Just wondering if you fly a drone you have to stay at a distance so that any person in the image cannot be identified and I get that but I see absolutely loads of dash cam footage being uploaded to the internet that in most cases shows uninvolved people , are the privacy rules different ? I obviously don’t mean flying near private property , I’m thinking about public access areas.
Apologies if this is in the wrong section and feel free to move it . I was just curious so thought I would ask .
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I guess it’s the same rules as general photography really.
If out in public ( street photography ) your privacy is basically out the window and as cars drive on public roads the same sort of rules apply.
I think its when people are on private land like there own property etc then your privacy rules come into play but if they are on a beach or walking along a road and your flying your drone and you capture them its again public place and the rights to privacy are not applicable - also how identifiable is someone from a drone photo ?
So why do you think the rules are different ? I don’t - a camera is a camera - be it in a car or in the hands of a person or up in the sky. Its where its being used and the right to privacy in that location. This is generally why the likes if NT have an issue with drones as they harp on about privacy but they have it all wrong really and don’t view it as a flying camera yet someone with a big zoom lens in there grounds are OK ( as long as its not a commercial photo shoot )
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That’s kind of my point although I haven’t perhaps worded it as well but your point of the NT says it better , councils do the same , but drones always seem to be picked on and somehow treated differently
I think the issue with Drones stems from a few area’s. Movies being the big one - the sneaky little pesky things that spy on the bad guys in the sky with the operator being a million miles away. This causes fear in people knowing that there is this little thing that can sneak up into places and watch you and you have no idea. They have no idea what our drones can or can’t do.
The only time I ever had a negative reaction to me flying a drone was down to the lack of understanding. When I showed the guy what I could see and how that basically the camera on my mini 3 pro was as good as his iPhone and what it could see was about as good as what I could see he was shocked - I did point out that big drones can have big zoom lens on them but they cost way more.
The media also plays a bad part on the education of what drones do too again feer sells papers and gets clicks.
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Where does it say that ?
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You can’t use your car’s dashcam to perv on your neighbour’s missis in the shower like you can with a drone (not the voice of experience, before anyone asks), unless you’re in Ron Beasley’s Anglia, hence the apparent difference in rules.
AFAIAA the rules are simply that you respect peoples’ privacy with your camera, and I wasn’t aware that there was any formalised difference for drone cameras or dashcams over any other cameras.
One must keep 50m distance from uninvolved people when flying 250g+ drones, but that’s because of the increased injury risk if you hit someone. A car can do a lot more damage of course, but there are laws and rules that address this, and people crossing or walking on roads are aware of cars in the vicinity in a way that they will not be aware of a kg or so of drone 120m above them potentially obeying Newton’s First Law at 30m per second per second on it’s terminal velocipede, so it’s not like-for-like!
Why are privacy rules different for drones than dash cams?
They’re not, end of.
Just follow the normal rules regarding photography and also fly within the CAA drone code. And of course one of our favourites “don’t be a dick”
You’ll be fine, go fly.
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If you have the A2 CofC qualification, you can fly closer than 50m to uninvolved persons 
Don’t think so … See CAP2012 below…
CAP2012_Drone_Rules_Factsheet_V11.pdf (195.1 KB)
You can fly drones up to 500 gram within 50 metres of uninvolved people but over that weight its 50 metres minimum separation to uninvolved people. You can fly closer than 50 metres if you fly under Article 16 though. The big alleviation for A2 CofC holders is that there is no minimum separation to built-up areas but you must still satisfy the minimum separation of 50 metres to uninvolved people. 
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Directly from the CAA website.
Drones and model aircraft that weigh 250g to 500g
If you’re flying a drone or model aircraft that’s between 250g and 500g, you can fly closer to people than 50m if you get the A2 Certificate of Competency (A2 CofC). You still must not intentionally fly over people.
Where you can fly (points 3 to 9) | Civil Aviation Authority.
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The first line of your reply
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I dont think the privacy rules are any different to any other camera or dashcam. For example you could legally fly over a garden or house while the owners were having a BBQ. If you fly over as part of a VLOS flight and not deliberating trying to film George & Mildred down the road having a BBQ, there is no privacy breach, but if you were to hover and take photos and video of them enjoying the BBQ that would costitute a potential privacy breach and a reason to recieve a complaint from the occupants, although the press get away with it to the most part. Its more a case of using common sense and not flying too low over people. I have converted a few people away from the idea that drones (especially small drones) are capable of capturing your every movements and face by showing them what they look like at 120m (400ft) The rules for privacy are complex, but in essence dont fly to low/hover and too close to people and the potential for a privacy claim breaches go away
I was just clarifying that with an A2 CofC flying within 50 metres of uninvolved people is limited to 500 grams max weight. Don’t want anyone getting the impression that an A2 CofC gives all weights of drone clearance to fly within 50 metres of uninvolved people. 
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In the case of a prosecution or attempted prosecution, much will depend on the interpretation of grey legal areas such as what actually can be regareded as nuiscance/privacy invasion. In many cases it will be obvious, and in others equally obviously not, and this will apply to all photographic/video activity, but different parties will place the dividing line between the two in different places!
What us uncertain newbies want is a definitive and quantifiable rule that we can abide by, or take the chance of knowingly breaking if we are so minded (not recommended!). But no such thing exists, it’s about interpretation. Strikes me that there are two default newbie-droner responses to this, and both are wrong, but only one is potentially criminally wrong.
Overcaution, being hyper-aware of privacy/nuisance issues, and failing to exploit flying and photographic opportunities as a result, or recklessness, taking advantage of the grey uncertain definition of the rules and flying in close for a better shot, risking censure and relying on the greyness of the rule to get away with it.
The best approach will be somewhere between these two extremes, developing confidence and being fully aware of the issues but not completely subservient to them. This, it seems to me with a few months flying under my belt, to come naturally with experience as you develop a feel for your surroundings and the people in them.
There will be no definitive quantitave answer to this, as we will each fly in our individual ways according to our own individual interpretations of the rules and our own individual characters and confidence. I am not the world’s most assertive person, but I am much more relaxed flying my drone now than I was a few months ago. TTBOMK I haven’t invaded anyone’s privacy. My advice to newbies would be to obey the rules the best you can and get out and practice as much as you can, which is a) fun, b) will improve your flying skills, c) develop the desired level of your individual confidence (and competence) more quickly.
Go forth and fly, my children, but try to obey the rules and stay safe!
Ahh I see. Only thing I’d point out is if you were flying a heavier than 500g drone 200-300m away from you, is the difficulty estimating 50m distance from an uninvolved person in the vicinity of your drone.
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I think this is a problem in general; we are hobby droners not trained military observers, and our perception of distances is sketchy at best. The drone will tell you how far away it is on the screen, but that’s no help of you are trying to guesstimate how far away people are before deciding to fly!