Source: malwarebytes.com 9/24/25
Police are using drones as flying automated license plate readers (ALPRs), according to a report by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).
And where there is a market, a provider will jump in. Or was it the other way around this time? Flock Safety, for example, recently told a group of potential law enforcement customers interested in Drone as First Responder (DFR) programs that its drone can be used as a flying license plate reader camera as well.
An ALPR system is an intelligent surveillance system that automatically identifies and documents license plates of vehicles by using optical character recognition. This is not necessary for the drones’ main task—it’s an extra feature.
We can definitely see the benefits of the DFR program, which tell police officers what to expect before they arrive at the scene. Increasing situational awareness by using drones makes it safer for both law enforcement officers and the public.
The problem is that drones equipped with ALPR technology can systematically record vehicle location and movement, indifferent to whether it’s in public or private spaces. Unlike fixed cameras, drones can reach places and angles otherwise inaccessible, so they can look in backyards, private driveways, and even through windows.
Depending on the local circumstances, police DFR programs involve a fleet of drones, which can range in number from a few to a few hundred. Low operational costs enable police and their drones to collect and store enormous amounts of data. These practices increase the risk of breaches or leaks. Agencies often keep ALPR and drone-captured data well beyond its useful period, store it on centralized or external servers, and regularly share it with other agencies or federal authorities, according to the EFF.
According to EFF’s Atlas of Surveillance there are approximately 1,500 police departments known to have a drone program. A recent Wired investigation raised concerns about one police department’s program, finding that roughly one in 10 drone flights lacked a stated purpose and for hundreds of deployment the reason was listed as “unknown.”
There is a thin line between unwarranted surveillance and accidental recordings. The EFF states:
“While some states do require a warrant to use a drone to violate the privacy of a person’s airspace, Alaska, California, Hawaii, and Vermont are currently the only states where …
They said we don’t live far from a time where a vehicle may drive by a police car and know almost everything about you and that is probably scarily true!
Traffic cameras will be able to do the same and probably turn into ‘flat-screen policing’ by law enforcement.
Even when you go outside, many times there are cameras on telephone poles in various places in neighborhoods so it is virtually impossible to become iron-clad anonymous unless you were a mask.
Total anonymity is virtually unachievable by anyone anymore.
Data is mined from you every time you use your credit card, get online,and even some TV’s have the capability to spy on you.
There is no real privacy for anyone anymore and the more technology we use that is supposed to make life simpler the more we compromise our privacy and individuality.
These actions need to be legally challenged more in every state that have it.
As if our lives were not already distopian enough.