I always feel like somebody's watching me. . .

Privacy can feel impossible when technology and surveillance follow you even inside your own home.

Privacy, Online, and Off Reflection 

A Flock camera, mounted near a traffic light, capturing license plate info.

After learning the insights from experts on tools such as Flock cameras, cookies, cell towers, and WiFi networks, I am truly disturbed and see them not as tools, but as threats. I was always aware that security cameras existed, particularly on roads, and was unaware that they track way more than that. Flock cameras have the ability to figure out exactly where you are going, no matter if it’s to a private therapy session or a sacred church ceremony, and they have help doing this through the automatic license plate reader available on utility poles, traffic lights, police 

cars, and overpasses.

An automatic license plate reader mounted on a police car. 

The automatic license plate reader is a high-speed, computer-controlled camera system that captures images of vehicle license plates and converts them into text using optical character recognition. Its high-tech nature makes it possible to always track you, who you’re with, when you get there, and where you are going. In the past, ALPRs have passed mosques just to know who is participating, further gathering personal information on innocent civilians. 

You are also able to be tracked and monitored through cell towers, which connect to your phone, all the way from inside your house, picking up all the possible data they can. Cell towers can track your phone inside your house because your phone still communicates with nearby towers through cellular signals, even through walls.

I am passionate about these security threats because they not only affect me, but any teenage girl whose safety and security are at risk constantly, whether it’s being trafficked, followed, stalked, or having personal information exposed online. These cameras and various trackers make it easier to locate us and will, in turn, make us more vulnerable than we already are. There are no ifs, ands, or buts. The government should put a stop to this issue. It is already scary enough being a girl in 2026; however, with our personal information at nearly everybody’s fingertips, serious threats are posed.

When thinking about how we can protect ourselves, I come to a loss. It feels like there is no way out of being tracked; however, there are some tactics we can use to better our “digital hygiene” that will make us a harder target for potential hackers to track. Using strong passcodes, turning on software update notifications, reading through terms and conditions thoroughly, and clearing out WiFi networks, tabs, cookies, and your search history weekly will significantly help your privacy status.

AI DISCLOSURE: The post was strictly checked and edited through Microsoft Copilot to ensure proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation.