MapQuest Adds a Map Layer Showing Flock Cameras and License Plate Readers Near You

Summary

MapQuest added a toggle in its app that plots known outdoor surveillance cameras and license plate readers. It covers Flock plus makers, including Motorola Solutions, Genetec, Axis, Axon, Rekor, and Verkada. The layer sits next to the existing traffic and incidents options.

Why it matters

Neighborhood surveillance is a lively debate in many towns, and this gives residents a way to see what is actually mounted on their streets.

HTD Says

Most of us have no idea how many cameras are watching our commute, and a one-tap map layer might be the easiest reality check yet. I love how MapQuest has recently emerged as a mapping and GPS service to watch. They are doing things that remind me of DuckDuckGo and Duck.ai. When MapQuest refused to rename Lake Ontario to Lake America, their mapping app shot to the top of the charts.

I have also noticed it trying to vie for my attention on CarPlay as it “offers” its services to help me navigate. With this update, I may actually give it a try. They even have a feature (that I just discovered as I enabled the Surveillance layer) where you can import places from TikTok and Instagram.

What’s funny is that, “back in the day,” we used to enter directions on the MapQuest website and print them out. We older folk used that a lot (and some even older folk probably still do). Now it seems they are trying to appeal to other generations with these new offerings.

Source:

Engadget