Just curious, but why are people so anti Remote I. D.

[AnDronioBanderos]

This is purely curiosity and a genuine question but I have noticed on various Facebook groups, Reddit, etc but especially Facebook groups, that there seems to be a lot of people looking for an option to turn remote ID off on their mini drones?

I have read theories about people claiming criminals could track down drone pilots to steal their drone but if that is the case wouldn't the remote ID help track down the drone once it's flown again?

Or is it simply seen as an invasion of privacy by the authorities against drone users?

Personally I have never given much thought to it and it really does not bother me here as I comply with my local laws and aviation authority.

But I have noticed an increasing amount of questions on groups looking to disable it through hacks. I even saw it on a mini 5 pro group earlier which I thought was exempt one the drone was kept as a C0 but possibly the pilot has it registered in C1 for the altitude but even so, why would he want to fly with RID off if it's against the law?

Thanks.

 

[mavic3usa]

This is a quote almost word for word but with some very minor changes:

"Can anyone cite an instance of a law enforcement officer using RID to identify a drone? Or even carrying a RID detection device? Are we really envisioning meddlesome cops equipped with little RID device searching for unlawful drones?"

Wanted to get that out as a valid question before we dive into the complex questions that you asked.

 

[AnDronioBanderos]

This is a quote almost word for word but with some very minor changes:

"Can anyone cite an instance of a law enforcement officer using RID to identify a drone? Or even carrying a RID detection device? Are we really envisioning meddlesome cops equipped with little RID device searching for unlawful drones?"

Wanted to get that out as a valid question before we dive into the complex questions that you asked.

Thanks.

I seen some odd posts on reddit (the source of some serious misinformation at times) claiming people are using their apps to track drones for the purposes above. Even one post claiming a fictional bikini clad lady could make false claims of perving (or something to that affect) and use the information she collected from the RID broadcast.

 

[Cafguy]

Miss-information mostly and privacy for some. Many pilots still believe that when you turn on R.I.D. someone can "see" you. Unless there is a karen with an app nearby then NO-ONE is watching.
RID was created they say to improve how people that violate often are tracked. and this is only really done by the official actually reading the Registration number you conveniently stuck on the outside of the Drone for them. Ask any"official" for their RID reader and you will be met with a look of confusion. So what is RID good for really....Well if you are a municipality that wants to keep track of and tax or apply a fee to part 107 flights then heres your perfect tool!
Go ahead and turn your RID on nobody is watching really. and as far as weather your RID is on and functional Who does that? and how many of whoever that is are driving around in Drone Patrol cars. 0.

 

[BlueHeeler]

Thus far, I only see two groups of drone users who are against R.I.D.

1. Ones that are absolutely up to no good.
2. Ones that are paranoid
3. Reserved for a new group TBA

 

[Bad Santa]

Thus far, I only see two groups of drone users who are against R.I.D.

1. Ones that are absolutely up to no good.
2. Ones that are paranoid
3. Reserved for a new group TBA

Ones that just want to stay out of the public searchable databases.

It's not paranoia if they really are out to get you.

 

[MS Coast]

Paranoia, drama, overactive imaginations, social media nonsense, and hyperbolic Youtube videos.

Prior to the implementation of RID, there were a number of people on this forum who feared that criminals using RID would track down drone pilots and steal their gear or that armed and deadly meddlesome women would hunt down drone pilots to shout at them or assault them. Some folks described the weapons they intended to carry, from chemical sprays to autoloader pistols and more.

I'll ask again. Has anyone heard of a case where a criminal has used RID to rob or attack a drone pilot? Or one where RID was not used? How many horrifying incidents have taken place with busybody females dangerously confronting drone pilots?

 

[Felix le Chat]

Wherever you are in the world, mandatory RID is going to be default sooner rather than later. In the UK: we're looking at January 2026. If you want to keep flying: you'll just have to grit your teeth and take it.

