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Ask HN: How do I stop my neighbour flying their drone over my house?

• jacquesm 8y ago
  First stop would be the municipality, to see if this can be resolved in a non-legal way, second would be the police because flying drones over built up ground is illegal in many places, finally, recording people without their consent is illegal in private space (such as your garden). I'm not the nicest person in the world and if someone flew a drone over my garden I would ignore it but if they would hover there long enough for me to be irritated I just might attempt to bring it down. That would at least force the owner to identify themselves and I can afford to replace the drone if ordered to do so by a judge.
  • bufferoverflow 8y ago
    > recording people without their consent is illegal in private space Not if it's visible from the public space. OP should check the local laws first. It's possible he had no recourse, depending on how high the drone flies. It's not like airplanes need your permission to fly over your property.
    • jacquesm 8y ago
      The air above your garden is not exactly 'public space'. People will put all kinds of visible barriers around their house to get some privacy, hovering your drone over those barriers is clearly a breach of sorts. Depending on where this is happening the laws will vary but here is one example from the UK: http://www.prettys.co.uk/drones-and-the-law http://www.prettys.co.uk/drones-and-the-law
      • cartercole 8y ago
        is OP in the UK as I understand the drone laws any airspace over your house is a public thoroughfare
        • loriverkutya 8y ago
          In the UK you cannot fly drones near any houses or person (less then 50 meters) https://www.gov.uk/government/news/drones-are-you-flying-yours-safely-and-legally https://www.gov.uk/government/news/drones-are-you-flying-you...
        • PeterisP 8y ago
          Public airspace starts rather high (500 feet?), a random drone flying over your garden at 300 ft height is technically located in your private property.
• Raed667 8y ago
  Depends on where you live. Check your local laws about flying drones over populated areas and houses.
• owebmaster 8y ago
  You can try to grab it for you with a net or something.
  • tudelo 8y ago
    That sounds so impractical and difficult (even impossible...). It is hilarious though to imagine what sort of reaction the drone pilot would have.
    • kridsdale1 8y ago
      Use a net dropping drone to fly above, match its movements, and deploy.
• eb0la 8y ago
  I would try to target the drone and record its activity. If you can documentos that it is flying too much over you, you can take action. If that fails you can learn tensorflow and target the drone camera with a (low power) laser. Don't fry the camera justo point the laser at the objective while it is flying and voila: privacy happens.
  • cheeze 8y ago
    Whatever you do, do not shine a laser into airspace. This is how you get a visit from the FAA, who do not mess around.
• Smushman 8y ago
  Can't we jam these signals yet? DIY method: https://makezine.com/projects/build-wi-fi-drone-disabler-with-raspberry-pi/ https://makezine.com/projects/build-wi-fi-drone-disabler-wit... Pro Method: https://www.droneshield.com/blog-content/2017/1/14/drone-defence-jammers-101 https://www.droneshield.com/blog-content/2017/1/14/drone-def... Seems to me with DIY method you aren't breaking any FCC regs (uses a wifi de-auth). Still I would do it out of direct line of sight (hidden/obscured area) in case operator catches you on camera. When you pick it up just ask them to kindly come by and pick it up. Being nice works well when people are doing questionable things (and possession is 9/10 of the law if they are not nice in return).
  • JeremiahMN 8y ago
    I have a dji drone, even if you break the wifi connection, it will just return to "home". Unless you can spoof a gps signal, I don't know how you'd capture it.
    • rl3 8y ago
      Spoofing a GPS signal such that it returns home to the local dump would be amusing. Thing just lands atop a mountain of trash.
    • DrScump 8y ago
      But wouldn't that reveal who its owner is?
  • DmenshunlAnlsis 8y ago
    Could you DIY something like this? https://bgr.com/2015/10/16/drone-defender-rifle-radio-wave-gun/ https://bgr.com/2015/10/16/drone-defender-rifle-radio-wave-g... Or https://www.dailydot.com/debug/wi-fi-drone-disabler-raspberry-pi/ https://www.dailydot.com/debug/wi-fi-drone-disabler-raspberr...
  • cartercole 8y ago
    its illegal to jam wifi you cant mess with an aircraft in flight even if it is a drone... super not safe and against the FAA rules as I understand it
• gadders 8y ago
  Shotgun?
  • RightMillennial 8y ago
    You'd want to be very careful with that. Shooting a gun in the air isn't the most wise choice. Not to mention that you should expect a law suit. My understanding is the results have been mixed.
  • jpindar 8y ago
    If you want to spend some time in prison. Doesn't seem worth it to me.
