Most people don’t realize the true extent of modern mass surveillance. I want to change that.

It used to be that most surveillance cameras were independent. Footage (if it was recorded at all) would be stored locally and overwritten; only being viewed or shared if an incident occurred.

But today, with cloud services and AI; it is possible for ANY camera, anywhere, to feed into a larger data storage and analytics system. The seemingly innocuous cameras we’re all used to seeing at drive through windows, on traffic lights, at businesses, and elsewhere - can now be part of a vast surveillance network.

In response, I am working on mapping any and every public-facing surveillance device I see.

I’m focusing mostly on ALPRs, cameras, and other devices I know or suspect are operated by government. This includes traffic cameras, and cameras on traffic lights that detect when cars are present for the lights to change. Even if these aren’t currently being used for mass surveillance, it’s naive to assume that will always be the case.

I will not map cameras in private spaces, such as yards or private driveways.

Ultimately, I want to make people aware in a visual, objective way just how many automated eyes are watching them everywhere they go.