Can Drones See Inside Your House? – Protect Your Home From Little Spies

Here, we'll tell you how drones can see inside your house and what you can do about that.
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Last updatedLast updated: February 15, 2024
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Drone technology has advanced so much over the years that there is a variety with queer capabilities that were never thought possible back then. As much as they are fun and useful, drones can be disadvantageous if they land in the wrong hands. Lately, there have been so many cases of paparazzi using drones to spy on celebrities in their homes.

The use of drones for spying in homes has become too common that there are rumors going around about drones that can see through walls. Can drones see inside your house? Yes. A drone camera can see through your uncovered window or door. Can it see through the walls? Well, the technology isn’t in the civilian market yet, so you have nothing to worry about. This article delves deeper into drones’ capabilities and how they can see inside your house. Read on to learn what the law says and how you can protect it from drones.

How Can Drones See Inside Your House?

Can Drones See Inside Your House? - Protect Your Home From Little Spies

Drones are unmanned aerial vehicles with cameras attached to them to take photos and videos of the area surrounding them. Because they can take photos and videos from an aerial view, so many people worry if they can actually see inside their houses.

The only way a drone can see the inside of your house is if it flies near your windows and the camera looks through. This isn’t as easy as it sounds, as the camera can be obstructed in so many ways. Plus, drones are pretty noisy, and you would hear a drone flying around your bedroom window.

The same goes for a drone seeing through your curtains. The drone must be so close to the curtains to be able to see the inside of your house through them. A night vision drone or a drone with a thermal or infrared camera can also see through your curtains. The images wouldn’t be normal, but the signatures of the things in the house would be clearly captured. This is what burglars would use to spy on your home.

On the bright side, thermal and infrared cameras are not easily accessible or cheap, and not every ‘nobody’ in your neighborhood will be able to spy on you with the cameras. The thing is, most drones don’t have the kind of camera that can easily see through your curtains and get an image or video worth worrying about.

The DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced remains the most popular commercial drone with thermal and zoom dual camera. The unit packs a punch with a couple of advanced features like high resolution, ability to zoom from afar, and dual vision, among others.

If you are in need of a night vision drone, check out the famous Walkera F210 Professional Deluxe Racer Quadcopter Drone. It has a night vision HD camera with a million pixels and photosensitive sensors that can adjust according to the brightness of light automatically.

Drones with higher quality cameras are quite large as they have large motors and propellers, which are much louder than the average drone.

In the future, drones may be able to see through walls. Scientists from Santa Barbara University made a drone that uses Wi-Fi waves to scan the inside of a house to create a map or sort of a picture. The technology is still being developed, and it won’t be available in the civilian market for safety reasons.

The bottom line is, yes, a drone can see the inside of your house, but it would have to be so close to your window or open the door to be able to take images or videos worth worrying about.

What Does Law Say?

Drones can legally fly over private properties according to most states and local jurisdictions. The laws vary though and the drone operator must be certain they are not violating any of them related to invasion, trespassing, or creating nuisance.

The Federal Aviation Administration Trusted Source Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration is an operating mode of the U.S. Department of Transportation. www.faa.gov regulates the airspace and their laws override state and local laws. However, they don’t restrict recreational drones in uncontrolled airspace, which is defined as the airspace below 400ft above the ground. Even with FAA laws unavailable for recreational drones, the state and local laws still apply.

According to the FAA, regardless of your state, as a drone operator you must;

  • Not fly at night unless the drone has lighting
  • Maintain a line of visual sight with the drone
  • Not fly over people or moving vehicles
  • Not interfere with emergency response activities
  • Not interfere with manned aircraft
  • Never fly under the influence of drugs or alcohol
  • Not operate the drone carelessly

The FAA is looking to expand the laws on recreational drone use. You may be required to pass an online test in the future before flying a drone for cool selfies to post on your socials. You may also have to register your drone.

At the moment, you have to ensure you are not violating your state or local laws related to flying a drone over private property. Most states like the state of Oregon can sue drone pilots flying 400ft over their property more than once without their explicit permission.

In the state of Florida, you cannot use a drone for surveillance if it interferes with a person’s privacy. Besides the state laws, you must be super keen on the local laws as individual communities may have restrictions against flying drones in residential areas.

So what happens if someone flies a drone over your property and there aren’t any specific laws against drone operations in residential areas? Well, you can still penalize the drone operator by filing a lawsuit claiming that the drone invaded the right to your privacy, created a nuisance, and trespassed in your property.

You may need evidence of the drone being in your property in the form of photos or videos as it usually is with civil lawsuits. The drone operator will also have GPS evidence to verify their drone’s flight path.

How Can You Protect Your Home from Drones?

Now that you know that drones can be used to spy on you for malicious motives you should learn how to protect your home from them. Remember drones are not quiet and you can easily notice one when it comes into your home. If you notice a drone in your home without your consent you can do the following;

  • Call the authorities and describe your situation to them
  • If you know the drone operator, ask them to stop flying over your house
  • Take a picture or video of the drone flying around your home
  • Use a net or any other reasonable technique to catch the drone then call the authorities. Be careful not to injure yourself with the drone blades when gripping.
  • Invest in anti-drone guns to prevent drones from flying over your space.
  • Get a radio frequency jammer to disable any drone that tries to fly over your property. They are sold freely online and you can get one that operates in a radius of up to 300 meters. Before buying the jammer, think about your health as the devices do radiate a lot. Go over the decree provided on the procedure for registering high-frequency devices to get a clear picture of what you will be dealing with.

Final Thoughts

It’s almost impossible to avoid drones as many people are frequently using them for both recreational and professional purposes. With technological advancements, drones are getting quieter, smaller, and great at taking high-quality images and videos. This is making so many people worried about their privacy being invaded. Can a drone see the inside of your house? The short answer is yes. The long version is that as much as drones can see into your house through the curtains or a window, it wouldn’t be able to take a clear image or video worth worrying you.

You will easily notice a drone in your property from the buzz they make when flying, upon which you can notify the police and file a lawsuit for invasion of privacy. You can even protect your home from drones by buying anti-drone guns or radiofrequency jammer that will disable any drone that flies over your house.

References

1.
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration is an operating mode of the U.S. Department of Transportation.
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