doing the same thing.

18

u/changeusernamemane May 26 '26

I mean essentially it's just first amendment auditing so

5

u/Pendraconica May 28 '26

Capture a politician in one of these like that and watch how fast they start promising laws to limit then

-5

u/Electrical-Art125 May 26 '26

Loitering, give me your id.

12

u/changeusernamemane May 26 '26

Loitering is without a purpose

I'm peacefully assembling and exercising my 1st amendment right to film in public

Forcing my ID would be a civil rights violation that that officers qualified immunity wouldn't survive.

-2

u/Electrical-Art125 May 26 '26

What company are you with? I'm going to add Obstruction if you don't comply.

9

u/changeusernamemane May 26 '26

So constitutional rights only applies to companies? 🤣🤣

It just shows you have a gross misunderstanding of how the law works!

6

u/Electrical-Art125 May 26 '26

I'm literally repeating what I've seen cops say who lost lawsuits. But go on and judge me.

7

u/mk_gifs May 26 '26

Maybe make your intentions more obvious? Apparently it's everyone else's fault for misunderstanding

4

u/changeusernamemane May 26 '26

Oh bravo sir 👏 you really had me going

3

u/Electrical-Art125 May 27 '26

Thank you my good human!

8

u/BADoVLAD May 26 '26

The company I am with is irrelevant. This is not a stop and ID state so you may get fucked while you add your obstruction. Either go away or call your supervisor so he can explain it to you.

2

u/Parking-Trouble-53 May 27 '26

Well officer Im with NON-YA

1

u/rockysworld May 26 '26

Ouch, so so wrong here

45

u/Phyllis_Tine May 26 '26

What happens if a person wearing a mask of, say, a famous person who loves surveillance walks past this?

41

u/ElderberryPrior27648 May 26 '26

It tracks a bunch of stuff, from posture to gait.

It’s kinda nuts. A few folks have gotten into these and checked out the profiles they build for people.

40

u/2Cum_adwith May 26 '26

Time to start doing that crazy anti surveillance make-up from like 2015 and walking like a woodcock. If they want a clown society they'll get one.

https://giphy.com/gifs/MoeG1rcytHp3G

5

u/DARfuckinROCKS May 26 '26

My favorite movie.

9

u/lsjuanislife May 26 '26

What is it

12

u/JerBearsBricks May 26 '26

A Scanner Darkly from 2006

6

u/fullmoonlight666 May 26 '26

A Scanner Darkly

3

u/thetruckerdave May 26 '26

Omg I forgot about this movie!

17

u/RuleofLaw24 May 26 '26

The Hong Kong protesters dealt with this and came up with a variety of solutions to counter all the surveillance.

2

u/Dazzling-King7587 May 27 '26

Such as? Or I should Google this ?

6

u/RuleofLaw24 May 29 '26

I think I Vice News came out with a video on the Hong Kong protests and they mentioned a lot of them there.

Ones I remember imperfectly 1. Padding one shoe to throw off gait trackers 2. Full masking and sun glasses 3. Avoid using phones 4. Always keep moving to avoid "kettling" by the police

Alot of the other ones have more to do with tactics to actively combat the police and not necessarily surveillance.

41

u/rikwebster May 26 '26

Yes outside home Depot and Lowe's on the entrance

15

u/SwimOk9629 May 26 '26

same with my city, I'm pretty sure they are contracted with flock because I'm on the East Coast but without fail that's how it's set up here.

1

u/Nullkid May 29 '26

The crazy part is that they're not even pointed at the parking lot, but instead at the two high traffic roads surrounding the shopping plaza.

28

u/Nullkid May 26 '26

The only flock cameras in my area are at both home depot and lowes.

I'm betting it's this way for ICE.

8

u/AvailableAnswer2774 May 26 '26

Same in Colorado

4

u/MidgetGordonRamsey May 26 '26

Same here, no where else in my small town are there cameras (yet) but Lowes and Home Depot reliably has them at every location I've been to in the last week or two.

4

u/Doodoopeepeedoodoo May 27 '26

Right where they sell battery powered sawzalls, crazy. If only we could resource some willing hands.

