Lesson 4: License Plate & Vehicle Cloaking
Lesson 4: License Plate & Vehicle Cloaking
Your car is an ID tag on wheels—let’s make it unreadable.
TL;DR
🚗 AI-powered cameras track every car through license plate recognition (ALPR).
🔦 Infrared covers & sprays can make your plates unreadable to AI.
🔥 Thermal-blocking films & reflective materials can prevent drones from tracking your vehicle.
📢 If AI can’t read your plate, it can’t track your movements.
🔍 What’s the Problem?
You may not think of your car as part of your digital footprint, but it’s one of the easiest ways for AI to track you.
Modern Automatic License Plate Recognition (ALPR) cameras are mounted on:
✔ Traffic lights & toll booths
✔ Police vehicles & speed traps
✔ Parking garages & gas stations
✔ Private surveillance networks
Every time you pass a camera, your plate is scanned, timestamped, and logged—creating a map of your movements.
Many companies collect massive databases of license plate scans and sell them to governments, insurance companies, and private corporations.
📢 Takeaway: If your car is tracked, so are you.
🔗 Illustration: How ALPR systems work
https://iot.asus.com/resources/casestudies/pe1000n-smart-parking/
👁 How AI Tracks Your Vehicle
AI-powered license plate recognition cameras use:
✔ Optical Character Recognition (OCR): Converts plate images into text.
✔ Infrared (IR) Cameras: Detect plates in low-light conditions.
✔ Database Matching: Cross-references plates with watchlists, toll data, and parking records.
📢 Takeaway: AI-powered cameras don’t just see your plate—they store, track, and share your driving history.
🛠 What Techniques Can You Use?
Here’s how to block AI from scanning your license plate and tracking your car:
1️⃣ Infrared License Plate Covers – Hide Your Plate from AI
🚗 What is it?
These covers appear transparent to the human eye but block infrared light, making plates invisible to ALPR cameras.
✅ Use:
- Clear or lightly tinted infrared-blocking covers.
- Mounting IR LED frames that reflect plate scans.
🚫 Avoid:
- Obvious opaque covers that can get you pulled over.
- Cheap covers that only work at certain angles.
🔗 Example: IR License Plate Covers
📢 Takeaway: AI sees with infrared—so use IR to block it.
2️⃣ Anti-Flash Sprays – Make Your Plate Unreadable in Photos
🚗 What is it?
Special reflective sprays cause ALPR cameras to overexpose your plate, making it unreadable in high-flash speed cameras and surveillance shots.
✅ Use:
- Coating your plates with a thin, even layer of spray.
- Works best against toll booths and speed cameras.
🚫 Avoid:
- Overusing spray—too much will make the plate look obvious to the naked eye.
- Relying only on spray—it doesn’t work on all cameras.
Source: https://www.ebay.com/itm/186945082685
3️⃣ Thermal-Blocking Films – Hide Your Car from Drones & Heat Sensors
🚗 What is it?
Some surveillance drones and law enforcement use thermal imaging cameras to detect vehicles, even in low visibility or through fog/smoke.
✅ Use:
- Heat-resistant film coatings to reduce your thermal signature.
- Multi-layered window tints that block infrared detection.
🚫 Avoid:
- Basic window tints that don’t have heat-resistant properties.
- Relying on one solution—use thermal blocking along with license plate obscuring.
🔗 Example: Thermal Blocking Window Film
📢 Takeaway: Some drones track you by heat—not just sight.
4️⃣ Fake & Flipping License Plates – Hide Your ID
🚗 What is it?
Some privacy advocates use flipping license plates that can be manually or remotely switched to a fake number.
✅ Use:
- Rotating plate covers to switch between real and fake plates.
- Camouflage plates with stickers that subtly change letters.
🚫 Avoid:
- Anything illegal in your jurisdiction.
- Cheap knock-offs that can fail when you need them most.
🔗 Example: Rotating License Plate System
⚠ But Does It Work?
Yes—but only when applied correctly.
✔ Anti-flash sprays work at certain angles but aren’t foolproof.
✔ IR covers block AI cameras but may be illegal in some places.
✔ Thermal blocking lowers visibility but won’t make you fully invisible.
✔ The best approach? Layer multiple techniques together.
📢 Takeaway: The more layers of protection you add, the harder it is to track you.
🛠 How to Use This in Daily Life
✔ Check local laws before using IR covers or plate-flipping devices.
✔ Use multiple tactics—one solution isn’t enough.
✔ Change your routine—AI relies on predictability.
📢 Final Takeaway: If AI is tracking your car, make that data useless.
Recap
🚗 AI cameras track your car by scanning your license plate.
🔦 Infrared covers and sprays can block AI from reading your plate.
🔥 Thermal-blocking films prevent drones from tracking your vehicle.
📢 If they’re scanning your plates—jam their system.
🛠 Resources & DIY Guides
🔗 IR License Plate Covers – How They Work
🔗 Anti-Flash License Plate Spray – Does It Work?
🔗 Thermal-Blocking Window Film – Reduce Heat Detection
What’s Next?
In the next lesson, we’ll look at Disrupting Gait Recognition—because AI can track you by how you walk, even if your face is hidden.
👉 Continue to Lesson 5: Avoiding Gait Recognition