Privacy Policy
The short version
Flock Clocker is a public-records transparency tool. We map government surveillance cameras and the public contracts that pay for them, from public records. We are not in the data business about you.
- We do not require an account to use the free map.
- We do not run advertising networks. There are no advertising SDKs in this app.
- We do not run third-party tracking or analytics SDKs in this app.
- We do not build a profile of you, and we do not track you across apps or websites.
- If you give us your email on our website to be notified about your area, we use it only to email you, and you can unsubscribe or have it deleted at any time.
- We never sell, rent, share, broker, or otherwise monetize your location, your saved areas, your searches, or your alert settings. Not in any form. Not aggregated, not anonymized, not ever. This is a permanent commitment, not a current preference.
That last point is the line we built the whole product around. We map a surveillance network. We are not going to become one.
Who we are
This app and the websites at flockclocker.app and flockclocker.com are operated by Crossroads Technologies, LLC ("Flock Clocker," "we," "us"). For any privacy question, write to [email protected], or by mail to Crossroads Technologies, LLC, 110 E Center St, Ste 2053, Madison, SD 57042.
What we collect, and what we do not
Our goal is to collect as little as possible, and to keep most of what makes the app work on your device.
Location (only while the app is open). When you allow it, the app uses your device location to center the map near you. Location is used only while the app is in the foreground. There is no background location, and the app does not follow your movements. To show you the coverage in your area, the app asks our servers for the public records in a general map region (a bounding box around the part of the map you are viewing). We do not store your precise position, and we do not keep a history of where you have been. If you do not grant location permission, the app still works; you can search for any place by name instead.
Address and place searches. When you type a place or address into the search box, that text is sent to a mapping provider to convert it into a location on the map (see "Third parties" below). We use this only to move the map for you. We do not build a search history tied to you.
Saved area and alert settings. If you save an area or set up an alert, that setting is stored so the feature can work. Where possible it is kept on your device. If a feature requires it to be stored on our servers (for example, to send you a push notification when coverage in a saved area changes), it is stored only to deliver that feature to you, it is never sold or shared, and you can delete it by removing the saved area or by writing to [email protected].
Email notifications (the "check your city" signup on flockclocker.com). On our website you can search whether your city or county appears in our public-records index and, if you choose, leave an email address to be notified. When you submit that form we store only your email address and, if you provide them, an optional area (city or county) and an optional role (for example, resident, journalist, attorney, or organization). That is the entire list. We use it for a single purpose: to email you if a new public record appears for your area. We do not use it to advertise to you, we do not profile you, and we never sell, rent, share, or broker it. The signup is stored without any tracking cookie, advertising identifier, IP address, or device fingerprint, and the website sets no third-party analytics or advertising scripts. We keep your email only for as long as you want the notifications: every notification email includes an unsubscribe link, and you can also ask us to delete your email and any associated area or role at any time by writing to [email protected]; we will confirm when it is done.
Subscriptions (if you choose to subscribe). Paid subscriptions are processed by the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store, and our subscription tooling receives a subscriber identifier from the store so we know your subscription is active. This is used only to deliver the features you paid for. It is not used to track you and it is not advertising. We do not receive your full payment card details; the app stores handle billing.
What we do NOT collect. We do not collect your contacts, your photos, your microphone, your device advertising identifier, or a profile of your behavior. There is no advertising SDK and no third-party analytics or tracking SDK in this app.
How the information is used
Only to make the app work for you: to show coverage near you, to run a search, to deliver a saved area or alert you asked for, and to keep a paid subscription active. That is the entire list. We do not use your information to advertise to you, to profile you, or to sell anything about you to anyone.
On your device vs. on our servers
- On your device: your location while the app is open, your map view, and (where the feature allows) your saved area and preferences.
- Sent to our servers: a general map region (a bounding box) so we can return the public records to display, a typed search query when you search, and the minimum needed to deliver an alert or keep a subscription active.
- Not stored by us: your precise position. We do not keep a location history about you.
Sharing, selling, and the red line
We do not sell, rent, share, broker, trade, or otherwise monetize any information about you, including your location, your saved areas, your searches, and your alert settings, in any form, including aggregated or anonymized form, to anyone, for any purpose, ever. We have no advertising network and no data-broker relationships. If we ever receive a lawful legal demand for information, we will respond only as the law requires and only with what we actually hold, which is very little, and we will seek to notify you where we are permitted to.
Third parties (what they receive)
Flock Clocker uses a small number of service providers to draw the map and turn an address into a location. They receive only what is needed to perform that function.
- Map tiles and base map (OpenStreetMap). The base map is built from OpenStreetMap data. Map imagery is served from a tile provider, which by the nature of serving map images receives the map area being viewed and standard request information (such as your IP address) to deliver the tiles. Map data is (c) OpenStreetMap contributors, licensed under the Open Database License (ODbL). See openstreetmap.org/copyright.
- Geocoding / address search (Photon and Nominatim, built on OpenStreetMap). When you search a place by name, the text you type is sent to a geocoding service to return a location. It receives the search text and standard request information. We do not attach your identity to it.
- App stores (Apple, Google). If you subscribe, the Apple App Store or Google Play Store processes the purchase and provides our subscription tooling a subscriber identifier so we can deliver the subscription. Their handling of your purchase is governed by their own privacy policies.
We do not embed advertising networks, social-media tracking pixels, or third-party analytics or attribution SDKs.
Security
All communication between the app and our servers uses encryption in transit (HTTPS/TLS). We hold very little about you by design, which is itself the strongest protection.
Data retention and your choices
Because we do not build an account-based profile, there is little about you to retain. A coarse map region and a search query are used to answer your request and are not retained as a profile about you. Any saved area or alert you create exists only to deliver that feature and is removed when you delete it. You can clear permissions at any time in your device settings, and you can ask us to delete anything associated with you by writing to [email protected]; we will confirm when it is done.
Children
Flock Clocker is not directed to children and is not intended for use by anyone under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us information, write to [email protected] and we will delete it.
Changes to this policy
If we change this policy, we will update the date at the top and, for any material change, give notice in the app or on flockclocker.app or flockclocker.com before the change takes effect. We will never quietly weaken the commitments in "Sharing, selling, and the red line"; that section is load-bearing.
Contact
Privacy questions:
[email protected]
General support:
[email protected]
By mail: Crossroads Technologies, LLC, 110 E Center St, Ste 2053,
Madison, SD 57042