MapQuest's new Surveillance layer shows reported license plate camera locations on the map, so drivers can see which nearby roads are watched.
MapQuest now lets drivers see where license plate cameras are. A new Surveillance layer in its app puts small eyeball icons on the map to mark reported locations of automated license plate readers. MapQuest announced it Oct. 15. Google Maps does not offer a layer like it.
Tap an eyeball and the app shows the camera type, its coordinates and which way it points. Types include dome, fixed and pan/tilt. The layer covers readers from Flock Safety, Motorola Solutions (Vigilant), Genetec, Axis Communications, Axon, Leonardo (ELSAG), Neology, Rekor, PlateSmart, Ubicquia, Verkada and others.
MapQuest general manager Doug Bergen told CNET that camera locations were among the top three requests from users. He said the company was "inundated" with direct requests in the last month. The location data comes from OpenStreetMap, a world map built by volunteers.
License plate readers are cameras that read plates automatically. There are more than 140,000 in the US. Flock cameras can record a car's plate, make, model, color and location. That information goes into law enforcement databases across the country.
Civil liberties groups say this builds a mass surveillance network that can track everyone, not just suspects. There have been cases of Flock data being misused, including officers stalking ex-partners and drivers being wrongly pulled over and accused of stealing their own cars.
The same technology also handles tolls, traffic violations, parking enforcement, vehicle repossessions and parking gates.
MapQuest is not the first to do this. DeFlock, FlockHopper, Pelican and LPR Maps also show reader locations, and some rely on drivers reporting cameras they spot. MapQuest's map shows known and reported cameras, so it may not show every one. The material does not say how complete the data is.
A CNET writer who tried the layer saw many icons around their city and county. The app showed each camera's type and coordinates but not the company that owns it.
MapQuest's Surveillance layer shows reported license plate cameras near you, though it may miss some and does not name who owns them.
A 2024 review found phone radiation likely does not raise brain tumor risk. Trapped heat from a charging phone under a pillow is the bigger worry.
Read more: Sleeping with your phone under the pillow is a fire risk, not a cancer riskA writer removed popular apps from her Android phone after checking her screen time, and says she now spends less time and money on them.
Read more: A writer deleted 8 phone apps, and her screen time habits changedFour free, open-source Android apps work with no cell service, covering maps, sensors, first aid and survival tips. Set them up before the trip.
Read more: Four free Android apps that keep working when you have no signal
