I’m mostly talking about camera drones rather than FPV ones.
Every time I take mine out of the bag, people gather around with the same questions: how high does it go, how far does it go, was it expensive, have you ever crashed, etc. - as if they’ve never seen a drone before.
It seems like every single YouTuber and amateur photographer has one these days. They’re easy to fly and relatively cheap too. You’d think they’d be everywhere, but I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve actually seen someone flying one. Granted, I don’t leave the house much and when I do I usually head into the woods, so that probably plays a role. Still, I’m curious if this is just me or if other people have had the same experience.


Can only speak for myself, but they are a huge invasion of privacy. I know it’s a drop of water in a bucket with everything else hyper connected, but when I see them it’s always somewhere I’m just trying to enjoy something peacefully and even though it’s very unlikely I’m particularly being watched, it just feels like a huge privacy invasion.
Depends on the drone of course, but for the most part the camera lens is so wide that you’re nothing more than a tiny speck on the screen. To actually recognize a person I’d need to fly so close that it’s obvious you’re being watched. The drones with cameras capable of that are loud enough that it won’t go unnoticed, and the people who invest that much in one generally have better things to do with it than being a creep.
I get your point and I don’t disagree. Just wanted to offer some perspective.