Flying camera that logs every flight to the manufacturer's servers. DJI facing US ban.
3 devices analyzed. Set your privacy comfort level to filter.
What we found
DJI Mini 4 Pro Drone: CPending US consumer ban. Sends flight data to DJI servers in China.
US Department of Defense banned DJI drones from military use in 2017 citing cyber vulnerabilities. US Congress passed legislation requiring DJI security audit due to data transmission concerns. FCC added foreign-made drones to Covered List in December 2025 citing national security risks of data transmission to foreign servers. DJI's parent company SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd is headquartered in Shenzhen, China and subject to China's National Intelligence Law (Article 7) requiring organizations to support national intelligence work.
Autel EVO Lite+: CPeople bought Autel drones to avoid DJI's China concerns.
Autel Robotics is headquartered in Shenzhen, China — the same city as DJI. Despite marketing itself as a DJI alternative, Autel is subject to the same Chinese National Intelligence Law concerns. In 2023, the US House China Select Committee recommended adding Autel to the FCC covered equipment list alongside Huawei. Autel drones transmit flight telemetry to servers in China.
Skydio 2+: CSkydio replaced DJI for US police because of China fears.
Skydio markets heavily to law enforcement and military as the NDAA-compliant alternative to DJI. Over 200 US police departments use Skydio drones for surveillance operations. Civil liberties groups have raised concerns that Skydio's aggressive law enforcement marketing enables warrantless aerial surveillance, with the "made in America" branding used to bypass concerns about drone surveillance that were originally raised about Chinese-made DJI products.