And while we're on the topic of privacy and what you can do to protect yours from government snoops, there's a story in Politico about those doorbell devices many homeowners use to see who's knocking. Or doing something else.
It turns out the data those handy devices collect is a ripe target for law enforcement. And they may be able to get it – all of it – with your permission:
In the debate over home surveillance, much of the concern has focused on Ring in particular, because of its popularity, as well as the company's track record of cooperating closely with law enforcement agencies. The company offers a multitude of products such as indoor cameras or spotlight cameras for homes or businesses, recording videos based on motion activation, with the footage stored for up to 180 days on Ring's servers.
They amount to a large and unregulated web of eyes on American communities — which can provide law enforcement valuable information in the event of a crime, but also create a 24/7 recording operation that even the owners of the cameras aren't fully aware they've helped to build.
The Politico story focuses on Amazon's Ring, and not without cause – it knows a lot about its users. But the general point about any such monitoring device is the same: you may have bought and paid for the device. You may even find it was a good and useful purchase.
But be aware of the fine print. It's a data honeypot, attracting law enforcement and hackers alike. And in the end, that data may be used in ways you cannot control.
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Use only local storage systems, with encryption. Products like Eufy are definitely superior when it comes to privacy.
Love to share with local PD , NOT felons
Have to use encryption code for sure
ALL cameras if any in, on home
They’d be welcome to it.
It is indeed scary. Like records on the Almighty Internet, around basically forever. I would have written thusly: …’and the data may be used in ways you cannot control and cannot yet even imagine.’