The San Francisco Police Department reportedly left a live drone surveillance feed exposed on the internet for months, allowing anyone who discovered the link to view the footage. The feed, obtained through a screenshot, showed drones tracking suspects through city streets, monitoring apartment buildings, following vehicles, and assisting officers during arrests and investigations.
The leaked footage, which was reportedly exposed for six months, included live color and thermal video, GPS location data, and information identifying drone operators. In one example, multiple drones tracked a suspect across San Francisco before officers surrounded and arrested him following an alleged vehicle theft-related incident.
Researchers discovered that the publicly accessible feeds included hundreds of people and vehicles documented throughout the city. The archive reportedly contained roughly 60 videos from 20 separate drone flights conducted over approximately 48 hours. The San Francisco Police Department has expanded its drone program significantly since its launch in 2024.
The department has increased its fleet from six drones to 98, with officers conducting more than 1,400 drone deployments between May 2024 and March 2026. The exposed footage captured police responding to alleged vehicle thefts, missing person investigations, reports of armed suspects, welfare checks, and other incidents.
The department initially claimed that the exposed link was an "internal restricted link" intended only for internal law enforcement use. However, the link appeared to have been created without password protection or an expiration date, allowing anyone who discovered the address to view the live feeds.
Following an investigation, the San Francisco Police Department has implemented more restrictive sharing protocols to prevent unauthorized individuals from accessing the footage. At this time, the department has no information that other individuals were accessing the live drone feed.
