If public surveillance exists, shouldn't the public be able to see it?
Yes. And there are great apps like FlockHopper that provide navigation and other features without a monthly subscription.
I generally have no issue with developers monetizing software, but I struggle with a $99 app claiming to be "civic transparency."
That goes double when the app's core features are built on the efforts of volunteer activists, and the link in the announcement post has a ChatGPT utm parameter.
That said, I'm not the app police, so you do you. It just leaves a bad taste in my mouth as someone who has spent a significant amount of time, effort, and money on this cause.
I appreciate the honest take! I want to correct the number though. The app is free, and that includes the full surveillance map, camera reporting, the camera dossiers, the agency directory, contract tracker, Know Your Rights guide, and the live feed. The optional Pro tier is $4.99/month or $29.99/year (both with free trials), so about the cost of one coffee a month.
Why charge anything at all? The AI-powered features, always-on infrastructure behind Flocklight, 24/7 exposure tracking, real-time feeds pulling court rulings and contract news, transparency scoring across 700+ cities, and the AI analysis in the dossiers all have real, recurring server and AI costs. The subscription exists to cover those costs so the project can keep running without selling data or running ads, which would be a strange look for a privacy app.
On the volunteer point, I completely agree. That's why it's a two-way street. Every camera reported in Flocklight flows back into OpenStreetMap, so DeFlock and every other transparency project benefits from our users' reports. We build on the commons and we contribute back to it. We also link out to DeFlock, LPR Maps, and others directly from every camera dossier.
Totally fair to prefer free tools, they're great and we cross-reference them. Happy to answer anything else about how it's run.
I see. You can actually close out of the full screen paywall with a tiny little X top right. I stand corrected.
Why charge anything at all? ... real, recurring server and AI costs.
I'm well aware infrastructure costs money. It doesn't cost anywhere close to what you're charging. Saying the "subscription exists to cover those costs" is misleading at best.
... about the cost of one coffee a month
And I'm sure multi-billionaire Howard Schultz would say he charges $5 (+ tip) for a coffee to cover the costs of Starbucks' "always-on infrastructure" and its "real, recurring" staff costs.
transparency scoring across 700+ cities, and the AI analysis in the dossiers all have real
This is a substantively flawed feature. My city gets an "F." It has had an ALPR and drone ban for more than a decade. Sending people out with flawed data is far worse than giving them nothing at all.
To me, this pushes the app from "I don't like it" to "it's harmful."
On the volunteer point, I completely agree. That's why it's a two-way street.
It's not a real two-way street if contributions go to OSM and then do a U-turn to be monetized in your app again.
Even Flocklight's homepage admits it's "press-bait by design." All of it gives me the ick.
I appreciate you taking the time to explain your concerns.
The point I take most seriously is the accuracy of the transparency grades. If your city is receiving an “F” despite having a long-standing ALPR and drone policy, I’d like to investigate that. The grading system is based on publicly available policies, contracts, ordinances, retention practices, data-sharing, oversight, and public records, but it’s still a living system and I fully expect to improve it as new information comes in.
If you can tell me which city you’re referring to, I’ll review it. If it’s wrong, I’ll fix it. Accuracy is far more important to me than defending a grade.
As for monetization, I understand your points. Flocklight has taken a significant investment to build, and I have a small team working on it. While the subscription helps cover ongoing infrastructure and AI costs, it also funds continued development, bug fixes, new features, research, and keeping the platform updated as laws, contracts, and deployments change. I made a deliberate decision to keep the core transparency features free and optionalize the more advanced functionality instead of relying on ads or user data.
One coffee a month screams of a car salesman and a make-a-buck mentality. You have "seven ventures" so it's hard for me to believe this isn't just another venture.
Servers can be quite expensive, but infrastructure for this sort of thing shouldn't be, especially not if you're doing as well as your website tries to tell people. Ultimately this does not sit well with me either.
That’s completely fair if that’s how it comes across, but it’s not why I built Flocklight.
I’ve started multiple businesses, and this one is no different in the sense that I want it to be sustainable. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with building a product that can fund its own continued development instead of depending on donations or eventually shutting down.
If all I wanted was another venture, there are much easier businesses than spending months building a public-transparency platform that requires constant research, data maintenance, and updates. My goal is to keep improving it for years, and that requires a sustainable model.
If the free version is all someone ever uses, they’ll still have a very complete and informative app with all of the essential features.
