A serious safety lapse has uncovered hours of stay surveillance footage from the San Francisco Police Division’s drone program.
The footage provides a uncommon glimpse into the size of aerial policing now going down over certainly one of America’s largest cities.
In line with WIRED, two cybersecurity researchers found that stay feeds from 5 SFPD drones had been publicly accessible via an online hyperlink generated by drone producer Skydio.
The stream reportedly remained uncovered for months earlier than it was taken offline.
The leaked footage confirmed drones monitoring suspects via metropolis streets, monitoring condominium buildings, following automobiles, and helping officers throughout arrests and investigations.
🚨🚔 SAN FRANCISCO police have been streaming LIVE drone surveillance via @SkydioHQ‘s OWN WEBSITE for six months! Arrests. Flats. License plates. All public! 6 months of California police ops on the open web!
The CCP thanks you in your service.https://t.co/Y94l0QxpdM
— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) July 13, 2026
In a single instance, a number of drones tracked a suspect throughout San Francisco earlier than officers surrounded and arrested him following what police described as an alleged car theft-related incident.
The researchers, Sam Curry and Maik Robert, mentioned the publicly accessible feeds included stay colour and thermal video, GPS location knowledge, and knowledge figuring out drone operators.
The archive reportedly contained roughly 60 movies from 20 separate drone flights performed over roughly 48 hours, documenting a whole bunch of individuals and automobiles all through the town.
In line with the report, San Francisco’s drone program has expanded considerably since launching in 2024.
The division has elevated its fleet from six drones to 98, with officers conducting greater than 1,400 drone deployments between Might 2024 and March 2026.
WIRED reported that the uncovered footage captured police responding to alleged car thefts, lacking particular person investigations, stories of armed suspects, welfare checks and different incidents.
The publication mentioned the uncovered hyperlink appeared to have been created with out password safety or an expiration date, permitting anybody who found the tackle to view the stay feeds.
The San Francisco Police Division mentioned the hyperlink was supposed just for inside legislation enforcement use and referred to as it an “inside restricted hyperlink.”
“After being made conscious of the vulnerability, SFPD has put extra restrictive sharing protocols in place to make sure unauthorized people won’t be able to entry our footage,” the division mentioned.
“Presently, we do not need data that different people have been accessing the stay drone feed. This matter stays below investigation.”
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