Bad News about Privacy in the FAA Drone Registry

[pixl45]

I can't see this flying (pardon the pun). I'm all for registering and accountability, but I also am firm on my right to privacy:

The Federal Drone Registry Will Make Your Name and Address Public

 

[John Alan]

From the sounds of it... someone will have to have my ID number to do a search directly...
And from reading the text of the Government release... I can put my number on the bottom tray inside the battery slot...
So from a fly-over situation... even with high power binoculars... the public can not ID who's drone is that...
Now... some hacker thief poking random ID numbers in the database and making a "shopping list"...
THAT concerns me...
I think I will wait till the last minute to comply with this mess... even if it costs me the $5 USD...

On edit...
I also hope they will log IP addresses and ID info (including email addresses) on the people doing the looking up...
Heck... send me an email with their Info when they look me up...

 

[owenrg]

You can currently lookup any "N" number in the USA. Any North American registration number can be searched on the FAA's site and it'll give you all the information on the aircraft.

I see them doing the same with the drones because they want to subject them to the same rules. They're calling drone "pilots" "aviators" so, why not group them into the existing regulation? I think it will simplify the process as the FAA can site current regulation and won't have to re-write the entire mess just for drones. It'll be interesting to see how many existing rules they place on drones in the US airspace.

 

[John Alan]

You can currently lookup any "N" number in the USA. Any North American registration number can be searched on the FAA's site and it'll give you all the information on the aircraft.

I see them doing the same with the drones because they want to subject them to the same rules. They're calling drone "pilots" "aviators" so, why not group them into the existing regulation? I think it will simplify the process as the FAA can site current regulation and won't have to re-write the entire mess just for drones. It'll be interesting to see how many existing rules they place on drones in the US airspace.

I understand what your saying... I do...
But full size aircraft are typically listed on the FAA site as the owners address... while the actual aircraft location is not known unless you do more digging... (what airport is it based at, etc)

Drones on the other hand are typically kept AT the owners address... A thief shopping list in other words...

I just looked up several corp jet planes I know are based nearby...
The listed address of the owner was in Springfield, IL...
In fact, the listed address is over 4 miles from the nearest airport in Springfield...
SO... Where is that plane actually parked... based on the FAA database... I can't tell...

 

[pixl45]

Mind you, if our reg. numbers don't have to be visible (ie in the battery tray), there won't be a number to look up. I don't know about everyone else, but if you broke into my house there would be more of interest than my drone.

This would probably be opening a can of worms*, but I'd love to be able to security lock our UAV's. Something along the line of what is done with Apple iOS -- password protected and a "find my drone" feature in the event of theft. Since these machines best with cellular enabled tablets, it doesn't sound too far fetched.

M

*I'm involved in the wireless industry, and "cloud-locked" phones are an industry wide headache. They do make theft less attractive, but legitimate owners frequently forget their passwords, effectively bricking their phones.