Can Drones See Inside Your House? Drone Spying Prevention

Drone hovering in front of residential house

What used to only be available for government use is now available to all. Anyone can buy a GoPro and a high tech drone with the intention of using it for bad purposes. This brings the question, can drones see inside your house?

Yes, drones can see inside your house. However, it would need to be right outside your window to be able to make out anything due to glare and reflections or be fitted with advanced technology only available to the government. This advanced technology is slowly being released for public use over time which will make it a lot easier for someone to spy on you in the future.

Drones have opened up many possibilities for people around the world. These range from creating new jobs to opening up new possibilities for photographers trying to get aerial shots.

These unmanned aerial vehicles(UAVs) are sadly being used by perverted individuals trying to spy on people in their private homes.

Now let’s get into how a drone can go about seeing into your home.

Disclaimer: The laws mentioned below are primarily for the United States

How Could A Drone See Inside Your House?

There are several ways a drone could see inside you house.

Assuming the drone is fitted with a camera, then it could easily fly onto your property and up to your window.

Cameras that can be fitted on drones are just like regular cameras you have in your smartphone. Drones could see just as much as someone walking past taking pictures with their phone. The only advantage is that they can fly which gets them better angles and allows for easier maneuverability.

However, chances are that you would be able to hear the drone if it came that close. This is because of the rotating props spinning at a high speed to keep the drone off the ground.

This can generate an easily recognisable sound that can be quite loud at times. Fortunately, this can make you aware that someone is spying on you.

Here is what a regular drone sounds like:

A major factor that would influence whether it could see inside is how many windows you have and how large they are. The bigger your windows, the easier it will be to see inside!

At night it is much easier for someone to spy on you with a drone provided that your lights are turned on inside.

Drones are also always equipped with lights to help the drone’s operator locate the drone while it’s flying. This can create some issues for the operator as it can produce more glare while they look through your windows.

This can allow you to easily find the drone if you feel you’re being spied on or if you hear it’s distinctive ‘buzzing’ sound. This is especially helpful at night.

Keep in mind that there have been cases of people taping over these lights to make the drone less visible.

Related Article: Can You Fly Your Drone At Night in 2021?

Is It Legal For A Drone To Fly On Your Property?

Commercial and recreational drone use is fairly new and many states are just now starting to put in place laws for drones. What’s seen as legal and illegal can be very confusing when drones are involved.

Drone aerial view on residential area

Let’s try and clear up whether you are in the right when a drone flies on your property and when it becomes illegal.

Yes, it is legal for a drone to fly on your property as long as they are over 500 feet. At this point the airspace is owned by the Federal Aviation Administration and is for public use. Flying below 500 feet and on your property line can be considered illegal and without good reason can lead to legal trouble.

Drones cannot currently be used by police to spy on you without a warrant. So you don’t need to worry when your at home, only when you’re in public.

Police currently only use drones in public-emergencies. They can also record live events at stadiums for example and use the video as evidence.

Related Article: 10 Common Uses of Drones In Our Daily Lives You May Not Know About

What Can You Do If A Drone Is Spying On You?

Taking matters into your own hands may not always be the best option. Here is a list of things you could do if a drone is spying on you:

  • Close your curtains
  • Call the cops
  • Try to locate the drones operator and if you feel comfortable then safely ask them to stop
  • Gather evidence by taking photos and videos with your phone
  • You could use a radio frequency jammer

Most drones are controlled by individuals, and therefore the person flying the drone will most likely be near. Drone pilots are legally required to keep their drone in their line of sight.

However, since they are using their drone for malicious purposes, they may not be respecting this rule and could be controlling the drone through first person view(FPV).

Shooting down a drone is not a method we would recommend. You can only legally damage or destroy a drone if you are at risk of being hurt by it and you do it purely for self-defense.

Related Article: Can A Laser Pointer Take Down A Drone?

Be careful when engaging in conversation with the drone’s operator as it is actually illegal to interfere or distract a drone operator while their drone is still in the air. If you are certain they are spying on you, then you may not have a choice.

Just make sure you stay calm and do not get aggressive so as to avoid legal trouble!

Do you think you should have more control over the airspace over your property?

What Is An Example Of Advanced Technology Used For Spying?

The Israeli Tzur drone was created for aerial surveillance and transportation of supplies and ammunition.

Israeli Tzur Drone

This drone was created primarily for aerial surveillance at day and at night. It will be able to be controlled of distances up to 10 Km.

The main capability that makes it stand out is it’s ability to be nearly completely silent while hovering and use it’s cameras that include a thermal camera to spy on someone.

It will be able to maintain a stationary position for extended periods of time capturing excellent footage during operation.

This drone is both fascinating and terrifying in its wide range of capabilities. If we’re capable of creating a drone that’s this sophisticated, it’s almost terrifying to see what’s to come in reference to the drone industry.

Conclusion

Drones can see inside your house but are likely to be easily detected due to the amount of noise they make. As the drone industry grows, so will privacy issues and so will the amount of laws put in place by the United States.

Drone technology is rapidly growing and doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon!

How long do you think it will be until commercial and recreational drones become nearly undetectable?

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