Live Network Map DEMO
Law enforcement
Public works
Code enforcement
Citizen-owned transparency technology
TRANSPARENCY SHOULD
WORK BOTH WAYS.
What if Flock worked in reverse, tracking government vehicles, locations, timestamps, plates and more, but collecting NO data about private citizens? Let's build it!
Interactive concept
See what WatchBack Live could look like
Everything in this section is simulated. Click a demo marker or detection card to explore the proposed interface.
Recent detections DEMO
Detection detail
Citizen-owned infrastructure
Installed on your private property.
A WatchBack participant could mount a compatible camera on private property with a view of a public roadway or other publicly visible government activity.
The proposed WatchBack Edge Node processes the camera feed locally and is intended to report only relevant configured events instead of continuously uploading ordinary traffic.
Private-property installation
Local edge processing
Public-facing observation
Concept hardware
A people's infrastructure
How WatchBack is designed to work
The concept is simple: observe locally, process locally, report selectively, and make relevant public information useful.
Point
A participant places a compatible camera on property they control, aimed only where lawful.
Detect locally
The Raspberry Pi analyzes video on-device and looks for publicly identifiable government vehicles.
Discard ordinary traffic
Non-target traffic is intended to be discarded locally instead of uploaded to WatchBack.
Report
A qualifying observation can generate a small event record containing only configured public-facing data.
Share
Approved data could appear in WatchBack Live and mobile apps under the project's final legal and privacy rules.
Turnkey hardware
WatchBack Edge Node
The first WatchBack prototype is being built around a Raspberry Pi edge computer running preconfigured WatchBack software.
The goal is to prove the core idea with real hardware: detect publicly identifiable government vehicles locally, discard ordinary traffic, and make the system simple enough to run without requiring the user to configure a Raspberry Pi from scratch.
Raspberry Pi powered
Edge processing takes place locally at the camera site.
WatchBack software preloaded
Planned automatic startup, health checks, and remote
update support.
Camera ready
Designed to connect to supported IP or USB camera
hardware.
Network connected
Ethernet and Wi-Fi are planned, with cellular connectivity
being evaluated for remote locations.
Be one of the first to help fund WatchBack and plant the seed for the first working prototype.
FIRST PROTOTYPE FUND
$0 raised of $600
Edge AI software
WatchBack OS
The proposed WatchBack software runs locally on the Raspberry Pi Edge Node. Video is analyzed at the camera site so ordinary traffic does not need to be continuously uploaded to a central server.
Local AI processing
Camera video is analyzed on the Edge Node instead of being continuously streamed to WatchBack servers.
Selective classification
The system is intended to identify configured classes of publicly identifiable government vehicles while rejecting ordinary traffic.
Compact event reporting
Qualifying observations can be converted into small event records containing only the information required by the network.
Privacy by architecture
Non-target observations are intended to remain local and be discarded rather than becoming part of a centralized record of ordinary drivers.
No downloadable release exists yet.
Bring your own camera
Designed to avoid proprietary lock-in.
WatchBack is intended to work with commonly available camera hardware instead of forcing participants to purchase a proprietary WatchBack camera.
Compatibility is still a development goal. Specific camera models, protocols, and connection methods will need to be tested before a final compatibility list can be published.
Bullet cameras
Dome cameras
PTZ cameras
Plate cameras
Multi-sensor cameras
Mobile
WatchBack Live
The proposed iPhone and Android apps would make WatchBack observations available through a map, recent activity feed, alerts, agency information, and other public-facing tools.
Live map
Browse recent and active observations by area and category.
Configurable alerts
Follow selected areas or activity categories.
Detection details
View available agency, vehicle, time, location, unit,
and event information.
Agency audio
Publicly available radio or audio sources could be linked
where legally accessible and technically available.
Legal foundation
Built around the law, not slogans
WatchBack is still a development concept. These authorities are part of the legal foundation being researched; they are not a guarantee that every proposed feature is lawful in every jurisdiction.
California Penal Code §148(g)
Expressly addresses photographing and audio/video recording
public or peace officers in public or from a place the
recorder has a right to be.
Official statute ↗
California Civil Code §1798.90.5
Defines ALPR systems and operators, including private
persons and entities.
Official statute ↗
California Penal Code §637.7
Defines California's prohibition concerning electronic
tracking devices attached to vehicles or other movable
things.
Official statute ↗
Mata v. Digital Recognition Network, Inc. (2026)
Published California appellate decision involving a private
ALPR operator and plate/time/location information collected
in publicly accessible areas.
Published opinion ↗
California AG Opinion 84-901
Part of the project's research regarding publicly visible
license plates, vehicle location, and public streets.
AG opinion ↗
Why WatchBack?
Transparency should not be one-way.
Governments and private vendors have spent years building tools that can observe activity on public roads. WatchBack explores what a citizen-owned, privacy-conscious transparency network could look like when those same classes of technology are pointed toward publicly visible government activity.
The project is deliberately designed around a narrower goal: identify government activity of legitimate public interest while avoiding indiscriminate collection of ordinary people's movements.
Help build WatchBack
This idea only moves forward if people help fund it.
WatchBack is still in development, but the concept is real and the next steps are clear: software development, prototype hardware, security testing, infrastructure, mobile apps, and specialized legal review.
Those things cost money. Early support helps turn WatchBack from a working concept into something that can actually be built, tested, and launched.
Even $5 helps. Please do not contribute more than you can comfortably afford. There is no minimum amount required to support the project, and every contribution helps move the work forward.
If you believe the public should have better tools for transparency, this is one way to help make that possible.