Smart doorbells have almost become the standard in most American neighborhoods. It makes sense as to why this is since wanting to protect your property and family is natural and smart doorbells are a great place to start when trying to accomplish that. They are straightforward, relatively budget friendly, and easy to install yourself. Once installed, you can view footage around your home from the convenience of your smartphone, wherever you are. This all sounds good and dandy, so what could the downsides of smart doorbells possibly be?
The Downside to Smart Doorbells
With the advent of smart doorbells, seeing the goings on around your property has become extremely easy. The problem with these doorbells, however, mainly comes down to their range and their automatic recording settings. Most smart doorbells on the market pick up activity that extends beyond your property, and the audio functions generally extend even further. In addition to that, most smart doorbells have the capability to begin recording as soon as they detect movement, even movement that goes beyond your front lawn. These settings can be adjusted, but are most people doing so?
So really, the main issue regarding smart doorbells revolves around infringing on the privacy rights of others. There was recently a case in the UK in which a neighbor placed a doorbell on their home in a way that they could see the front door of a neighbor. This meant that their doorbell could record the neighbor every time they entered or left their home. Talk about an invasion of privacy!
How You Can Avoid Violating the Privacy of Others
In the United States, there are not many laws that control the use of smart doorbells, and the ones that can be applied to them can vary from state to state. If you do not wish to encroach on the privacy of your neighbors, make sure that you set up your smart doorbells with the right motive. Is your motive to see what goes on in and around your property, or is your motive to snoop on your neighbors? Can your doorbell footage inappropriately see into the homes of your neighbors? And then of course, you can always change the settings for your specific doorbell so that it does not automatically record all motions detected, and you can adjust the range in which the camera picks up video and audio.
While smart doorbells are becoming more and more popular, traditional security systems will always offer you the most custom experience. Traditional security systems can help you keep an eye on your property and your property alone. If you want to protect your home and respect the privacy of your neighbors, contact Harden Communications. We will develop a security system solution that is specific to your property in order to keep you and your neighbor’s privacy protected.