Are Hidden Cameras Inside Homes Legal? | SafeHome.org (2024)

4 Places Hidden Cameras in Your Home Might Be Illegal

So you really want to install a nanny cam. We don’t really recommend spy cameras except as a last resort. A far better option is to invest in a few smaller, less-conspicuous wireless cameras like the Blink Mini or SimpliSafe’s SimpliCam. But if you are planning on hiding a camera in the tissue box, just keep in mind that while your home is your castle, people still have a right to privacy there, especially in the following four situations.

Any Cameras in Bathrooms, Showers, or Private Spaces

In 2018, a CBS executive named Daniel Switzen was caught with a nanny cam in his bathroom … recording his nanny. Switzen was eventually sentenced to five years of probation and is now a registered sex offender for life.6

The law was pretty clear here. If you put a hidden camera somewhere in your house where visitors don’t expect to be surveilled, you’re committing a crime and can be punished severely.

You can add bedrooms, showers, locker rooms, and hotel rooms to this list. In the case of bedrooms, we’re talking about situations where guests are unaware of your camera, or, in the case of kids, don’t consent to it. If you want to surveil yourself, hey, you do you.

Outdoor Cameras Aimed at Your Neighbor’s Home

You have a bit of leeway as to what and whom your outdoor security cameras can capture, which is a good thing. The wide angle lens on a 4K Lorex outdoor camera — or any of the best outdoor security cameras really — can see a lot. Even so, there’s a limit to what you’re allowed to record.

If your camera picks up the side yard or even the porch or door of the neighbor’s house, you should be within your rights. Of course, there are states, municipalities, and maybe even residential codes that would beg to differ. But, in general, you aren’t invading your neighbor’s privacy this way. The same holds true if you happen to record someone on the sidewalk or street strolling by your property.

However, you can’t aim your porch camera into the Johnson’s bedroom or bathroom — or even into their kitchen window. These are spaces where the Johnsons can expect, and have the right to, privacy.

Are Doorbell Cameras OK?

Doorbell cameras aren’t exactly hidden. Granted, there are plenty of dumb thieves who can look a video doorbell right in the eye without realizing they’re on camera. Porch pirates targeting homes aren’t typically MENSA material. More importantly, your front porch isn’t a place where people are expecting privacy. So, if a prowler on your porch ends on a compilation of Stupidest Thieves Caught on Camera and he sues you for violating his Fourth Amendment rights, expect the judge will laugh him right out of court.

Can I Install a Baby Monitor in My Infant’s Room?

Short answer: yes. You aren’t going to get into any trouble keeping tabs on your sleeping angel — though you might want to read through some tips for keeping hackers and pervs off your network before you set yours up. But you do want to apply the same rule of thumb that you apply to other bedrooms and to the baby’s room: if a caregiver or relative is in there, you can’t record them without their consent.