Flying your Mavic tells DJI a ton

[samd012]

I found this article and felt people should know. I assumed it was going on but really never thought about how secure the information is.

A Global Information Gathering Network for UAS - DJI data collection - sUAS News - The Business of Drones

 

[Kalvik]

I have the Wi-Fi on my tablet turned off, so I'm not giving them any data.

 

[JHSlayer]

I'll teach them... No more flying. Do you really think the Mavic is the first time "you" have been tracked?

 

[Five-O]

US Gov. satellites can see more detail of China than our drones can show China! You would have a real hard time flying in very sensitive US territory.

 

[JHSlayer]

US Gov. satellites can see more detail of China than our drones can show China! You would have a real hard time flying in very sensitive US territory.

I don't understand what you are saying. Please reread your post and explain.

 

[Robbyg]

The kind of satellites that you see portrayed in movies that can read a license plate from space do exist but they have serious limitations. You need exact coordinates in order to gather any useful data.
Its like zooming a big camera until you can see 6ft x 6ft box. If you need to find something in one Square Mile area while looking 6ft x 6ft at a time it will take forever.

Drones on the other hand do provide clear enough useful data. Not good for reading a license plate but good enough to see where and what kind of construction equipment is in use at various locations across the USA. Multiply that power by 100K drones vs maybe 10 satellites pointed at China and you have a considerable intelligence gathering system that costs almost nothing. I would imagine DJI just keeps large global maps and fills in the data for areas as it comes in. It may take them 10 years but eventually they will have a large parts of the city land mass mapped.

Also it would be wise to consider that the information that China is probably most interested in is the kind is gathered by the DJI Ronin and Matrice. A Satellite cannot tell you if the bottom of a bridge is falling apart or the exact kind of equipment used on the electrical grid. DJI drones do provide that kind of information.

Rob

 

[JHSlayer]

Seams as tho you are a consperiance theorist. Weird, I thought you were just a drone pilot. If I'm wrong, please correct me. I hope I'm wrong.

 

[halley]

Tinfoil hats, much?

They want to log metrics on how often people fly, where they fly generally. This drives product improvements and also lobbies governments on the positive value of drone products. They want to log information about likely culprits if their products are used for harmful means, such as flying near a fire helicopter. This is also to lobby governments about the positive value of responsible drone manufacturers. Whenever they're silent they get the shaft in every legislature in the world; they gather every bit of data possible to counteract that, so they can continue making money.

Per this article, I would like to know more about how they determined the data payload to DJI, and specifically how they confirmed that DJI gets anything from the video or audio streams.

 

[Turnerm]

Tinfoil hats, much?

They want to log metrics on how often people fly, where they fly generally. This drives product improvements and also lobbies governments on the positive value of drone products. They want to log information about likely culprits if their products are used for harmful means, such as flying near a fire helicopter. This is also to lobby governments about the positive value of responsible drone manufacturers. Whenever they're silent they get the shaft in every legislature in the world; they gather every bit of data possible to counteract that, so they can continue making money.

Per this article, I would like to know more about how they determined the data payload to DJI, and specifically how they confirmed that DJI gets anything from the video or audio streams.

Totally agree. This forum is quickly becoming SUCH a drag. I feel like I have to sift through more garbage to get any useful value here. It's full of drone police and tin foil hats more than anything else.

 

[Five-O]

I don't understand what you are saying. Please reread your post and explain.

There is nothing more to explain, sorry if you can't comprehend .

 

[Knight Hawk]

I found this article and felt people should know. I assumed it was going on but really never thought about how secure the information is.

A Global Information Gathering Network for UAS - DJI data collection - sUAS News - The Business of Drones

Thank you for sharing and making us aware. [emoji1360]

 

[Starz]

There are more data sharing entities out there than anyone can count. If I was going to lose any sleep over one of them,
it ain't DJI.

 

[mr.bill]

None of this is surprising if you're current on technology. If it's connected to the internet, there's 99% chance it's sending back usage and other data to the parent company. Most of the time this is acceptable so I don't typically worry about it. In DJI's case, I'm not flying my Mavic in my home so there's no privacy issues for me and I do take this topic seriously.

If you're concerned about what your drone is sending back to the manufacturer, I wouldn't buy any of the prebuilt units that pair with proprietary apps. I would would look into and start building my own. It's not like there a lack of choice out there when it comes to this hobby. For me, I love the tech, simplicity and reliability of the Mavic so for now I just use it for the recreation it offers. If I wanted something more customizable without all the "safeguards" and reporting, I'd start building my own.