beacons: surveillance scanner

A pocket receiver that finds the cameras, trackers, and drones broadcasting around you and maps them on your phone. Passive, open source, private by design.

beacons finds the cameras, trackers, and other recording gear broadcasting around you and puts them on a live map on your phone. A lot of modern surveillance gear announces itself over WiFi and Bluetooth. beacons listens for those signals so you can see what's nearby.

beacons is the free, open-source companion app for the beacons detector, a pocket receiver that pairs with your phone over Bluetooth. No detector yet? Open the app and tap "See how it works" on the first screen to explore the whole app on sample data, with no hardware and no permissions required.

WHAT IT FINDS

• Automated license-plate readers: known fixed sites shown on a map, plus a live flag when nearby gear actually broadcasts over WiFi or Bluetooth (a bonus, not a guarantee, since many report home over cellular and stay silent)
• Networked and WiFi cameras from known camera brands, professional and consumer (optional, off by default)
• Bluetooth trackers like AirTags (optional, off by default, so everyday tags don't bury the rest)
• Drones broadcasting Remote ID overhead
• Body-worn and wearable cameras in range
• Recording glasses, by the vendor IDs in their Bluetooth broadcasts
• Anything you star: teach it your own category and it calls that device out every time it's near

PRIVATE BY DESIGN

• The detection side only listens. It never jams or spoofs, and can't track or affect any other device. The only thing the detector transmits is the Bluetooth link to your own phone.
• No account, no cloud, no telemetry. Every detection stays on your device unless you explicitly export or send it.
• The app and the firmware are fully open source, so you can read exactly what it does.

HOW IT WORKS

• Every detection lands on a live map with signal detail and history.
• An optional Drive mode keeps a live counter on your lock screen while you travel.
• An opt-in community layer also maps known fixed plate-reader sites near you, drawn from the DeFlock project and OpenStreetMap contributors, as a reference on top of live detection.
• Free firmware updates install over Bluetooth, so it keeps recognizing new gear.
• Spotted a device it mislabeled or missed? Share that capture from the app to help improve detection. It is manual and optional, and nothing leaves your phone unless you send it.

HONEST ABOUT LIMITS It hears what announces itself over WiFi and Bluetooth, not what stays silent. Wired and purely optical systems won't show up, and neither will gear that reports home over its own cellular link, which some fixed plate readers do. A quiet screen means nothing spoke up, not that you're unwatched.

beacons needs the beacons hardware for live detection. Learn more at soyboi.tech.