Guide
Home drones and the law in Europe.
Europe has detailed rules for drones in the sky, and a privacy law that covers cameras. A small robot that flies only inside your home sits at the edge of both.
In short. The EU’s drone product rules say they do not apply to drones intended to be flown only indoors, and the drone rules as a whole are written for the open air; a drone that flies outside, even briefly, can fall under them. Inside your home, filming for purely personal reasons is usually outside the GDPR, but not a camera that also covers a public street, and people who work in your home may have rights of their own. General product rules apply whatever the drone does: CE marking, radio and cybersecurity, product safety and batteries.
Flying indoors
Europe’s drone rules come in two parts: Delegated Regulation 2019/945 on the drones themselves, and Implementing Regulation 2019/947 on flying them. The first states plainly that it “does not apply to UAS intended to be exclusively operated indoors”. Both are built around flights in the open air: categories, registration, pilot competence and where you may fly.
The edge is the door. A drone that goes onto a balcony or into the garden is flying outside, and outdoor rules, including national ones, can apply. If a home drone can leave the house, ask your national aviation authority which rules apply to it.
Filming at home
A drone with a camera records people. The GDPR does not apply to processing by a person “in the course of a purely personal or household activity”. The European Data Protection Board’s guidelines on video devices explain where that exemption ends:
- Public space. A camera that covers, even partly, a public space and points outward from your private home is not a purely household activity, following the EU Court of Justice.
- Scale and purpose. Whether you know the people filmed, and how much and how often you record, also count.
- National rules. Countries can add their own requirements, for example where cameras film people who work in your home.
Good practice, whatever the law: tell guests when a camera is on, keep it out of bedrooms and bathrooms unless you choose otherwise, and prefer a robot that processes images at home and shows a live view only when you ask. What to ask about a robot’s camera.
Rules that apply anyway
| Rule | What it means for a home drone | Since |
|---|---|---|
| CE marking | The maker declares that the product meets the EU rules that apply to it | In force |
| Radio Equipment Directive, cybersecurity | Radio products that connect to the internet must meet security requirements | 1 August 2025 |
| General Product Safety Regulation | Consumer products must meet general safety requirements and be traceable | 13 December 2024 |
| Cyber Resilience Act | Makers must report actively exploited vulnerabilities; the main duties, including security updates for a support period, follow | Reporting 11 September 2026; main duties 11 December 2027 |
| Battery Regulation | Most portable batteries must be removable and replaceable by the user | 18 February 2027 |
| AI Act | If the robot talks with you through an AI, you must be told it is an AI unless that is obvious | August 2026 |
The data you give the robot’s maker is covered by the GDPR in the usual way: your data rights with an AI assistant.
How Alkyon is designed
Alkyon, our concept for a flying home companion, is designed for indoors only: balconies and gardens are places it does not go, and its software stops it at the door. Its camera images are processed on its dock at home, and you see a live view only when you ask. It is a concept in development, for Europe only, and not yet CE marked. More: the rules in its design.
Sources, read 4 November 2026: Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/945, Article 2(4) (EU text as adopted); European Data Protection Board, Guidelines 3/2019 on processing of personal data through video devices, version 2.0, 29 January 2020; European Commission, AI Act. General information, not legal advice; national rules differ.
Questions
Do I need to register a drone that only flies indoors?
The EU's drone product rules exclude drones intended to be flown only indoors, and the drone rules are written for flights in the open air. If your drone ever flies outside, even onto a balcony, check with your national aviation authority.
Does the GDPR apply to a camera robot in my own home?
Usually not, for purely personal use: the GDPR exempts household activity. The exemption ends where a camera also covers public space, and filming visitors or people who work in your home can bring duties under national law.