{"id":15253011,"date":"2026-08-12T18:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/flock-tried-to-turn-uber-and-lyft-drivers-into-roaming-surveillance-assets\/"},"modified":"2026-08-13T08:33:45","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T12:33:45","slug":"flock-tried-to-turn-uber-and-lyft-drivers-into-roaming-surveillance-assets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/flock-tried-to-turn-uber-and-lyft-drivers-into-roaming-surveillance-assets\/","title":{"rendered":"Flock Tried To Turn Uber and Lyft Drivers Into Roaming Surveillance Assets"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media-component sl-media js-media-component js-pin-data sl-element sl-significant-element\" id=\"element-191623\" data-pin-params=\"{&quot;url_to_share&quot;:null,&quot;utm_medium&quot;:null,&quot;utm_campaign&quot;:null,&quot;utm_media&quot;:9859276,&quot;utm_syndication_post&quot;:null,&quot;path&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/cdn-fastly.thetruthaboutcars.com\/media\/2026\/08\/12\/13591\/media.jpg&quot;}\">\n<div class=\"rs-photo-wrap js-media-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"media-wrap js-media-wrap js-pin-item relative sl-photo-wrap\" style=\"max-width:min(100%, 720px);aspect-ratio: 1.5\">\n<div class=\"socials flex js-social-btn\">\n                    <a class=\"button float-button share-button sb-button sb-facebook js-fb-share\" data-ht-track=\"Share Facebook Overlay\" aria-label=\"Share on Facebook\"><br \/>\n                        <span class=\"si-facebook\"><\/span><br \/>\n                    <\/a><br \/>\n    <a class=\"button float-button share-button sb-button sb-pinterest js-pin-button js-no-pintack hidden sl-pinterest-button\" data-allowed-for-syndication=\"0\" data-ht-track=\"Share Pinterest Overlay\" aria-label=\"Pin this photo\"><br \/>\n        <span class=\"si-pinterest\"><\/span><br \/>\n    <\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                    <img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"flock tried to turn uber and lyft drivers into roaming surveillance assets\" class=\"sl-post-image sl-syndication-image media-item-track\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn-fastly.thetruthaboutcars.com\/media\/2026\/08\/12\/13591\/media.jpg?size=720x845&amp;nocrop=1\" width=\"720\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.5\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n                    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-block sl-post-text sl-paragraph sl-element sl-significant-element\" id=\"element-191617\">\n<p>As if ridesharing apps haven&#8217;t been detrimental enough to other road users\u2014your Uber driver\u2019s dashcam almost became a roving government snitch.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>According to a pitch presentation obtained via a public records request and reported by <i> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.404media.co\/flock-pitched-a-plan-to-turn-uber-and-lyft-drivers-into-roaming-surveillance-vehicles\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">404 Media<\/a><\/i>, in a bid to become ever more popular with the general public, Flock drew up plans to co-opt roughly 350,000 rideshare and delivery vehicles into mobile license plate readers. <\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>The scheme relied on an alleged partnership with dashcam maker Nexar, whose cameras are already strapped to the windshields of hundreds of thousands of Uber, Lyft, and other gig drivers. <\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>Instead of relying solely on fixed cameras mounted on street poles\u2014which have increasingly become targets for vandalism by the disgruntled\u2014Flock&#8217;s grand vision involved turning traffic into a rolling dragnet. Every time a gig driver pulled up to a red light or dropped off a dinner order, their Nexar camera would passively log the license plate, make, model, and color of every surrounding vehicle, feeding that data directly into Flock\u2019s regional surveillance network. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"media-component sl-media js-media-component js-pin-data sl-element sl-significant-element\" id=\"element-191626\" data-pin-params=\"{&quot;url_to_share&quot;:null,&quot;utm_medium&quot;:null,&quot;utm_campaign&quot;:null,&quot;utm_media&quot;:9859270,&quot;utm_syndication_post&quot;:null,&quot;path&quot;:&quot;2026\/08\/12\/13581.jpg&quot;}\">\n<div class=\"rs-photo-wrap js-media-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"media-wrap js-media-wrap js-pin-item relative sl-photo-wrap\" style=\"max-width:min(100%, 720px);aspect-ratio: 1.46\">\n<div class=\"socials flex js-social-btn\">\n                    <a class=\"button float-button share-button sb-button sb-facebook js-fb-share\" data-ht-track=\"Share Facebook Overlay\" aria-label=\"Share on Facebook\"><br \/>\n                        <span class=\"si-facebook\"><\/span><br \/>\n                    <\/a><br \/>\n    <a class=\"button float-button share-button sb-button sb-pinterest js-pin-button js-no-pintack hidden sl-pinterest-button\" data-allowed-for-syndication=\"0\" data-ht-track=\"Share Pinterest Overlay\" aria-label=\"Pin this photo\"><br \/>\n        <span class=\"si-pinterest\"><\/span><br \/>\n    <\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                    <img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"flock tried to turn uber and lyft drivers into roaming surveillance assets\" class=\"sl-post-image sl-syndication-image media-item-track\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn-fastly.thetruthaboutcars.com\/media\/2026\/08\/12\/13581\/flock-tried-to-turn-uber-and-lyft-drivers-into-roaming-surveillance-assets.jpg?size=720x845&amp;nocrop=1\" width=\"720\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.46\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n                    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-block sl-post-text sl-paragraph sl-element sl-significant-element\" id=\"element-191620\">\n<p>The pitch document, originally presented to the Georgia Office of the Attorney General, touted the prospective Nexar deal alongside hundreds of commercial and HOA clients already on Flock\u2019s platform. What remains entirely unclear is whether Uber, Lyft, or the drivers themselves would have ever been notified that their personal vehicles were functioning as rolling automatic license plate readers. <\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>Flock insists the partnership with Nexar was never actually executed. But the fact that the company actively marketed a network of 350,000 unwitting civilian spotters to state officials reveals exactly where commercial surveillance is heading. Similar schemes are already trickling into the public sector; bus-safety firm BusPatrol recently outlined plans to turn school bus stop-arm cameras into ALPR systems accessible by law enforcement.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>Whether rideshare companies actively shut the deal down or simply haven\u2019t found the right price tag yet remains an open question, but one thing is clear: <i>everyone<\/i> is a person of interest now. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"inmi-source\">Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutcars.com\/cars\/news-blog\/flock-tried-to-turn-uber-and-lyft-drivers-into-roaming-surveillance-assets-45136066?utm_medium=auto&amp;utm_source=rss&amp;utm_campaign=all_full\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Autos \u2013 The Truth About Cars<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As if ridesharing apps haven&#039;t been detrimental enough to other road users&mdash;your Uber driver&rsquo;s dashcam almost became a roving government snitch.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15253013,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[219],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15253011","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-autos"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/15253011-media.webp",720,845,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/15253011-media-300x352.webp",300,352,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/15253011-media-620x728.webp",620,728,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/15253011-media.webp",720,845,false],"large":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/15253011-media.webp",720,845,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/15253011-media.webp",720,845,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/15253011-media.webp",720,845,false],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/15253011-media-720x665.webp",720,665,true],"ignition_item":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/15253011-media-670x446.webp",670,446,true],"ignition_item_lg":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/15253011-media.webp",720,845,false],"ignition_article_media":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/15253011-media-510x510.webp",510,510,true],"ignition_minicart_item":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/15253011-media-160x160.webp",160,160,true],"profile_24":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/15253011-media-24x24.webp",24,24,true],"profile_48":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/15253011-media-48x48.webp",48,48,true],"profile_96":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/15253011-media-96x96.webp",96,96,true],"profile_150":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/15253011-media-150x150.webp",150,150,true],"profile_300":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/15253011-media-300x300.webp",300,300,true]},"author_info":{"display_name":"news.iNthacity","author_link":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/author\/atombo\/"},"category_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/articles\/autos\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Autos<\/a>","tag_info":"Autos","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15253011","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15253011"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15253011\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15253012,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15253011\/revisions\/15253012"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15253013"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15253011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15253011"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15253011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}