Advice for Video Doorbell and Surveillance Exit Settings

There’s also the risk that the images fall into the wrong hands and end up enabling politically motivated investigations, police harassment, or stalking without your knowing it or intending it. Maybe company employees or third-party contractors get access to videos, or your cameras are hacked. Amazon settled a privacy lawsuit brought by the FTC that addressed both cases a few years ago.

Recently, ICE has been breaking into Flock’s automatic license reader (ALPR) cameras across the US, according to 404 media. What can I do with video doorbell access?

Then there are the owners of the doorbells. Camera images are often shared online without the knowledge or consent of the subject. People on social networking apps and social media groups post videos of suspicious characters. Unfortunately, these allegations are often subject to their prejudices, and racial profiling can be a real problem, as this study shows. But, as long as the photos are taken in a public place, it is perfectly legal to share them.

“Recording from windows, fenced yards, or other private areas on your property can be an invasion of privacy,” Emile Ayoub, senior adviser at the Brennan Center’s Program on Freedom and National Security, explained to WIRED. “But photos that capture public sidewalks or driveways likely won’t have the same protection.”

So, What Are Your Rights?

The law is specific when it comes to the police.

“Unless presented with a legal request through a warrant or other court order, users are not required to share their photos with law enforcement,” Ayoub said. “Some providers allow law enforcement to post on public message boards demanding videos from users. You can ignore or decline those requests.”

If your video is stored in the cloud, rather than on your device, law enforcement can force companies to hand it over, he explained. Generally, law enforcement must obtain a warrant or similar court order, depending on the type of information they seek. But there are exceptions to the warranty requirement in exigent circumstances, such as imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury.

According to their privacy policies, providers such as Ring and Nest will notify users of data requests from law enforcement, unless prohibited by law from doing so. Of course, no one reads the privacy policy before setting the doorbell.

“This is one of the most frightening things about the rapid implementation of the independent police,” said Guariglia of the EFF. “As more and more evidence begins its journey as company data, the public has less and less power to find out what happens to your information inside the company, if you need a warrant, what their relationship is with the police, and whether your data has been changed.”

How to Protect Your Video Doorbell

There may be a $10K bounty waiting for anyone who can hack Ring’s cameras to stop sharing data with Amazon, but there are easy and quick ways to protect your doorbell video footage. Ditching your video doorbell altogether is an easy way to address privacy concerns, but if you find it useful, you can always avoid cloud services.

“Own your data,” says Matt Sailor, founder of global digital surveillance manufacturer IC Realtime. “There is no need for other people to have your data.”