NDSS 2023 researchers from Ruhr University Bochum reverse-engineered DJI firmware and discovered that the DroneID tracking protocol transmits all tracking data without encryption. Any receiver within radio range can identify and track DJI drones and their operators. This is a design choice, not a bug — but DJI's privacy policy does not explicitly warn users that their personal location (as the pilot) is being broadcast unencrypted over radio to anyone nearby with the right equipment.

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.

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.