A trip to Ulta Beauty usually means browsing shelves of mascara, shampoo and skincare products—not thinking about surveillance cameras. But the beauty retailer is facing backlash over its use of Flock Safety licence plate reader cameras, with critics questioning whether shoppers should have their vehicles recorded simply for visiting a shop.
The controversy has gained traction online after a social media video raised concerns about Ulta's relationship with Flock Safety. While some claims about the scale of the technology have been disputed, reporting by Allure found that Flock cameras are currently installed at fewer than 1% of Ulta Beauty's store locations.
Ulta Beauty Partners With Flock
Rachel L, a social media creator, called out Ulta Beauty's relationship with Flock in a video shared online. In the video, she claimed Ulta is one of Flock's biggest commercial customers and questioned why the beauty retailer would use the technology in its car parks.
'Did you know that Ulta has a massive contract with Flock Cameras?' she asked, before describing scenarios in which information about a shopper's vehicle could potentially be accessed by law enforcement.
'If you're a woman shopping at Ulta, the police can just watch you whenever they want. Your abusive ex, who's a cop, can watch you shopping at Ulta. A cop who just saw you once, thought you were hot, and wanted to track you down can find you at Ulta,' Rachel explained.
She specifically raised concerns about women who may be dealing with abusive partners, people facing immigration enforcement and those travelling for reproductive healthcare. She argued that a person's visit to a beauty retailer should not potentially become part of a wider vehicle-tracking network.
She ended the video by encouraging viewers to support an UltraViolet petition calling on Ulta Beauty to cut ties with Flock.
Petition Urges Ulta To Act
UltraViolet, a gender-justice organisation, has launched a campaign titled Hey Ulta: Mass surveillance isn't pretty. The group is asking Ulta Beauty to cut its relationship with Flock Safety and shut down its cameras in its car parks.
The petition argues that Flock's wider network of AI-powered cameras can be used to track people's movements through their vehicle licence plates. UltraViolet also argues that Flock's technology could enable surveillance targeting women seeking reproductive healthcare, protesters and immigrant communities.
'Flock's dystopian license plate readers are supplying the data needed to carry out these attacks,' the organisation states in its petition, adding that the systems are 'often wrong and are regularly used to stalk women'.
How Flock Cameras Work
Flock Safety's technology includes automated licence plate reader (ALPR) cameras, which photograph vehicles and capture information such as licence plates, vehicle make, model and colour.
The system is designed to help identify vehicles connected to investigations. Flock says its technology can provide alerts about vehicles linked to crimes and allows authorised users to search captured information. Its system also provides customers with the option to share relevant footage with law enforcement.
The cameras are not facial-recognition systems. Instead, their primary focus is the vehicle and its identifying characteristics.
There is also a documented reason for Ulta's use of the technology. Flock reported that its cameras helped investigators identify suspects linked to an organised retail crime ring that targeted Ulta stores and caused more than $190,000 (around £140,000) in losses.
