Protecting Your Privacy: A Guide to Avoiding Drone Surveillance

It's hard to know who owns a drone; some cars have a visible registration number, usually in case the owner forgets.

I watch the drones in the sky with my eyes

I was swimming in the backyard pool one day when I heard a familiar hum. Sure enough, a drone was circling overhead, which disappeared shortly after I flicked it away with my hands. This is where my idea for writing this article came from.

The legality of drone surveillance varies by country and state, but if a drone is flying over your private property and recording you without your consent, call the police. This is an invasion of your privacy.

It's hard to know who owns a drone. In my case, it flew out of sight within seconds. If I had my iPhone within arm's reach, I'd snap a photo of the drone. Some drones have a visible registration number, usually to prevent the owner from forgetting it.

Things You Should Never Do to Drones

There are some effective and perfectly legal ways to avoid surveillance. There are also ways that are illegal for ordinary citizens.

The FAA legally protects drones from:

Shooting: Shooting into the sky is dangerous and illegal. Just don't do it.

Physical Interference: This includes lasers and other objects.

Disable or otherwise tamper: Using blockers and hacking is a crime.

Now that we've got that out of the way, here's what you can do.

Use your surroundings as cover

Own a drone or know someone who has one? I bet you've been in a situation where someone threw something at it. This is not the right way to avoid drones.

You should take a more reactive approach. In bad weather — heavy rain, fog, and high winds — it can be difficult for drones to fly or get great footage. To rate you.

When the weather is nice and you see drones buzzing overhead, find a place where they are less likely to spot you. Trees, alcoves, awnings, and tunnels are all great places to hide when drones pass by.

The Jalisco, Mexico-based CJNG, led by drug lord Nemesio Osegra Cervantes, wears cell phone jammer on its uniform and "employs Middle Eastern terror tactics" by targeting crowds with drones .

They are using drones "to drop bombs on rival cartels and the Mexican Armed Forces."

"They use cell phone wifi jammers to stop these attacks. They use them to stop people from calling for help or calling family when they're kidnapped. They also use them to conduct very sophisticated maneuvers on the battlefield, where they can cover up," Logan said. "They can cover their lines, they can cover their attacks, they can cover their exits -- the way they exit the situation. It takes a lot of training and it's a real threat."