A woman has been left shaken after spotting a drone outside her window at her home in New Plymouth.

Tracee, who asked for her last name to be withheld, was taking a shower in her bedroom en-suite with the door open when she heard a loud "buzzing" sound.

She looked toward the sound and spotted a drone with a camera attached to it sitting at her window with a direct view into her bathroom.

Feeling a rush of "immediate fury", she dashed out for a closer look.

Tracee, 55, told 1News: "I grabbed my towel and rushed into my bedroom, only to see it disappearing".

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"It hovered a while and seemed like it was almost right at my window."

Her home in New Plymouth Central looks out to the ocean but is a good few streets back from the shoreline.

She says it was "definitely not a good feeling" as she's left wondering whether the camera was recording or able to take any pictures.

"I remember years ago being burgled and they went all through my underwear drawer and I felt so invaded. It's brought back memories of that," she said.

A part of her is trying remain optimistic it was just a random drone pilot who was playing around and stumbled across her by accident but she struggles to fight off worry some operators are misusing the devices.

She said: "I asked myself was it a one off? Has this person done it before and are they still doing it? Do they have images of my bedroom? Do they now have images of me in the shower?

"If anyone under 40 snapped me they’re probably either certifiably blind now or put off women for life. You have to have a bit of a lighthearted look in case it was just young idiots playing with a toy but you never know."

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Drone rules

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) classifies drones as aircraft and outline a strict set of rules for pilots to adhere to.

One rule states: "Don't fly over private land, such as farms or houses, unless the owner says it's OK."

Anyone with a safety concern about a drone can report the incident on the CAA website or to police in instances where safety and privacy has been compromised.

A CAA spokesperson told 1News: "We expect people to fly drones safely and responsibly. Complaints like this one should be directed to the police.

"Any other safety issues with the activity, which could be breaches of the CAA rules, can be reported to the CAA through our normal reporting process on our website."