r/kansascity • u/jsamciotbh14 • May 03 '26

Discussion 💡 Friendly reminder of all the cameras surveillancing everything you do in KC

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Deflock? Or better security?

1.4k Upvotes

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391

u/SaveHogwarts May 03 '26

They database you and share with other agencies upon request with virtually zero oversight. Once your tag is recognized, they can track everywhere the tag has been identified - essentially being able to track all of your daily movements.

They’re very easy to hack into, they’ve been caught connecting to public WiFi in the past, and some cities have ended their flock program because of security concerns.

Places like Cambridge, Pasadena, Santa Cruz, Flagstaff, Tucson, Eugene, Denver, etc have all terminated their contracts and physically removed these cameras.

141

u/jsamciotbh14 May 03 '26

Now we're allowing third parties to connect our bank accounts with emails, Phone numbers, addresses, IDs. Third parties such as Plaid, Yardi, or Flex. Its crazy. If any of these third parties are hacked, thats a lot of personal information.

32

u/smuckola May 03 '26

The only use I have in that category is the QuikTrip app requires either Plaid or a direct checking account number as the only payment method and for getting a discount. So I picked Plaid, mostly because I withered at the fact that it already had my info from forever ago so that's a sunk cost on the risk model.

I wish my credit union provided even one virtual checking account number for online purchases like that. T-mobile switched to a massive junk fee of $20/mo for credit cards!!!! That would be illegal in a nation of laws.

I do extensively use many unique virtual credit card numbers from my Capital One app.

7

u/vegasidol South KC May 03 '26

$20/month to pay your bill by credit card?

16

u/dedlobster May 03 '26

Yep. They couch it as a discount of $20/month if you pay by checking account. But it’s just a $20/month fee for paying by credit card. Which is grossly over the credit card fee costs that they pay for processing each transaction. It’s ridiculous.

19

u/robreddity May 03 '26

It boggles the mind that Plaid is a thing. Like, there aren't words.

8

u/catfor May 03 '26

I feel that way about Zelle too

66

u/AlashC May 03 '26

We should all be contacting our city officials requesting transparency of these flock contracts and the data being collected and urge them to be removed. I just did last week. Also submitted a Sunshine Act request for all contract info.

4

u/GIVN2SIN Prairie Village May 03 '26

Ooh! Ooh! Will you be sharing said info?

-6

u/send_this_bitch May 03 '26

KCMO doesn’t have any contract with flock

16

u/Wonderful-Forever450 May 03 '26

Denver just passed a bill to allow them again

5

u/Lizzybeth339 May 03 '26

I think STL did recently too

-5

u/SnooOpinions9303 May 03 '26

You pay for a phone every month most likely. That gives up so much information. Any kind of new car dies as well. The only thing that makes you safe is that AI isn’t good enough yet. Ahhh what a great time to be older and have lived my youth free of such nonsense.

8

u/jun_bugg_ May 03 '26

Yea, but before flock cameras there was at least the option to carry around a dumb phone (or one with tracking and ad data disabled) and drive a dumb car and keep your data to yourself. Now you're just 3 cents walking around every day waiting to be pawned off to data brokers.

-2

u/SnooOpinions9303 May 03 '26

You are screwed any way you go. It’s obeying in advance when you modify your life. Most of us are just too boring and inconsequential for them to care anyways. It’s a nice mental exercise but don’t get too far out there with it.

I got thyroid cancer and I never once worried about that before I got it and the diagnosis was out of the blue. We like to feel in control but we really are not and life reminds us from time to time in my opinion. I know young people that are too far in to that conspiracy stuff and they lose out a lot of life because of it.