Report: Virginia Beach has relatively few surveillance cameras compared to other cities

Between being constantly tuned into social media and your every move being tracked and recorded as a digital footprint, privacy seems very fleeting these days. For better or worse, we know more about consumers today than we ever have before, and this knowledge is increasing by the minute.

This information, however, is not necessarily locked up somewhere deep in the White House. Instead, it is widespread and readily accessible to anyone who’s willing to look hard enough. In fact, you probably have more power than you think. Without ever leaving your couch, you can tune into what’s going on in Times Square, Hollywood Boulevard or Wrigley Field with the click of a button.

Thanks to EarthCam’s live cameras, you can ditch the pricey airline tickets and take a virtual trip to Washington D.C. or New York all through the internet. A recent study analyzed exactly where you can find some of America’s favorite live streams, and they’re perfect for your next people-watching procrastination needs.

Bourbon Street Has the Most-Viewed Live Camera

Leading the list of beloved live streams is Bourbon Street in Louisiana with a whopping 84 million views. This camera outperformed the competition of other iconic landmarks including the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign with 13 million views and the Golden Gate Bridge with 8.5 million views.

While this camera can’t give you any fresh out of the oven beignets, you’re sure to see tons of colorful beads and enthusiastic tourists walking one of America’s most famous streets. With this camera, it can be Mardi Gras any day, no matter where in the world you may be.

Seattle Has the Most Live Cameras Overall

On the other hand, if you love being in the spotlight, Seattle, Washington is the city for you. With 70 live streams, Seattle leads the country in surveillance nearly tripling next highest New York city at 27 cameras. Overall, Seattle has the most traffic cams to view traffic patterns in the busy city.

These Cities Make It Easiest to Go Incognito

If you’re trying to go off the grid, head to Austin, Birmingham, or Cincinnati. These cities, among a handful of others, haven’t gotten hooked on the public surveillance cameras quite yet, each with only one live camera.

Virginia Beach follows shortly behind these incognito cities with only 4 cameras. The most common location for them being none other than the beach. Additionally, our nation’s capital that attracts around 20 million tourists each year only has 10 cameras in the area, most of them being at the Washington Monument. This is a far cry from other popular tourist destinations and landmarks like San Francisco and Times Square that garner millions of viewers from their copious amounts of live cameras.

Traffic Cameras Are Everywhere

Unsurprisingly, the most popular cameras are traffic cameras. While these cameras aren’t nearly as entertaining to view as beach, zoo, or stadium cams, they’re extremely common with nearly 130 cameras found in the top 50 cities surveyed. So maybe think twice next time you’re about to run a red light, you very well may be being watched.

However, if you want to scope out your commute before you head to work, or maybe just have a love for watching the traffic come and go, these are the camera streams for you.

The moral of the story is, even when you think you’re alone in a public place you could very easily be spotted by someone across the globe. All this to say, with all the ways you’re being tracked nowadays, these live cameras are harmless. This tool is incredibly useful for anyone with some extra time on their hands looking to virtually explore the globe.