Protect your privacy: A guide to avoiding drone surveillance
I share a ton of tips to protect your privacy online. Do this quick 30-second check to keep your Google and Facebook accounts safe if you haven’t yet.
What about when you leave your home? Just about everywhere you go, you’re being watched.
Not all cameras are out in the open, either. I once found more than a dozen cameras in an Airbnb I rented. Here are my best tips for spotting hidden cams in a rental, new apartment, home, or hotel room. But now we have drones to deal with.
I spy with my eye a drone in the sky
The other day, I heard a familiar buzz while swimming in my backyard pool. Sure enough, a drone hovered overhead and quickly vanished when I shooed it away with my hand. That’s how I got the idea for this post.
The legality of drone surveillance varies by country and state, but if the drone is flying on your private property and recording you without your consent, call the police. It’s a violation of your privacy.
It’s challenging to learn who owns a drone. In my case, it flew out of my eyesight in seconds. Had my iPhone been within reach, I would have taken a photo of the drone. Some drones have their registration numbers visible, usually in case the owner loses sight of it.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) maintains a database of drone owners who have registered their drones with the FAA. To search the FAA drone owner database, you need the drone’s registration number. Here’s where to search the FAA drone owner database.
The things you should never do to a drone
There are effective, perfectly legal ways to avoid surveillance. There are also a few ways that are illegal for private citizens.
The Federal Aviation Administration legally protects drones from being:
- Shot at: Firing a gun into the sky is dangerous and illegal. Just don’t do it.
- Interfered physically: This includes lasers and other objects.
- Disabled or otherwise tampered with: Using a jammer and hacking are criminal acts.
20 gifts around $25 for the person who has everything
We’re down to the wire on holiday shopping. If you haven’t finished marking off gifts on your Christmas list, you need to get it done soon.
Shopping this year is unlike any other. We’re in the middle of a pandemic, making it harder to peruse the aisles for the perfect gift. Online shopping is a lot safer — and you can find everything you need from your browser. Tap or click here for 15 great tech gifts for everyone on your list as a good starting point.