Comparison

Flock Safety vs Flocklight

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Flock Safety

This app provides law enforcement and security personnel with real-time alerts and insights. It offers instant License Plate Recognition and audio detection, along with tools for vehicle lookup and hot list verification. The app ensures users receive critical information precisely when they need it, tailored to their duty shifts and locations.

Highlights
  • Real-time LPR alerts
  • Real-time audio detection alerts
  • License plate lookup
  • Shift mode for duty-specific alerts
  • Notifications by radius
  • Hot list verification via image upload
Features
Read full description

Flock Safety empowers officers and security personnel to be at their best, wherever duty takes them. In a job where precision and timeliness are paramount, the Flock Safety mobile app delivers quick, reliable information to stay a step ahead. Get instant LPR (License Plate Recognition) and audio insights, specifically tailored to your location and shift timings. No more outdated information; get the data you need, right when you need it. Real-Time Hot List Alerts: Receive immediate, clear images of vehicles and their plates, ensuring rapid and accurate identification of vehicles of interest. Real-Time Audio Detection Alerts: Instantly access and replay crime-related audio clips such as gunshots or sideshow sounds, pinpointing the exact location directly within the app for timely response. License Plate Lookup: Gain quick access to vital information with our efficient license plate lookup. Know more about a vehicle of interest from the convenience of your mobile device. What else you can do with Flock Safety: • Shift Mode: Ensure that critical alerts reach you only when you're on duty. Stay focused, stay informed. • Notifications by Radius: Select the distance to be alerted by, so that no matter where you go, the alerts you receive are pertinent and actionable while you are on shift. • Hot List Verification via Image Upload: Snap. Upload. Confirm. Eliminate guesswork by simply taking a photo of a vehicle to determine its relevance to ongoing investigations.

About

Flocklight

This app maps automated license plate readers (ALPRs) in public spaces across American cities. It aggregates data from various sources to show who is watching and where, providing transparency into surveillance networks. Users can view camera details, city rankings, and receive news updates.

Highlights
  • Tactical map of ALPRs
  • Perimeter view of cameras within 2 miles
  • Detailed operator dossiers
  • Transparency Index for US cities
  • Curated ALPR news feed
  • Anonymous user accounts
  • Pro features for advanced tracking
Features
Read full description

Flocklight maps the automated license plate readers watching public streets in American cities. Flock Safety cameras, police plate readers, and the agencies running them, on one tactical map. The grid of license plate cameras around you was deployed quietly, with little public debate and few transparency requirements. Flocklight aggregates publicly available data from OpenStreetMap, DeFlock, and public-records sources to put every reported ALPR on a single map, so the people being watched can see who is watching. KEY FEATURES TACTICAL MAP: Every reported ALPR in your area, with operator attribution (Flock Safety, government, HOA, business, unknown) and visual indication of community-verified vs. public-records sources. CLOSEST CAMERA LOCK: The nearest camera is marked automatically with a target reticle that follows you as you move. A strip names it, tells you how far it is, which way to look, and what it is there to do. PERIMETER VIEW: See every camera within a 2-mile radius of your location, sorted by distance and bearing. Tap any pin for the full operator dossier. OPERATOR DOSSIER: Detailed profile for every camera: type, source, intersection, operator identity, data-sharing posture, policy status, and cross-references to partner transparency projects (DeFlock, LPR Maps, DontGetFlocked, GhostPlate). TRANSPARENCY INDEX: 743 US cities graded A through F on five policy and oversight metrics. See how your city ranks, what drives its grade, and how it has changed over time. SIGNAL FEED: Curated stream of ALPR-related news, court rulings, council votes, and policy changes. Filtered for signal, not noise. PLATE CHECK: Cross-reference a license plate against partner transparency projects to see what other community indices have documented. REPORT A CAMERA: Found a camera not on the map? Submit a report with photo and location. Approved reports go into the Flocklight community registry. ANONYMOUS BY DESIGN: Sign in with Apple to claim an anonymous operator callsign. Your real name and email stay private. Reports and watchlist sync across devices without tying anything to your identity. FLOCKLIGHT PRO Upgrade to Pro for the operator-grade transparency console: EXPOSURE DASHBOARD: Track how many ALPRs have captured you over the past 7 days, 30 days, or lifetime. CITY WATCHLIST: Pin cities, get notified when grades shift, and see policy votes as they happen. COMPARE CITIES: Side-by-side scoring, camera density, and agency-sharing breakdown. ADVANCED PROXIMITY ALERTS: Everyone gets the basic alert. Pro adds perimeter tuning, operator class filtering, quiet hours, and refire control. FOIA DEADLINE TRACKING: Filing is free. Pro arms the statutory countdown and reminds you two days out, on the deadline, and when an agency runs late. WEEKLY TACTICAL BRIEFING: Sunday evening digest of your week's captures, your hottest camera, and watched-city moves. - Monthly: $4.99 / month - Yearly: $29.99 / year + includes 7-day free trial WHY THIS EXISTS Mass automated surveillance is being deployed in American neighborhoods faster than the public can audit it. Flocklight is built so you do not need a FOIA lawyer to know what is pointed at your street. All camera data is publicly sourced. We do not track individuals, and we do not store license plate reads. Currently focused on US cities with population over 50,000. LEGAL Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://flocklight.io/privacy Terms of Service: https://flocklight.io/termsofservice

Screenshots

Flock Safety4 screens
Flocklight4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Flock Safety at 4.9 against Flocklight's 3.0. Flock Safety also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ratings volume (7.7K vs 8). Flocklight's advantage is update cadence (every 3 days vs fortnightly). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Flocklight sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Flock Safety asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Flock Safety holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Flock Safety has 7.7K ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 57% of Flock Safety's written reviews are positive against 33% of Flocklight's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Flock Safety ships an update fortnightly, Flocklight every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Flock Safety versus Flocklight: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFlock SafetyFlocklight
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (7.7K ratings) — better3.0 (8 ratings)
Positive reviews56.7% of reviews — better33.3% of reviews
Number of ratings7.7K — better8
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size175 MB49 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developerflock group incDylan Capshaw

Customer experience

Flock Safety

All ratings7,685 ratings
Positive98.5%
Neutral1.2%
Negative0.4%
Written reviews30 reviews
Positive56.7%
Neutral3.3%
Negative40.0%

Flocklight

All ratings8 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative66.7%

Bugs and requests

Flock Safety

Reported bugs

1 issue
  • No way to hotlist a vehicle through the app

Requested features

4 requests
  • Option to input miss-reads
  • Ability to change alert types from app
  • Suppress hit option
  • Search by vehicle description

Flocklight

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Flock Safety

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Flocklight

Subscriptions2
  • Flocklight Pro Monthly3 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Flocklight Pro Yearly7 Days trial$29.991 Year

Questions

Is Flock Safety free?
Flock Safety is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Flocklight free?
Flocklight is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Flock Safety or Flocklight?
Flock Safety is rated higher. Flock Safety averages 4.9 out of 5 from 7.7K ratings, while Flocklight averages 3.0 from 8 ratings.
Do Flock Safety or Flocklight have ads?
Neither Flock Safety nor Flocklight shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Flock Safety or Flocklight?
Flock Safety ships an update fortnightly, and Flocklight every 3 days. Most recently, Flock Safety was updated on October 14, 2026 and Flocklight on September 25, 2026.

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