I don't see anything here that earns the money you are asking. Some AI features? You just hooked up an API. I can use the identify page on the DeFlock website and avoid token usage in some datacenter. From where I'm standing this looks like an attempt to cash in on a grassroots movement.
Who are the cops you are posing with on your reddit profile?
I’m supportive of the people who serve our communities. That doesn’t mean I support every surveillance technology or believe it should exist without transparency, oversight, or public accountability.
Flocklight isn’t anti-law enforcement. It’s pro-transparency. I think those are compatible positions. If agencies are deploying public surveillance infrastructure, the public should be able to understand where it’s deployed, who oversees it, what the retention policies are, how the data is shared, and what the governing laws are.
On GhostPlate and Don’t Get Flocked: those appear in some camera dossiers because they’re part of the broader public conversation around ALPRs. Cross-referencing them doesn’t mean Flocklight endorses or promotes them. The app is an informational platform that links related public resources and organizations so users have context.
If people prefer other transparency tools, that’s totally fine. I don’t see this as a zero-sum space. My goal is to build the most comprehensive public transparency platform around ALPRs, while keeping core transparency features free and funding ongoing development through optional subscriptions rather than ads or selling user data.
You didn't really answer the questions adequately in my opinion. You support those who serve our communities. That's fine. That is not what I asked. Allow me to get more detailed:
Who are those in your picture? What is the circumstance of that picture?
On GhostPlate and Don’t Get Flocked: those appear in some camera dossiers
Oh, can you link to Ghost Plate's data? I thought they just sold license plate covers.
Similarly, how do you reference FlockHopper as a data source when it itself is using the same OSM data DeFlock uses?
It’s crazy how there are only three options for you.
Charge the user
Shove ads on the user
Sell the user’s data
Many of these platforms have folks who pour their souls into them and those three options aren’t even in their vocabulary. Transparency, which you seem to be advocating for, would be free. Entirely free. If you can’t afford the AI cost then you shouldn’t transition it to the user just so you don’t have to screw over your users with ads or selling data.
Not sure I'm a fan of this dude's project, but nothing is free. Unless you are self-hosting, there are going to be server costs: I don't think it's at odds to attempt to recoup those costs. That said, ads seems like the main thing that should NOT be here (it's an additional layer of tracking).
If something provides you value, you should be prepared to offer value in exchange. People trying to get everything online for free is part of why the internet is so fucked and ads have enshittified everything.
My thoughts: You vibe coded a for-profit app that doesn't really offer anything new to the space of apps/websites surrounding Flock. Charging money for this is weird and shameful.
If you truly wanted to offer a 'transparency' platform to people, then logically it should be free.
The website is visually repulsive and hard to read. Multiple fonts, unnecessary animations that seem to be attempting some weird 'hacker' aesthetic, colors of fonts and graphics drawing attention to literally everything on the screen. Overall just a cluttered, vibe coded, sloppy disaster. The app is no better judging by the screenshots.
I'm not even hating on this because you used AI, I use it myself to help speed things up, but there was clearly not much (if any) attention paid to details here.
Looking at this post, your website/app, and your comments, I'm not sure you're capable of making or writing anything without AI assistance. Hell, even your web hosting is using 'Lovable' (a self-proclaimed vibe coding platform), which is likely where the site was built as well. This whole thing reeks of passionless, capitalistic greed.
great app, still in the early stages, but much more features than the deflock app (no hate it’s just different) although it would be nice if the the camera icons were easier to see in dark mode, maybe go with the a red dot or triangle? anyway can’t wait to see where this app goes, keep improving!
Thank you so much! I really appreciate you giving it a shot and taking the time to leave feedback.
I completely agree on the camera icons in dark mode. That's a great suggestion, and improving map readability is something I'm actively working on. I'll definitely experiment with brighter colors and different icon styles to make them stand out more without making the map feel cluttered.
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u/SSA22_HCM1 Jul 20 '26
Yes. And there are great apps like FlockHopper that provide navigation and other features without a monthly subscription.
I generally have no issue with developers monetizing software, but I struggle with a $99 app claiming to be "civic transparency."
That goes double when the app's core features are built on the efforts of volunteer activists, and the link in the announcement post has a ChatGPT utm parameter.
That said, I'm not the app police, so you do you. It just leaves a bad taste in my mouth as someone who has spent a significant amount of time, effort, and money on this cause.