Detecting a drone is not only seeing a dot on a map. As soon as a frame carries an operator number or the pilot’s position, the processing can relate to a person. This guide is not legal advice. It sets the questions a site manager should settle before go-live.
Which data is involved
A Direct Remote ID frame broadcasts, in the clear, an aircraft identifier, an operator number, the drone’s position and movement, and an estimated pilot position. The link between the number and the person’s name is not in the frame: it sits in the registry (AlphaTango in France). That link is in principle available to authorities, not to the site operator.
The detector log adds time, trajectory and, if you pair it with a VMS, an image. An image of an identifiable person is personal data, whether or not the drone is cooperative.
EASA Opinion No 06/2026 would improve registry quality by requiring identity verification. It does not give the site a right to consult that registry.
Purpose, retention, access
- Write the purpose: site security, verification, building a file if there is an infringement. No commercial reuse, no publication of identifiers.
- Set a retention period aligned with the incident policy — often twelve or twenty-four months — then delete. Sites under a sectoral duty may keep data longer: that period has to be written down.
- Limit the accounts that can see trajectories and reports. An access log on the supervision platform makes that control checkable.
- Host on premises, or on infrastructure you control, when your sovereignty policy requires it. DECTYR Hub can run that way.
Notice and impact assessment
People on the site — staff, visitors, contractors — should be told that drone detection is in place, in the same way as video surveillance, when the system can concern them.
An impact assessment should be considered as soon as detection is systematic over a publicly exposed perimeter or paired with video. It is not a form to fill in afterwards: it justifies retention, the absence of unnecessary facial recognition, and the path to law enforcement.
If an overflight is disputed, send the pack (timestamped report, Remote ID extract, video extract) to the police or your security advisor. Do not try to identify the person behind the operator number yourself.
FAQ
Is Remote ID personal data?
The operator number and the pilot position can make a person identifiable, especially once matched to the registry. Treat them as such, even if you do not hold the name.
Can I show the trajectory on a public screen?
An internal operational display, yes, if it is planned and limited. Open publication of identifiers or pilot positions, no: it leaves the security purpose.
Does a passive detector change the regime?
It does not transmit and needs no transmit authorisation. It does not remove the data-protection frame: what is recorded matters, not only what is emitted.