Flock Safety said it will recommend a seven-day default retention period and add new controls.
Why it matters: The changes land as the company faces mounting scrutiny over how police use its cameras and license plate readers. They could affect customers, civil-liberties groups and lawmakers debating limits on public funding for surveillance tools.
- Flock said on Aug. 13 it will recommend a seven-day default retention period, down from 30 days.
- The company is adding Evidence Mode, Audit Assistance, offense filtering, proactive lockouts and case codes, according to its update.
- Evidence Mode is meant to limit how data is handled in a case, while Audit Assistance is designed to make searches and access easier to review.
- A 2026 House bill, H.R. 9800, would bar federal funds from buying automated surveillance systems and names a Flock Safety camera.
Flock Safety is trying to calm criticism of its surveillance products by shortening how long data is kept by default and adding new controls.
The company said on Aug. 13 that it will recommend a seven-day default retention period, down from 30 days, and add tools it says will tighten access. Flock Safety
Among the changes: Evidence Mode, which is meant to limit how data is handled for a case; Audit Assistance, which is designed to make searches and access easier to review; offense filtering, which narrows searches; and proactive lockouts and case codes, which add more access controls. Flock's legal evidence policy, last updated Jan. 9, 2026, said retention defaulted to 30 days and that longer retention could be approved by an elected official or governing body. Flock Safety
The moves came after CEO Garrett Langley said in a Fox News interview published Aug. 22 that the U.S. should seek compromise between privacy and safety. TechCrunch said the remarks came as backlash grew over how Flock's cameras, drones and license plate recognition tools could be misused. TechCrunch
Pressure also intensified after The Washington Post reported 46 cases in which officers were accused of misusing Flock technology for unauthorized purposes, including stalking partners. The ACLU said the changes may move in the right direction, but warned that the details of Evidence Mode still matter. The Washington Post ACLU
Separately, H.R. 9800 would prohibit federal funds from being used to buy automated surveillance systems that include automatic license plate recognition, facial recognition or biometric identification, explicitly naming a Flock Safety camera. GovInfo
By the numbers
- 7 days - Flock's recommended default retention period, down from 30 days.
- 46 cases - The Washington Post's count of alleged misuse cases involving Flock technology.
Yes, but: Flock is recommending a shorter default retention period, not announcing that all customers are already forced onto it.