EFF’s Street Level Surveillance Project unites our past and future work on domestic surveillance technologies into one easily accessible portal. On this page, you’ll find all the materials we have on each individual technology gathered into one place. Materials include FAQs about specific technologies, infographics and videos explaining how technologies work, and advocacy materials for activists concerned about the adoption of street level surveillance technologies in their own community. In the coming months, we'll be adding materials on drones and predictive policing. For more about the Street Level Surveillance Project, check out our about page.
Cell-Site Simulators
Cell-site simulators, also commonly known as IMSI catchers or Stingrays, are devices that masquerade as a legitimate cell phone tower, tricking phones nearby into connecting to the device in order to log the IMSI numbers of mobile phones in the area or capture the content of communications.
See moreBiometrics
Biometrics are unique markers that identify or verify the identity of people by using intrinsic physical or behavioral characteristics. Fingerprints are the most commonly known biometric, and they have been used regularly by criminal justice agencies to identify suspects for over a century. Other commonly known biometrics are facial recognition...See more
Automated License Plate Readers
ALPRs are computer-controlled, high-speed camera systems—generally mounted on police cars or fixed objects such as light poles—that automatically capture an image of every license plate that comes into view. ALPRs can detect when a license plate enters the camera’s field, capture an image of the car and its surroundings (including the plate),...See more