Hollywood Drone Security Crisis — How A-Listers Are Being Warned to Invest in Anti-Spy in the Sky Devices 'Tooled up To Capture Their Most Private Moments'
Harry and Meghan have been plagued by invasive drones.
April 3 2025, Published 7:20 p.m. ET
Hollywood heavyweights are being urged to take necessary steps to protect their privacy from invasive and illegal drones, RadarOnline.com can report.
As drone technology becomes more advanced and more affordable, celebrities are becoming bigger targets.
Drone technology has grown increasingly more affordable
Famous folks are used to dodging nosey paparazzi photographers hungry to capture any embarrassing moment. Now, anyone with a simple camera and cheap drone can invade personal space.
One insider told Radar: "Stars are petrified drones will be used to video them in very compromising positions."
It's already happened. Celebs including Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Emilia Clarke and Ryan Reynolds have all had to face intrusive and unwanted drones hovering around them – even after California enacted a law banning drone operators from violating the air space of private property.
Drones in the skies are being used to target celebrity homes.
However, Mike Fraietta, an FAA drone pilot and founder of security company Gargoyle Systems, told The Hollywood Reporter the problems will only get worse before they get better.
He said: "Drones are becoming harder to detect and the rate this is happening is kind of unbelievable."
And it seems the legislation is having little effect in deterring would-be snoopers.
Fraietta explained: "There was legislation passed, but that doesn’t necessarily stop them. Especially with high rises in places like New York and Austin, people assume they’re so high up that nobody can see them, but drones can."
Drones are also being used in robberies.
Drones are not just being used and abused by perverse looky-loos. There has also been a skyrocketing problem of criminals using them to case their targets or keep an eye out while crimes are underway.
Fraietta revealed: "We're seeing robberies happen every day with the assistance of drones."
Flying drones have been blamed for a string of robberies in Southern California, and sports leagues like the NBA and NFL have warned athletes to be cautious about their homes while playing in other cities.
The concern has gone global as well. Siete Hamminga, CEO of Netherlands-based Robin Radar, said drone-assisted burglaries have occurred in Europe, as well: "I don’t think it’s super common, but we have seen a number of cases in which drones were used for reconnaissance in high-end burglaries.
"Drones can be used to plan and to understand how a home is protected, and they can also be used in real time, to help warn that they need to get out of there."
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It should come as no surprise then that drone security systems are on the rise. However, professional, military-grade drone-detection systems can cost about $200,000.
Companies like Fraietta's are working to bring those sky-high prices back down to earth and are working to find more affordable ways to counter the hovering machines.
Drone detection systems are typically either radio frequency or radar-based. A good radar system can pinpoint nearly all nearby invaders. But those cost at least $500,000, a price typical consumers cannot pay.
But advancements in radio frequency radar systems have led to some products for sale for under $100,000 – and that cost continues to drop.
Hamminga said: "RF (radio frequency) detection is affordable and it detects maybe more than 90 percent of drones, so it can at least provide situational awareness."