I just hope that in all the countries where there isn't 'red-under-the-bed' paranoia running rampant, the built-in DJI RID and UUID gets used... it's right there: built in to both the drone and the flight app and has been for a long time, and it works reliably. On top of that: the detection hardware is mature and proven tech (Aeroscope) that is only accessible to appropriate oversight.

I understand why a lot of people don't like the idea that any Tom, Kevin or Karen is given the ability to access information willy-nilly, the only people who should have access to this kind of information are professionally accredited bodies for the purposes of policing and oversight, not some paranoid sticky-beak who doesn't know the difference between 'legal' and a brown hole in the ground.

 

[BossBob]

My want for privacy, plain and simple. I don’t know of any other HOBBY that requires the open broadcast of the location of a hobbyist even when at home. If my drone is so dangerous that turning it on warrants my location being broadcast then I can think of some much more dangerous pastimes, that once registered (as we are), or not, nobody else needs to know about it. As for worrying about our drones having cameras, i wouldn’t bother with a drone. Mobile phones are much less intrusive than a drone and EVERYONE has one and then there are cameras with long lenses.
On appropriate oversight, that’ll probably be farmed out to whichever data scraper pays the government the biggest fee rather than a company with some scruples. After all, they won’t be in business for our benefit, just to make the most money.

 

[Felix le Chat]

My want for privacy, plain and simple. I don’t know of any other HOBBY that requires the open broadcast of the location of a hobbyist even when at home. If my drone is so dangerous that turning it on warrants my location being broadcast then I can think of some much more dangerous pastimes, that once registered (as we are), or not, nobody else needs to know about it. As for worrying about our drones having cameras, i wouldn’t bother with a drone. Mobile phones are much less intrusive than a drone and EVERYONE has one and then there are cameras with long lenses.
On appropriate oversight, that’ll probably be farmed out to whichever data scraper pays the government the biggest fee rather than a company with some scruples. After all, they won’t be in business for our benefit, just to make the most money.

"...appropriate oversight..."? In the UK and Europe: it's already there and sitting right at the EASA and CAA Top Table deciding which direction regulation heads in: it's a company named Altitude Angel and they are a royal pain in the arse. They've been wanting to charge drone users a per-flight fee for the last four years, but current aviation legislation is the sand in their vaseline... for now...

 

[Cafguy]

My want for privacy, plain and simple.

Did you arrive in a time machine from the eighties. lol thats about the time that privacy thing started to fade.
I think around 2020 they got you pretty much 24-7. Depending on what you do or when you leave your house there is a video record of it if you combine the thousands of camera videos that captured you. what you do online,what TV shows you watch,where you shop.....Its all recorded daily and in many cases sold by companies like Walmart to other retailers wishing to form a customer basis or research trends. The time you spent flying your Drone would be the only time "they" couldnt find you! lol

 

[anotherlab]

Ones that just want to stay out of the public searchable databases.

It's not paranoia if they really are out to get you.

Better not own a driver's license, telephone, credit card, drive on a US Interstate highway, have a mortgage or a lease, or order anything online.

I would be more concerned about rogue data brokers selling personal identifying information online than I would be about RID.

 

[Bad Santa]

Better not own a driver's license, telephone, credit card, drive on a US Interstate highway, have a mortgage or a lease, or order anything online.

I would be more concerned about rogue data brokers selling personal identifying information online than I would be about RID.

I'm saying why people wouldn't want to broadcast the RID.

But..
Just had this conversation the other day when I passed my Canada flight certification. My acquaintance at the FAA said to me "Well, now you're in the system".

Not all agencies share data. Sure, they can obtain data from another agency if there's a warrant but they're not really that closely connected.

 

[BossBob]

It’s not really the authorities I’m bothered about. We have to trust them to do their jobs correctly. Nothing really I can do about that.
It’s the thought that some little scroat could pick up a cheap android phone, add an app, and then see/be alerted if I decide to turn on my drone at home and where home is. Even the friends I have who I know have firearms don’t have the neighbourhood alerted if they decide to clean their rifle/shotgun/bb gun though I did hear that one of them was visited by an armed response team when a Ken/Karen reported seeing him cleaning his Heckler and Koch modelled BB sub machine gun in his garden. That gave him a bit of a wake up call to be a little more careful. But what if it was scroat and his buddies banging on his door because he’d turned his drone on!

