San Francisco Police Drone Footage Leak Exposes Unsecured Aerial Surveillance

In mid-June, security researchers Sam Curry and Maik Robert discovered that live video, thermal imaging, and telemetry from five San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) drones were publicly accessible through an unsecured web address. The feed showed a quadcopter tracking an SUV’s license plate, following the driver through traffic, and continuing to monitor him after he fled into an apartment complex. A second drone arrived, captured the suspect’s forced detention, and recorded police officers tackling him. The researchers archived the stream, which covered roughly 48 hours of activity, before reporting the breach to the drone maker Skydio, which subsequently removed the public feed.

Wired MagazineLeaked Skydio Police Drone Footage Exposes Deep Urban Surveillance VulnerabilitiesSFPD Drone Footage Leak Exposes Urban Surveillance Reality

The drones, manufactured by Skydio—a California company that has become a primary supplier for U.S. law-enforcement agencies after many departments moved away from Chinese-made DJI units—were deployed for “auto boost/strip” investigations, a term the SFPD uses to describe alleged theft of vehicle parts. Skydio’s server configuration left the video streams, associated GPS logs, and the pilots’ names and email addresses unprotected, allowing anyone with the URL to view the data without authentication.

SFPD Drone Footage Leak Exposes Urban Surveillance Reality

• Videos: 60 recordings from 20 separate flights, each captured from three angles (color camera, thermal camera, and rooftop dock view).

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• Footage Length: More than three hours of aerial color video and a comparable amount of thermal video.

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• Telemetry: Over 5,000 GPS points tracing roughly 44 miles of flight paths, including latitude, longitude, altitude, speed, heading, and battery level.

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• Personnel: Names and official email addresses of six active SFPD drone pilots appear in the logs.

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• People Counted: Automated analysis identified 34 individuals in a single downtown intersection frame; clear facial features of dozens of civilians appear across the archive.

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The department described the incident being monitored as an alleged “auto boost/strip” case involving the theft of car parts. SFPD policy, as noted in the footage, typically restricts public release of drone video, even in response to records requests. No formal comment on the security breach was included in the source material.

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Civil-rights groups argue that the leak “shattered public trust” and highlights a “catastrophic failure of data governance.” They stress that the ability to livestream police operations, peer into private apartments, and monitor civilian movements violates expectations of privacy and raises constitutional concerns about unlawful search and seizure. Curry emphasized that the breach compromises the trust placed in police to use advanced surveillance responsibly.

Leaked Skydio Police Drone Footage Exposes Deep Urban Surveillance Vulnerabilities

• The footage shows two forced detentions, but it is unclear whether formal arrests were made.

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• While faces are visible, the sources do not indicate whether any individuals were later identified or prosecuted based on the drone imagery.

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• No official SFPD response or policy revision has been documented in the available material.

Leaked Skydio Police Drone Footage Exposes Deep Urban Surveillance Vulnerabilities

• “There’s a certain trust given to the police to use these things correctly,” — Sam Curry, Security Researcher

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• “When you're watching a drone feed live, you can look into dozens of different apartments, you can see police zooming in on people, you can see arrests. The fact that all of this was exposed feels like a really big issue from a privacy perspective.” — Sam Curry, Security Researcher

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• “The ability for unauthorized individuals to live-stream active police operations, zoom into private residences, and monitor civilian movements represents a catastrophic failure of data governance.” — Privacy advocate (as quoted in coverage)

Leaked Skydio Police Drone Footage Exposes Deep Urban Surveillance Vulnerabilities

• “If a highly-funded American police department utilizing cutting-edge Silicon Valley hardware can inadvertently broadcast its operations to the open web, the risks for under-resourced international municipalities are exponentially higher.” — Analyst cited in global-impact commentary

Leaked Skydio Police Drone Footage Exposes Deep Urban Surveillance Vulnerabilities