Advice about video doorbells and opt-out settings when monitored

There is also a risk that the footage will fall into the wrong hands and end up enabling politically motivated investigations, police harassment or stalking without knowing it or even knowing it. Company employees or outside contractors may have access to your videos, or your cameras may be hacked. Amazon settled an FTC privacy lawsuit that mentioned both scenarios a few years ago.

Recently, ICE has leveraged Flock’s automatic license plate reader (ALPR) cameras across the United States, according to 404 Media. What can you do with access to video doorbells?

Then there are the doorbell holders. Camera footage is often shared online without the knowledge or permission of the person concerned. On local networking apps and social media groups, people post videos of supposedly suspicious characters. Unfortunately, these suspicions are often subject to their own biases, and racial profiling can be a real problem, as this research indicates. But, provided the footage was taken in a public place, it is perfectly legal to share it.

“Recording in windows, fenced backyards, or other private spaces on your property may be an invasion of privacy,” Emil Ayoub, senior counsel at the Brennan Center’s Freedom and National Security Program, explained to WIRED. “But shots depicting public-facing sidewalks or walkways likely won’t have the same protections.”

So, what are your rights?

The law is clear and straightforward when it comes to police.

“Unless a formal request is made via a warrant or other court order, users are not required to share their footage with law enforcement,” Ayoub says. “Some providers allow law enforcement to post on community message boards to obtain screenshots from users. You can ignore or deny these requests.”

He explained that if your video footage is stored in the cloud, rather than on your device, law enforcement can force companies to hand it over. Typically, law enforcement must obtain a warrant or similar order from a court, depending on the type of information they are requesting. But there are exceptions to the warrant requirements in emergency situations, such as imminent risk of death or serious bodily injury.

In accordance with their privacy policies, providers like Ring and Nest will notify users about data requests from law enforcement, unless they are prohibited by law from doing so. Of course, no one reads the privacy policy before setting up a doorbell.

“This is one of the scariest things about the rapid privatization of police surveillance,” says the EFF’s Dr. Guariglia. “As more evidence begins its journey as corporate data, the public has less and less power to know what happens to your information inside a company, whether they need a warrant, what their relationship with the police looks like, and whether or not your data has been handed over.”

How to protect your video doorbell footage

There may be a $10,000 reward waiting for anyone who can hack Ring cameras to stop sharing data with Amazon, but there are easier and faster ways to protect your doorbell’s video footage. Getting rid of the doorbell altogether is the simplest way to eliminate 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 others to have your data.”