 

[BossBob]

The thing is, I’m all for someone doing something illegal/wrong having a fecking big arrow covered with fluorescent lights pointing at them but why should a law abiding person doing nothing wrong be treated in the same way?

 

[Cafguy]

If it worries you, you can always get an RID spoofer. They are legal and the Karen’s won’t find you among the thirty or so drones your spoofer will transmit to their app.

 

[anotherlab]

It’s not really the authorities I’m bothered about. We have to trust them to do their jobs correctly. Nothing really I can do about that.
It’s the thought that some little scroat could pick up a cheap android phone, add an app, and then see/be alerted if I decide to turn on my drone at home and where home is. Even the friends I have who I know have firearms don’t have the neighbourhood alerted if they decide to clean their rifle/shotgun/bb gun though I did hear that one of them was visited by an armed response team when a Ken/Karen reported seeing him cleaning his Heckler and Koch modelled BB sub machine gun in his garden. That gave him a bit of a wake up call to be a little more careful. But what if it was scroat and his buddies banging on his door because he’d turned his drone on!

When has anyone shown up at a house because they detected a drone using a RID app?

 

[AlanL]

How many of the people who dislike RID turn off bluetooth on all of their devices and their cars when they are driving around? You are broadcasting your bluetooth MAC address on every packet that is sent from your devices almost constantly on frequencies that everyone can monitor alongside the road. Traffic engineers mount receivers on the signal poles at intersections and can track vehicles from intersection to intersection to map out traffic flows. Most of the systems for mapping traffic flows strip out the last 4 digits of the addresses they collect for the sake of privacy but that's entirely voluntary on the part of the software vendor.

I helped our county test and set up systems to do this 10 years ago when I was still working as a network administrator.

 

[BossBob]

As I personally know more people who own firearms than people who own drones and one of them had a visit from armed police (the Ken/Karen might have been put off by the presence of the ‘firearm’) I’ll go with the busybody turning up on my doorstep once the news is spread all over (anti)social media. We don’t all live in ‘nice’ areas.

 

[Ptrebor]

This is purely curiosity and a genuine question but I have noticed on various Facebook groups, Reddit, etc but especially Facebook groups, that there seems to be a lot of people looking for an option to turn remote ID off on their mini drones?

I have read theories about people claiming criminals could track down drone pilots to steal their drone but if that is the case wouldn't the remote ID help track down the drone once it's flown again?

Or is it simply seen as an invasion of privacy by the authorities against drone users?

Personally I have never given much thought to it and it really does not bother me here as I comply with my local laws and aviation authority.

But I have noticed an increasing amount of questions on groups looking to disable it through hacks. I even saw it on a mini 5 pro group earlier which I thought was exempt one the drone was kept as a C0 but possibly the pilot has it registered in C1 for the altitude but even so, why would he want to fly with RID off if it's against the law?

Thanks.

Personally, why would I want to fly with RID disabled if it's against the law? I comply with local laws and aviation authorities. Those who do will probably never be stopped because there are few agents on the ground. But imagine for a second that you have a serious accident with your drone, there will be an investigation, probably by the FAA (if you are in the United States), and if they see that your RID transmitter has been disconnected, you could really be in big trouble.

Personnellement, pourquoi voudrai-je voler avec RID désactivé si c’est contraire à la loi ? Je me conforme aux lois locales et aux autorités de l’aviation. Ceux qui le font ne seront probablement jamais interpellé car il y a peu d'agents sur le terrain. Mais imaginez une seconde que vous avez un accident grave avec votre drone, là il y aura une enquête, probablement de la FAA (si vous êtes aux États-Unis), et s'ils voient que votre émetteur RID a été débranché, vous pourriez vraiment être dans de gros problèmes.