People seem to think this is anti-competitive.

But these companies have interposed themselves between purchasers and their drones. You have to activate your drone using an app, the apps have been connecting back to china since the early DJI products, and with an update they could just fly away.

Seriously, why do people need an account to activate/fly?

Part of it could be to help ensure that the drones are operated in compliance with national regulations, such as FAA regulations in the US. Modern drones consult databases of restricted zones they are not supposed to fly in, and those databases change occasionally.

For regular airplanes flown by highly trained pilots relying on pilots to put in the effort to learn of changes that might affect a trip works. If a regular airplane pilot flies somewhere they are not supposed to be because they didn't check NOTAMs or were using outdated charts no one is going to say Cessna needs to do more to keep pilots from making those mistakes.

For drones, which require much less training and are sold to consumers, it is much more likely that the operators won't keep up to date. A spate of consumer drones entering restricted airspace would definitely lead to serious pressure on the makers to do something about it.

Similar for updates that fix bugs. With airplanes it is reasonable to expect the operator to apply any updates that the maker releases that fix bugs that might affect airworthiness. With drones, not so much.

Ask HP the same question for printers or Microsoft for Windows. Today everthing needs an account, even wash machines.

DJI requires activation (through a cell phone app, exposing personally identifiable information) for all their products, even action cameras.

I don't think US-made drones would be any different.

Drones have regulated no-fly areas in the US (other nations too), the regulations basically require some measures like this.

>> why do people need an account to activate/fly?

So when they find your drone crashed into the Whitehouse lawn, they can track it back to you rather than rely on you to phone in a confession.

https://slate.com/technology/2015/03/white-house-lawn-drone-...

> The 31-year-old Usman lost control of a Phantom FC40 drone owned by a friend early that morning, and telephoned his employers and the Secret Service to report the incident when he learned the small model aircraft had been found on the White House grounds.

> Seriously, why do people need an account to activate/fly?

Theft, for one. Anything that can be re-sold secondhand with no way for the owner to verify it hasn't been stolen will get stolen and re-sold for drug money.

You don't hear mass reports from hobos attacking people for their iPhones any more ever since Apple introduced Activation Lock and Find My, for example. Yes, there still are professionals shipping stolen devices off to China to be parted out and yes, I think we should hold China accountable because there's more than enough evidence at that point, but still, it has drastically cut back on the everyday thefts and robberies.

Same thing along supply chains. A container full of expensive things, no matter if it's drones, laptops, phones or sneakers, is a very attractive thing for insiders - but devices needing activation are, assuming a supply chain able to track serial numbers of devices inside containers, effectively worthless other than for parts and Apple is even cutting in on that "market". In contrast, you have routine train heists for millions of dollars worth in sneakers [1].

For drones specifically, accountability. Governments are sick and tired of consumer drones flown by morons completely ignoring the law. There's old models without remote-id still around from the old days, but eventually these will all die out and by then, law enforcement has at least some way of holding people accountable.

[1] https://www.sneakerfreaker.com/news/la-train-heist-sneakers-...