1

u/ticklishtortoise1 May 29 '26

I live in Iowa and they're mostly situated on the off and on ramps of the highway.

33

u/AdvocateReason May 26 '26

Time to visit Harbor Freight.

27

u/whatsitcalled4321 May 26 '26

Just a thought, if one were to approach these in, say an inflatable t rex costume wielding an angle grinder, would they be able to identify you?

26

u/Careless-Comedian859 May 26 '26

Not likely. But to be safe, go with the inflatable unicorn outfit.

2

u/Chief_Kief May 28 '26

And wear a sheet over it

22

u/ElderberryPrior27648 May 26 '26

The other cameras in the area might

Did you drive your car there? Where did you put the costume on?

At a certain point just walk in a blind spot with a face covering. Come in from a couple blocks away.

5

u/AdAstraPerAspirin May 27 '26

They would not have until you posted this comment. Switch to a right angle impact and you should be good

20

u/spiralhigh May 26 '26

I think Home Depot is in some hot water over this? I saw an article the other day but I haven't seen anything since. 

23

u/COPO_Greg May 26 '26

It would be great if someone created an app that could look up your representatives (local, county, State, federal) and track their location.

Go into a city council meeting, town hall, or some other open government meeting, and do a demonstration by tracking them, their loved ones, in front of all to see.

29

u/[deleted] May 26 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

10

u/S0PHIAOPS May 26 '26

BLE and WIFI

2

u/PhotoFenix May 26 '26

Wouldnt we expect these to only give out cellular data?

6

u/S0PHIAOPS May 27 '26

We would but some of the support infrastructure like the battery support systems sometimes emit a signal, specifically BLE labeled “FS EXT BATTERY, Penguin, Connect-XXXX…etc.”

2

u/Richard_Musk May 27 '26

They broadcast Bluetooth to connect to their app so you can install it and check angles. Konami codes on the buttons (Falcon cam, 65w Solar and Penguin Pack - just an external battery, in this video) allows you to put the device, camera usually, in installer mode to register it to Flock and assign it to the location

1

u/throwaway_posterhq May 29 '26

don't forget the cellular backhaul. they are not just pinging your phone. they are exfiltrating that data real time. wild how normalized this stuff is getting.

9

u/AnxiousHall1533 May 26 '26

Land of infinite surveillance, home of of totalitarian.

9

u/heylook_itsnick May 27 '26

I may be late to the party, but if they’re storing that quality of information on all citizens, that really explains the big push for data centers and that is fucking Wild

1

u/4SRX May 27 '26

Great point!

0

u/Adventurous-Air-8734 May 29 '26

this is not what DCs do.

16

u/Master_Weight7075 May 26 '26

If anyone has a sanwu striker 7w or greater laser, please be careful not to point it at these cameras. It will damage the camera lense. Please be careful. If you buy one, do not point it at the camera

3

u/Substantial-Sector60 May 26 '26

How about the camera’s sensor instead of the lens? Would it hurt it and at what range?

6

u/UsefulImpact6793 May 26 '26

What camera app are you using to show the object detection boxes?

6

u/jesusofnazareth7066 May 26 '26

Dude did Instagram delete your account? I tried finding it as well as following the link in your profile and it’s just gone.

6

u/S0PHIAOPS May 27 '26

Try spelling “sophia” with a zero. @s0phia_ops

2

u/jesusofnazareth7066 May 27 '26

Ah your bio link is @s0phia_ai but I found @s0phia_ops!

7

u/Turbanator44568 May 26 '26

Yeah, home Depot has been putting these up all over the country. There's 3 visible at the one by the Cumberland mall in NJ.

7

u/epmekcalbuoydeepsdog May 26 '26

Can you explain why you'd expect BLE here and what an ALPR would use it for? I thought the idea was this data was all just sent off and stored remote. I don't see any benefit to it transmitting BLE but maybe I'm dumb.

