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Are there any privacy guards that can be applied to number plates that are effective in protecting you from being tracked? I’m immediately reminded of Jon Rons

Are there any privacy guards that can be applied to number plates that are effective in protecting you from being tracked? I’m immediately reminded of Jon Ronson’s article ‘Who killed Richard Cullen?’[1] where companies such as Experian sell relational geo-data on people to whatever companies want to use that data to target and potentially manipulate people. [1] https://www.theguardian.com/money/2005/jul/16/creditcards.debt https://www.theguardian.com/money/2005/jul/16/creditcards.de...

DKnoll 9y ago
It depends on where you live. Some places have the privacy built-in. In Canada anybody can get the name associated with a plate, but it costs ~$30 CAD and your name and drivers license number is verified and stored to do so. If you want the address you must be a licensed private investigator (~$350 CAD course and ~$80 CAD test) or police, again the access is logged. In the UK you need to write to the ministry for even a name, not sure of the level of difficulty or likelihood of the request being granted. In the USA, it depends on the state. Many you can get freely and anonymously from a 3rd party database.
criddell 9y ago
> Are there any privacy guards that can be applied to number plates that are effective in protecting you from being tracked? Not legal ones. The whole point of the number plate is as an identifier for the vehicle. I've been thinking about logging all the traffic down my street as a fun project as a way to learn OpenCV.
xkcd-sucks 9y ago
There are LCD license plate frames which go opaque/transparent when powered, for example http://www.ghostplate.com/mechanics/ http://www.ghostplate.com/mechanics/ (first google result for "lcd license plate frame"). Of course they're Very Illegal to use while driving.
TACIXAT 9y ago
Bike racks! I thought about doing an ALPR project for a while which got me to start looking at plates. I always laugh when I see a bike rack that totally obscures the view.
- mrmondo 9y ago
  Yeah I’ve noted that quite often, similarly on motorbikes I’ve seen people ride with flip-up number plates operated by a lever or cable on the side of the bike that when actions - flips the plate horizontal so it cannot (easily) be read.

DKnoll 9y ago

It depends on where you live. Some places have the privacy built-in. In Canada anybody can get the name associated with a plate, but it costs ~$30 CAD and your name and drivers license number is verified and stored to do so. If you want the address you must be a licensed private investigator (~$350 CAD course and ~$80 CAD test) or police, again the access is logged. In the UK you need to write to the ministry for even a name, not sure of the level of difficulty or likelihood of the request being granted. In the USA, it depends on the state. Many you can get freely and anonymously from a 3rd party database.

criddell 9y ago

> Are there any privacy guards that can be applied to number plates that are effective in protecting you from being tracked? Not legal ones. The whole point of the number plate is as an identifier for the vehicle. I've been thinking about logging all the traffic down my street as a fun project as a way to learn OpenCV.

xkcd-sucks 9y ago

There are LCD license plate frames which go opaque/transparent when powered, for example http://www.ghostplate.com/mechanics/ http://www.ghostplate.com/mechanics/ (first google result for "lcd license plate frame"). Of course they're Very Illegal to use while driving.

TACIXAT 9y ago

Bike racks! I thought about doing an ALPR project for a while which got me to start looking at plates. I always laugh when I see a bike rack that totally obscures the view.

mrmondo 9y ago
Yeah I’ve noted that quite often, similarly on motorbikes I’ve seen people ride with flip-up number plates operated by a lever or cable on the side of the bike that when actions - flips the plate horizontal so it cannot (easily) be read.