Data Ownership

Your Data, Your Rights

A Plain-English Guide to Data Ownership Under the Flock Customer Terms and Conditions

Questions sometimes arise about who owns the data captured by Flock cameras and systems. The answer in the contract is unambiguous. This document explains what the Customer Terms & Conditions (T&C) actually say in plain English and addresses common points of confusion head-on.

1.  You Own Your Data — Full Stop

Section 4.1 of the T&C states this directly, so there is no confusion:

📄 Contract Language (§4.1):  "As between Flock and Customer, all right, title, and interest in and to Customer Data belong to and are retained by Customer."

This has always been the case.

"Customer Data" is defined broadly in Section 1 to include everything of yours that passes through the Flock system:

• Images, audio, and video captured by Flock hardware on your behalf
• All content you or your authorized users enter into the web interface
• Any data provided to Flock by third parties at your direction (for example, but your CAD vendor)

Flock has no ownership claim over any of this. Its own intellectual property (cameras, software, algorithms, platform) is separately defined as Flock Property — and the contract is explicit that Customer Data is not Flock Property (§4.2).

2.  The License-Back: Why It Exists and What It Covers

Because Flock needs to access your data to actually operate the service, the T&C includes a limited license-back from you to Flock. This is standard practice and common language in any technology services agreement (Google, Slack, Workday, Salesforce and Snowflake all have similar language, to name just a few) — you own the data, but you grant us, the vendor, just enough rights to do our job. The license covers exactly two purposes, and nothing else:

📄 Contract Language (§4.1):  "Customer hereby grants to Flock a limited, non-exclusive, royalty-free, irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide license to (a) use and disclose Customer Data to provide the Flock Services; and (b) use Customer Data to support and improve Flock's products and services."

Breaking this down:

• Purpose 1: Providing the Flock Services — Flock must be able to process, store, and surface your data to operate the platform you're paying for. Without this, the service cannot function.
• Purpose 2: Improving Flock's products and services — Flock may use data in aggregate or technical ways to make the platform work better for all customers (for example, to continuously improve the system’s read accuracy, to train the system to recognize new and/or special occasion license plate designs, etc.). This is the same type of license you see in virtually every software-as-a-service agreement.

These two purposes are a ceiling, not a floor. Flock may not use your data for any other purpose — including marketing or sale to third parties. The license is also non-exclusive, meaning you retain every right to use your own data however you choose.

3.  Flock Cannot and Does Not Sell Your Data

The T&C addresses this concern directly:

📄 Contract Language (§4.1):  "For the avoidance of doubt, Flock shall not sell Customer Data, and any sharing by Flock of Customer Data that is not (i) specifically permitted by this Agreement, or (ii) separately directed and/or authorized, in writing, by Customer, shall constitute a prima facie breach of this Agreement, and Customer shall be entitled to all remedies available to it under this Agreement and the law."

The phrase "prima facie breach" is legally significant. It means that unauthorized sharing of your data is not a gray area — it is a breach of contract by definition, entitling you to all available legal remedies. This is a high-accountability commitment, not boilerplate.

4.  Sharing Is Only Permitted When You Authorize It

Data sharing beyond what is necessary to operate the service requires your authorization. Specifically:

• Sharing expressly permitted by the Agreement itself (e.g., Flock's own personnel performing technical support)
• Sharing separately directed and authorized by you, the Customer. All sharing is ‘off’ by default, and can only be initiated by you.

This means that, except as necessary to provide the services to you, Flock cannot share your data with law enforcement agencies, partner organizations, or any third party solely based on our own judgment. Any such sharing requires your direction. You are in control. In the rare instance where a legal authority seeks to compel us to share customer data, we first seek to coordinate with the customer to respond, and in all cases we fight against compulsory disclosure.

5.  Your Data Is Protected as Confidential Information

The T&C's confidentiality provision (Section 5) reinforces data protection. Customer Data is explicitly listed as Confidential Information, and Flock is contractually required to:

• Exercise reasonable care to hold your data in confidence
• Not use it or disclose it except as permitted under the Agreement or with your written consent

6.  Access to Your Data During the Service

You and your authorized users retain direct access to your data at all times during the service term. The T&C provides that Customer Data is available for authorized users to access and download through the web interface during the applicable Retention Period. The Retention Period — the window during which footage and associated metadata are stored — is specified in your Order Form.

Summing it Up

• You own all data captured by or through the Flock system.
• The license you grant Flock is limited to two purposes: (1) providing the service, and (2) improving the service.
• Flock cannot and does not sell your data. Unauthorized sharing is a breach of contract.
• Except as explicitly allowed by the Contract, Flock does not share your data with anyone.
• Your data is classified as Confidential Information.

This document summarizes the data ownership provisions of the Flock Customer Terms and Conditions. It is intended as a plain-English explanation and does not constitute legal advice. In the event of any conflict, the terms of your signed agreement with Flock control.