Smart doorbells can break the law: How to keep safe

More and more households had a smart doorbell, but the devices could trip unwary users – and even take them to court.

More than one in five households now has a camera-enabled doorbell, according to Consumer Intelligence analysts, the most famous brand being Amazon’s Ring device.

These doorbells have revolutionized home security by letting residents register and monitor who is outside their property and watch everything from their phone, giving their owners a sense of security and relief.

But the growing trend of smart doorbells comes at a price. If the devices are used in the wrong way, the owner could face difficult talks with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) – or even go to court.

That’s because doorbells with cameras and microphones are at risk of breaking data protection laws, as they can be so sensitive that they can film video and sound beyond the confines of the premises.

That becomes a problem if it violates a neighbor’s privacy, for example by making recordings in their house or by recording their children.

The ICO, which oversees consumer rights around information and data, said: ‘People have the right to install CCTV cameras and smart doorbells on their property.

“They should try to point cameras away from neighbors’ homes and gardens, shared spaces or public streets. But that’s not always possible and it’s not illegal either.’

Elisabeth Bell, partner at law firm Blake Morgan, said: ‘While the use of CCTV and smart doorbells is legal both inside and outside an individual’s home, there are a number of potential privacy breaches that could arise depending on how the technology is deployed by its users.

“Especially recording other people’s private or public spaces, sound recording and surreptitious recordings can all be problematic.

‘For example, a smart doorbell that registers in both the neighbor’s and the user’s doorway constitutes a violation of the neighbour’s privacy.

While manufacturers can make adjustments, such as reducing microphone sensitivity and field of view, there is still room for the technology to invade the privacy of others.

“As a result, it is the user’s responsibility to ensure that their devices do not intrude into areas where others have a right to privacy.”

Smile, you’re in front of the camera: smart doorbells count as home camera surveillance when it comes to privacy and data protection laws

What to do to stay on the right side of the law

If a smart doorbell registers outside the boundary of the premises in which it is installed, the ICO requires data protection law to require:

• The household tells others that they are using recording devices – for example, by putting up a sticker or sign;
• In most cases, hand over or delete recordings of others if requested;
• Delete footage regularly or automatically;
• Stop recording someone if asked, if possible – with exceptions for keeping a home safe.

Many smart doorbells come with warning stickers for this reason, as well as options to blur out certain areas, such as the neighbors’ doors or windows.

Breaking the ICO rules can land a smart doorbell owner in hot water. However, regulation and enforcement around smart doorbells is murky.

If someone finds that a smart doorbell owner is not following the rules, he/she can file a complaint with that person and if that doesn’t work, he/she will turn to the ICO.

But even the ICO admits there is “a limited amount of action” it can take to intervene, and that it is “highly unlikely that the ICO will find it fair or equitable to take enforcement action against a domestic CCTV user’.

The ICO can write to the owner of the smart doorbell asking them to move the device. But it cannot force the owner to remove the doorbell.

However, there is a small but growing number of private cases against smart doorbell owners, with individuals suing other individuals without going through agencies such as the ICO.

Bell added: “While it is difficult for individuals to take action in neighborhood disputes over the use of CCTV and smart doorbells, some have taken it to court, including a 2021 case where the device owner was fined for excessive covert monitoring, even though the court confirmed that part of the recording was valid.”

In the 2021 case, a judge ruled that Ring doorbell cameras placed in a house in Thame, Oxfordshire invaded a neighbour’s privacy.