In February 2020 DJI announced Drone to Phone, a Remote ID system that lets anyone with a smartphone see a drone's ID, its flight path and the pilot's location. I understood why regulators wanted it. But giving the pilot's position to random strangers? No thanks.
What Drone to Phone does
DJI's Drone to Phone remote ID was meant to arrive through firmware updates. It lets anyone remotely identify a drone in real time on a smartphone. You see the drone's flight path, an ID number that works like a car's licence plate and, the worst part, the location of the pilot. You could walk down the street with an app and know where every drone is, what it's doing and where its pilot is standing.
Why it worries me
The app was shown as a way to reassure people who see a drone overhead and wonder what it is and what it's doing. But it doesn't really answer those questions. It only gives away the pilot's position, and in a way that violates the pilot's privacy. Say I'm doing a job, with all my paperwork in order, and some random person tracks me down because they think drones are evil.
In films and on TV you never see a family having fun with a drone. There's always someone doing something they shouldn't. The truth is that in the last couple of years, lots of photographers and creators have used drones to capture beautiful landscapes, and many drones do surveying and inspection work. People think there's a super zoom that can see inside their house when we're flying 50 or 60 metres up. People need to be educated about drones, and this app doesn't help.
And what if someone with bad intentions tracks me down in a field in the south of Italy and steals my Inspire 2? Whose fault is that?
Pilots already carry a lot
Pilots face exams, permits, paperwork, studying, simulators. The old Italian rules even made me sell my Mavic Mini, despite it being so light. I kept only my small drones to play with, because it was becoming a hassle. In Italy we study, we practise, we pay, we talk to the control tower, we do exam after exam. How much more can we take?
A better solution
I understand regulation is needed, and that DJI sat down with regulators. But I believe this information should only go to police, law enforcement and air traffic control, not to any random person. DJI also faced real competition then, from the Autel EVO 2 and the Skydio 2, both under a thousand euros. I thought this could damage DJI's market a lot, and I was even considering switching brands.