If you’re shopping around for a baby monitor, a pet camera, or a video doorbell, just a little research can make the world of network security cameras feel insecure. You don’t have to look far to find examples of companies breaking the trust of their customers.
- Ring, which introduced a feature that lets police ask for your footage, is the most obvious example. Even though the company says it’s sunsetting that feature, law enforcement can still request footage from the company in the event of “emergencies.”
- Wyze had a vulnerability it knew about for three years that allowed users to see into other people’s homes, causing many of us to be done with them entirely.
- Eufy had its share of issues, only admitting that its supposedly encrypted videos were less than encrypted after being repeatedly asked by The Verge.
And even if you trust that a company is going to be a good steward of your private data, you’ll likely have to pay for it. Companies like Ring and Arlo often raise prices for their subscriptions and, in some cases, remove features you’ve already paid for.
In addition to the basic issues of security, some of the technology behind these cameras has potential drawbacks. First, relying on Wi-Fi alone can be potentially spotty and risky. Many of the cameras, particularly the outdoor ones, rely on battery technology that gives them a relatively long life on a single charge — but at the expense of not running 24/7 by default.
What’s more, AI detection varies wildly in quality and accuracy from model to model. And very few of the cameras I tested for this article could be activated and managed without downloading another tedious app. I feel very strongly that every single IP camera should be mandated by law to not require an app. You should be able to connect them to your network or put them in hotspot mode and then do the entire process via a web browser. (And if I am forced to sign up for an additional brand-only account, I am going to lose it.)
So despite security cams being part of a massive industry peddling a relatively straightforward product, navigating the issues involved in safely purchasing and using one can feel like a chore. Where do you even start?
Well, you can start by choosing safe ways to collect and store your video footage. In this article, I’m not going to talk about which camera to buy or how to install it — instead, I’m going to look at some of the more reasonable, flexible options out there that you can use to keep your video feed safe and private, from simplest to most complex.
I generally do not trust most companies with my personal data, but of the bigger companies out there, Apple tends to be the least egregious in terms of basic security for smart home applications. If you aren’t the kind of weirdo who enjoys building a server or screwing around with homelab stuff, you could do far worse than a HomePod Mini or an Apple TV as the brain that’s running your smart home, especially if you use an iPhone on a daily basis.
One of the nice little perks of this ecosystem is HomeKit Secure Video, Apple’s proprietary method for streaming from cameras. HomeKit Secure Video does, however, come with some caveats. You do need to be part of the Apple ecosystem, including an iCloud subscription. It isn’t perfect and has many limitations, but if your No. 1 priority is security, then you could do far worse. And hey — it means you don’t have to download a separate app from the camera manufacturer.
One nice thing about a lot of these cameras is that they allow you to save to a microSD card. MicroSD cards that hold a huge amount of data are dirt cheap now, and these cameras all run pretty efficiently. I was able to pull saved videos from most of them directly to my phone.
One camera I tested, the EufyCam 3C with the HomeBase 3, allows a thumb drive to be connected to it to offload footage of triggered events. Another, the Tapo C420S2, actually comes with a little baby hub that will hold a microSD card with up to 256GB.
In short, for most people, keeping these devices running with a local SD card instead of opting for cloud services can be more than enough.
Now, let’s get into the more complicated stuff.
I love my NAS (Network Attached Storage) and think a lot more people should have one. If you don’t know what it is, it’s basically a baby server you shove hard drives into and attach to your router.