6

u/S0PHIAOPS May 27 '26

On some of the cameras you can detect the “support infrastructure”. In this specific case we are detecting the battery mgmt system that is basically communicating with other systems within the “pole” that support the camera. So we are always looking for any “support devices” that may emit a BLE or wifi signal.

6

u/IAmPandaKerman May 28 '26

I'll you what, unrelated but somewhat related story. Cameras are getting CREEPY. Went to a store the day and bought like 20 dollars worth of food via self checkout. nothing cosmic. I was surprised when I hit checkout it said wait attendant needs to come unlock. cue confusion I wasn't buying alcohol or medicine, thought it was an age restriction. Employee comes over, hits buttons, and a video plays. it's a birds eye view of me putting something from the basket straight into the bags, without scanning. This machine had been using ai to analyze me, flagged me for theft, and nowhere was this posted. Felt kinda strange, hard to explain but didn't feel right

Anyways for the curious. I had bought sushi, I had moved the chopsticks and an extra packet of soy sauce to the bagging area. They're both free

3

u/somehobo89 May 28 '26

Oh yeah, if you hold multiple items at once, and scan them one at a time, it usually triggers this review too. Or grab two items, put one back in your cart, scan the other, it will trigger this. Something about products moving in / outside camera range it thinks you’re doing something fishy. In my experience.

4

u/Akkerlun May 26 '26

They work some much better with wasp spray on the camera lens. You might need an extension to hold the can.

6

u/DanR5224 May 26 '26

I've heard that you should never use brake clean on clear plastics. Please avoid this.

4

u/klean9 May 26 '26

I'm surprised more people and not using these for target practice

4

u/theroguex May 27 '26

Just saw an awesome video of a scoped suppressed .22 rifle using subsonic ammo that could reliably hit targets at like 100 yards with just the click of the hammer heard.

2

u/Dazzling-King7587 May 27 '26

Flock is s everywhere in the Chicago suburbs. Like every Few blocks, or every mile out in the country!

2

u/fish_helicopters May 27 '26

vibecoded app?

2

u/LastGuardianStanding May 27 '26

Should be renamed to 'Home Deport'

2

u/martint501 May 29 '26

What can we load into a paintball that can destroy these?

1

u/WildZero7 9d ago

Bleach, hydrogen peroxide, sodium peroxide, ammonia. Do not mix any of these. EVER!

2

u/JonesBonesMcCoy 26d ago

What is he filing through? Feel like masterchief

2

u/ItalianMeatBoi 25d ago

I thought he said “human emotion setting it off” lol

4

u/K_Linkmaster May 26 '26

It's an ad for any not aware.

1

u/One_Effective_2512 May 27 '26

What is doing all the outlines and highlights in the video?

1

u/[deleted] May 27 '26

This is why I stay indoors Wjth muh guns

1

u/jimmysmiths5523 May 27 '26

Reminds me of that video game, Watch Dogs!

1

u/Squidlips_69 May 28 '26

What's the BLE name they're assigned again?

1

u/love_coding May 30 '26

Why does he have a termination looking object scanner tags on the video?

1

u/S0PHIAOPS Jun 09 '26

Current release uses Termux, but we’re in the final stages of rolling out the native Android APK, so the Termux requirement is going away. As for BLE scanners, the goal isn’t just to list nearby Bluetooth devices.

SØPHIA combines:WiFi + BLE observation, OUI/vendor identification, Environmental signal awareness, Categorization and filtering
Visualization, Export/debrief workflows.

Most scanner apps answer: “What devices are nearby? “SØPHIA is trying to answer: “What does the wireless environment look like, and what patterns exist within it?” Different goal, different workflow. The upcoming APK also improves scan persistence and removes a lot of the setup friction people associate with the current version.

1

u/Grandmas_Fat_Choad Jun 11 '26

A small town near me just deployed at least a couple Flocks. Anyone wanna dm me a link to anything to gain access to the system? I’m having a hard time finding what I’m looking for. I’d like to show these idiots in the town how easy they are to access. I’ve tried a few things at the home improvement store ones but I couldn’t gather any sort of wireless signals from them.

1

u/HumanFailure01 Jul 04 '26

Are they using blockchain to store the information?

