I fly my drone with dedicated device (smart controller in this case) which I dont connect to internet.
Curious to know, how is DJI getting the data off my device and sending it back to China if it doesnt go online? Couldn't one simply use a dedicated device that doesnt go online to get around any potential data snooping by DJI? Standard RC with cheap Android phone perhaps?
I guess you could argue when you DO connect it for a firmware or app upgrade it could do so. Its a terrible argument but its one they'd make.
Nobody has explained WHY dji would want utterly useless flight data from hundreds of thousands of toy helicopter fliers. Im not sure China has a desperate need for low resolution cached photos of a sunset or someones garden.
Big data is all the rage, everyone does it. Google, Microsoft, Apple and everyone else. Data is money and data is power.
Of course this data can also be used to identify, debug and optimise products in the future such as MS operating system telemetry etc. Its dual use.
We also know the surveillance state is a thing and despite the claims from some, we know that its not only China doing it. The US does it in a massive way both passively and actively as does every other country on the planet.
I wouldnt trust a US product any more than i'd trust a Chinese product. Or a British product, or anyone elses.