Flock CEO claims mics detect only gunshots despite website claims

Flock CEO Garrett Langley stated that the company’s gunshot-detection microphones capture “only gunshots,” yet Flock’s website presents a much wider scope of the ambient audio it records.

Speaking at TechCrunch Disrupt, the surveillance firm’s co-founder defended its audio-collection tool, Gunshot Detection, which monitors for gunshots and surrounding sounds across neighborhoods to offer “earlier awareness” of potential public safety incidents.

Flock’s website claims its audio systems can locate gunfire instantly, while also “detecting street takeovers early to prevent chaos from escalating” and “identifying severe crashes in real time to speed up help.” It further states they can “expand awareness beyond gunfire with alerts for car crashes, fireworks, and sideshows.”

The Gunshot Detection feature, launched last year, faced immediate backlash. When announcing the feature, Flock said it would listen for “screaming” sounds. Privacy groups condemned the firm for monitoring human voices, prompting Flock to update its website to read “sounds of human distress.” Flock later removed the ability to detect “distress” for customers who had tested it.

During the interview, Langley pushed back against what he called misinformation about his product, arguing that many critics misunderstand how it works. These comments arise as public opinion shifts against Flock and other license plate readers amid growing concerns over mass surveillance—sentiments evident in San Francisco, where protesters gathered outside the venue to voice their opposition as Langley took the stage.

Image Credits:TechCrunch (screenshot)

“Most people don’t call 911 when they hear a gunshot, which is why we built the product,” Langley told TechCrunch editor-in-chief Connie Loizos onstage. “Then some of our customers said, ‘Oh, we have these in parking lots. It would be great if we could get alerted if someone was being abducted or harmed.’”

Langley said the idea seemed logical, so the company prototyped and deployed it to a few customers, but noted that many people raised concerns. Langley admitted making mistakes but said he was listening to customer feedback.

“There are only a couple of customers prototyping it with us, and we said, ‘OK, great, it’s just going to do gunshots, plain and simple.’ If a gun goes off, we’ll notify, and if not, that’s all it’s going to listen to,” Langley said.

When asked about the contradiction between his remarks and marketing materials claiming the audio systems detect more than gunshots, he replied, “It’s just gunshots.”

In a statement to TechCrunch, Flock spokesperson Paris Lewbel said: “Flock’s gunshot detection technology is primarily used to detect gunfire but is also capable of detecting fireworks, sideshows, and potential car crashes. CEO Garrett Langley’s remarks were intended to emphasize that Flock’s Audio Detection technology is not designed to monitor conversations or analyze speech and does not currently detect human screaming or distress.”

An FAQ section on the website notes that “in addition to gunshots, Flock Gunshot and Audio Detection can detect fireworks, sideshows, and other disruptive community events.” It further states that the company’s “detection library is continually expanding to include emerging threats that are relevant” to customers’ specific needs.

Langley stated that Flock’s number of microphones is comparable to ShotSpotter, which had about 25,000 microphones as of 2024, according to Wired.

Langley’s comments come amid increasing scrutiny of Flock from privacy advocates, including the ACLU, and the public, who are concerned about the technology’s misuse, with some even destroying the surveillance cameras. The remarks also coincide with Texas and Florida ending their partnerships with Flock, and Amazon’s Ring terminating its relationship with the company.