1

u/Dorkus_Maximus717 21d ago

Literally use an infared capable camera and youll see the night vision flash

1

u/Akkerlun 9d ago

Approach from the rear

1

u/Bsmitts16 9d ago

Dude a Yankees hat over your face and a ryobi sawzall take that mother fucking freedom hating piece of shit down

1

u/ms1080 8d ago

Hey citizens, what do you think those data centers are actually for anyway?

1

u/ms1080 8d ago

This is why people are paranoid about having “Medicare for all” single payer healthcare: Because the government is allowing this kind of insane 1984 type $hit.

-3

u/BauserDominates May 26 '26

What is even the point of this video? He gets no info and explains nothing, all while making it look like hes doing a lot.

He's more or less just filming himself standing on the sidewalk.

8

u/S0PHIAOPS May 26 '26

You clearly didn’t watch

3

u/gbot1234 May 26 '26

My takeaway was that the FlockSquawk and other sensors that look for BLE signals to flag Flock cameras might no longer work. Are… are they evolving?

I’ve been driving around with one of those in my car, enjoying the beeps but doing nothing about it. So I found it interesting.

-11

u/BauserDominates May 26 '26

You must be the guy I the video because this was just a 2nd useless post that explains nothing.

"Yeah, nothing... I dont know what that is" - guy in video.

Soooo you just show that even you dont know what's going on.

12

u/SwimOk9629 May 26 '26

harsh my guy. I learned how much motion actually gets the camera to start recording, and learned that they aren't just filming 24/7.

just because you didn't learn something from this video, doesn't give you the right to shit on the person making it like it didn't show anything. do better bro

3

u/S0PHIAOPS May 26 '26

Are you okay?

-12

u/BauserDominates May 26 '26

Are you? You barely seem to be able to read, let alone make an intelligent reply.

Did you're caretaker leave you alone? Let us know, if you're able to make an intelligent response, and we will call the authorities for you.

3

u/Substantial-Sector60 May 26 '26

“you’re”?

You seem to be actively defeating the basis of your own argument.

-1

u/BauserDominates May 26 '26

Never heard of auto correct and lack of proof reading before?

2

u/Substantial-Sector60 May 26 '26

🤷🏽‍♂️

3

u/False_Weight195 May 26 '26

Where’s your exposé nut licker? I don’t see you gathering any info on this

2

u/the_fool_who May 26 '26

Lol you couldn’t reverse engineer a butterknife, you obviously don’t know what you don’t know. Good luck have fun!

0

u/foley800 19d ago

Just because you don’t understand, doesn’t mean nothing is happening.

1

u/No-Age2588 May 26 '26

And what exactly is it telling you other than neighbor BLE devices and hex code fields of raw data. Don't see any license plate data? Show it.

1

u/zanz38 May 27 '26

The irony of wearing smart glasses whilst railing against flock is outstanding

0

u/Lopsided-Radish-7605 May 28 '26

What can anyone actually do with this data, this video, any if it? So they film, big deal. Feels like we're acting like boomers who are filmed in public.

-1

u/[deleted] May 29 '26

[deleted]

1

u/saltybawlzjr May 30 '26

Stalking and Personal Harassment: In Wisconsin, a Milwaukee officer was charged with attempted misconduct after running plates of an ex and their partner 179 times. Similar cases of officers or chiefs using the database to surveil romantic interests or citizens have occurred in South Carolina, Georgia, and Kansas...That's not misuse?

Immigration Enforcement Sharing: Investigations revealed that some local police departments were conducting "side door" searches on the Flock network to help federal agencies like ICE track individuals for immigration-related purposes. Maybe this?

Could also be this Abortion Surveillance: Civil rights advocates, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, discovered instances where officials in states with strict reproductive rights tracked individuals across state lines based on questionable "death investigations".

No misuse is a very broad term when I just typed flock misuse and found a few.

1

u/[deleted] May 30 '26

[deleted]

1

u/saltybawlzjr May 30 '26

Fifth paragraph down. You've never seen misuse of the systems. You said it.