• angryasian 8y ago
  Like this obviously https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOnjlyZf6LE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOnjlyZf6LE
  • holstvoogd 8y ago
    or try to get one of these: https://youtu.be/ccx3WOovGh0?t=43 https://youtu.be/ccx3WOovGh0?t=43
  • agitator 8y ago
    Toilet paper seems to work just fine. http://i.imgur.com/c74fETo.gifv http://i.imgur.com/c74fETo.gifv
• s_m_t 8y ago
  Bigger drone
• sharecropper 8y ago
  If it's close enough, a kite or net may be enough to snag it/bring it down, otherwise a pressure water jet can work wonders, pretend you are cleaning your roof. Tech solution is to generate a stronger WiFi signal and force it to auto pilot. Don't go firing things, just a bad idea all over.
• qop 8y ago
  Insane idea here, have you thought about just asking him not to? "Hey neighbor, I was wondering if you might do me a small favor. I noticed your new drone, it's very cool. I'm sure you get lots of cool pictures and footage, but it makes me a little bit uncomfortable when you're flying over my garden and my home, do ya think you think you could still get your footage from outside of my property's airspace? Thanks pal, I appreciate it."
  • cosmie 8y ago
    OP mentions that he doesn't know which neighbor owns the drone. If he's in a neighborhood like mine, he may only have line of sight of his most immediate neighbor and past that it could be any of dozens of other houses within close proximity.
    • qop 8y ago
      Hm, I skimmed over that. He may have to follow the drone home next time he sees it.
  • deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
• cartercole 8y ago
  Unless they are spying on you you have little recourse... the government considers anything above your property that's navigable airspace as a public thoroughfare so they have the right to fly through it... they cant spy on your sunbathing daughter but if they catch a glimpse flying by there's nothing you can do. Its based on this case https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Causby https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Causby I would also suggest against taking matters into your own hands to shoot down the drone or some jamming device as messing with aircraft in flight is a big no no even if its just a little drone. its a safety thing i cant find the original video i watched but here are some other sources https://www.criminaldefenselawyer.com/resources/when-a-drone-flies-over-my-house-is-it-trespassing.html https://www.criminaldefenselawyer.com/resources/when-a-drone... https://phantompilots.com/threads/flying-over-private-property-is-illegal.104094/ https://phantompilots.com/threads/flying-over-private-proper... http://www.droneguru.net/can-drones-fly-over-private-property-and-how-to-stop-them/ http://www.droneguru.net/can-drones-fly-over-private-propert...
  • mattmanser 8y ago
    Depends which country he's in. In the UK you're not allowed to fly them within 50m of people or property without permission. https://www.caa.co.uk/Consumers/Unmanned-aircraft/Recreational-drones/Permissions-and-exemptions-for-drone-flights/ https://www.caa.co.uk/Consumers/Unmanned-aircraft/Recreation...
  • todd8 8y ago
    Under the Texas Privacy Act of 2013 [1], a drone operator capturing an image of a person on private property is subject to a $5000 civil penalty. Distributing the image can result in significantly higher damages. If done to surveil it becomes a crime in addition to a civil penalty. [1] http://www.legis.state.tx.us/tlodocs/83R/billtext/html/HB00912F.htm http://www.legis.state.tx.us/tlodocs/83R/billtext/html/HB009...
• segmondy 8y ago
  catapult
• modbait 8y ago
  How about neighborhood flyers warning that a drone was watching your kid get dressed. That ought to do it. (Kidding, more or less.)
• RightMillennial 8y ago
  Have you considered taking up the hobby of falconry?
• P0l0 8y ago
  I also have a drone if the person does not all the rules this is the best advice I have for you, record the action of the Drone,find out who it is resolve the problem with the drone pilot or the police........ obviously if somebody has a drone they should know all the rules and regulations
• kevinsimper 8y ago
  You could fly after his drone with your drone and see who it is!
• pasbesoin 8y ago
  Don't forget to film this happening, repeatedly. If you can show it's much more than a one-off, and how low the drone is, etc., you may get a more sympathetic reaction from authorities. Whether it's the police, a court, or whatever. In addition to drone use and behavior, specifically, many communities have nuisance laws and ordinances. If your neighbor is making a nuisance of themself, the "drone" part may be incidental in getting the behavior to stop. Best wishes. P.S. For example, you may have a perfect right to use a leaf blower on your yard. But if you are compulsive with it and spend 2 - 3 hours every day blowing every last speck off your lawn and driveway, you may be found to be a nuisance.