Flock CEO Garrett Langley described the company’s audio detection product as focused on gunshots. The company’s own materials, however, list several other sounds it can identify, including fireworks, sideshows and potential car crashes.
What the product is meant to detect
Flock’s Gunshot Detection system listens for gunfire and other ambient audio in nearby neighborhoods. The company says it can give customers “earlier awareness” of potential public safety events.
On stage at TechCrunch Disrupt, Langley said the product was built because people often do not call 911 after hearing a gunshot. He also described customers asking for alerts if someone was being abducted or harmed in parking lots. The company tried prototyping that idea with a couple of customers, he said, but it drew concerns.
Langley said the company then narrowed the product’s purpose. “If a gun goes off, we’ll notify, and if not, that’s all it’s going to listen to,” he said. Asked about the broader abilities described in Flock’s marketing, his answer was: “It’s just gunshots.”
Flock’s site describes broader detection
The company’s website presents a wider range of capabilities. It says the audio systems can detect street takeovers, severe crashes, fireworks and sideshows, alongside gunfire. An FAQ says the system can identify “other disruptive community events,” and that its detection library is continually expanding to include threats relevant to customers’ needs.
A Flock spokesperson, Paris Lewbel, offered a distinction between what the system can do and what it is designed to do. Lewbel said the technology is primarily used to detect gunfire but is also capable of detecting fireworks, sideshows and potential car crashes. Langley’s remarks, Lewbel said, were intended to emphasize that the product is not designed to monitor conversations or analyze speech, and does not currently detect human screaming or distress.
The difference matters because the system’s purpose is not limited to a single sound, even if gunfire is its main use. Flock’s materials describe detection of multiple kinds of ambient events, while the CEO’s stage remarks stressed gunshots.
Earlier concern over listening for distress
The company’s Gunshot Detection feature, announced last year, faced immediate criticism after Flock said the technology would listen for “screaming.” Privacy groups objected to the prospect of monitoring human voices. Flock changed its website language to “sounds of human distress,” and later said it had removed distress detection from customers who had tried it.
At Disrupt, Langley acknowledged that the company had made mistakes and said he was listening to customers. He argued that critics misunderstand how Flock’s products work. His comments came as public concern about mass surveillance and license plate reading companies was growing, with protesters outside the San Francisco venue opposing Flock as he spoke.
Scrutiny extends beyond the audio product
Flock’s audio system is part of a wider debate about surveillance technology and how it is used. Privacy advocates, including the ACLU, and members of the public have raised concerns about possible misuse of the company’s technology. Some people have destroyed surveillance cameras.
Langley said Flock has a number of microphones comparable to ShotSpotter, which had about 25,000 microphones as of 2024, according to Wired. The article also reports that Texas and Florida have moved to end their relationships with Flock, while Amazon’s Ring has ended its partnership with the company.
For communities weighing these tools, the distinctions in Flock’s description are central: its CEO says the system listens for gunshots, while the company also says it can identify several other disruptive events. Questions about what the system detects, what it does not detect, and how its capabilities may expand remain part of the scrutiny surrounding its use.