Protect Your Neighbor's Privacy With Ring Cameras & Doorbells

Ring cameras and Ring doorbells are great for crime prevention and parcel deliveries because they record in full HD and record audio. However this also means that they can be misused to invade neighbor's privacy.
As a result, this video explores some of the things you can do to protect your neighbor's privacy when installing and using your Ring doorbells and cameras:
0:00 Intro
0:56 Don't aim at neighbor's property
1:20 Privacy zones
2:00 Motion zones
2:53 Disable audio streaming
3:46 Neighbor's app misuse
4:54 Ending
Credits
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The pop up sound is from FreeSound:
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The two stock images/backgrounds were purchased from DepositPhotos:
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[@jrbs]

Thank you Tristan, that's very useful to know. My neighbour has installed one that clearly gets triggered when I walk through my front garden (IR lights come on at night). I'll ask him to make those adjustments 🙂

[@SmartHomePoint]

No worries, glad you found it helpful and hopefully your neighbour makes the relevant changes 🙂

[@hairenvy247]

My next door neighbor deliberately installed & aims her cameras at our driveway, walkway, & overlooking our backyard purely out of spite. I reported her twice to law enforcement about that but they couldn't make her aim it away from our property. She suffers from Paranoid Personality Disorder & is completely psychotic 😵‍💫

[@MrBobWareham]

I want to know how to stop my neighbour listening with their ring doorbell as we are finding it very intrusive, so can I force them to stop recording my front door conversation's?

[@SmartHomePoint]

Sorry to hear it, that sucks that they're listening in so close to you. Unfortunately it's very much a grey area. There was a legal case in the UK where someone got sued for harassing their neighbour using smart cameras & doorbells, but this was a multi-year issue with multiple devices (and has been more of a one-off in the courts so far). There's no easy way to force your neighbours to stop right now, unfortunately.

[@chriswalter745]

Referring to the example you show of the privacy black box, I am assuming this would also obscure the faces of people coming to your door if their faces happen to be in this area?

[@SmartHomePoint]

Yes that's correct, any faces (and also motion within these areas) would be stopped too. It's basically like "deleting" any features and recordings within that black box area.

[@SergejGrabun]

@@SmartHomePoint this does not make sense since you are losing valuable footage of person's face. Even if the person rings your bell the area where the face is - is being blocked. I would assume when someone IS at your door or in the set motion zones the black privacy area should disappear to record whole footage. Do you know if this is possible? Is Ring working on something like this?

[@SmartHomePoint]

A fair point and question for sure. Unfortunately I don't think that Ring are working on anything like this - right now they seem happy that privacy zones act like a black hole.

[@a.h.d.h.2803]

Safety regards more than "fighting" crime it also regards privacy, i.e. involuntary being observed in spaces which are not one's private property. It's good you paying attention to privacy while using camera's. I don't have camera's cause I don't feel a necessity yet. But yeah, safety..... I might someday.

[@SmartHomePoint]

Yes I totally agree, fair points. 🙂 The privacy issue is definitely worth considering and discussing, it can be creepy at times.

[@haahmayan9637]

My neighbour has one opposite my front door we’re very close doors opposite it flares up red light and I’m renting I’m not sure 🤔 is it illegal? My housing officer claims it’s not recording me leaving my house saying it’s a censor apparently but I’m annoyed because every time I come home or leaves it flares red

[@SmartHomePoint]

That sucks, sorry to hear it 😣 Unfortunately light nuisance is another of those grey areas in law. Councils do have power to enforce light nuisance, but getting them to come out and enforce things is half the battle - especially if they just refer you back to your housing association, and they aren't being very helpful. 😣

[@T_maktown]

They need to have it removed after 2 1/2 years of invasion made it miserable to come home to his camera 🎥 they removed every single camera on doors. Good luck lawyer up I did ...

[@marypettit5523]

I don't have ring or nest cams. Mine are eufy. In some I set up privacy zones for neighbors. Now I am wondering about a couple of those since a few weeks ago there was a drug and illegal fire arms bust. They only said in a certain numbered block. I did not set up privacy blocks for most areas as my motion cameras won't be triggered due to the distance of the other property. The blocks are for when the cameras are triggered by closer motion I don't want my neighbors recorded. My cameras are not hidden and there are signs notifying people that they are being recorded by video and audio. What's the point of deterioration if they aren't warned.

[@marypettit5523]

I should add that the eufy cams have the ability to turn off IR and spotlights but still record. So not seeing those doesn't mean you are not being recorded. Everywhere you go you are most likely being recorded. I started with cameras in my van after being rear ended by a delivery truck hitting the vehicle behind me and shoving him into my vehicle. That delivery truck totaled both of us. My home cams are not cloud based but can be. There is a base that all recordings go to and has loop recording. You can also save recordings on your devices, phone/tablet if you want to. Then I have wired cams also with a DVR that saves the recordings and also loops. It also has privacy areas if needed. It has motion alerts and also records 24/7. I am a retired female, 70yrs old, with a disabled 67 yr old female. The cams were originally set up to provide video for husband's work van because of theft from a co-worker's van. We quickly realized how helpful it was to keep her safe. She monitors all the time.

[@SmartHomePoint]

That all sounds a good setup Mary, I definitely agree with what you're saying - all good points. Glad they're helping keep you all safe 🙂

[@rosapacheco3733]

How do you remove privacy zone?

[@heatherkuzan-fleury3004]

Hi I put the privacy block in a wrong part of my ring zone and unable to take it off now. It is easy to see how to put the privacy zone on but nothing about removing it. Ta.

[@SmartHomePoint]

Hi, it's a confusing app and feature but you should be able to click the black zone and a trash can icon should appear. You might have to click add/edit first. But you will need to click the black box at some point, so that the trash can icon appears.

[@tropicaltanklover2160]

@@SmartHomePoint My problem is that the 2 black privacy boxes are nowhere to be seen now, so I cannot delete either of them. Cannot delete and add them to the correct position. Such a pain

[@SmartHomePoint]

That sucks for sure 😣 In the worst case, you might need to delete the device from your Ring app/account - then readd it. That should then work fine.

[@stevejelly3161]

Hi Triston !!! ... Is it possible to PM you as i need some advice and would like to purchase some items if you sell them ??? ... I'm afraid i'm still stuck in the 20th century ... lol ... Hope for a reply .... MANY THANKS !!!

[@SmartHomePoint]

Hello Steve, my email address is in my KZbin about page. It's also on my blog at www.smarthomepoint.com/about/

[@T_maktown]

My neighbor here in Hawaii did this to me for over 2 years & when I asked for footage of someone who ponded on my door he wouldn't share the footage & I finally then lost it told the association of apartment owners they removed all the ring doorbells in the building & haven't said a thing to me since Now the neighbor works her as security and can see me in the elevator. My privacy issue is solved but now I have a security issue. What's a woman to do in this situation. He clearly set it up to monitor me and I feel totally violated especially since the audio range could hear everything even inside my living room. How intrusive & no one is saying anything to me. Can I sue??

[@SmartHomePoint]

That's rubbish, sorry to hear of your experience. 😔 It's definitely a tricky area to enforce/prevent unfortunately. I'm not sure of the laws in Hawaii so I can't recommend the best solution sorry, but sometimes the association of apartment owners might be the best route if they have some enforcement powers?

[@anonymous12154]

I know you shouldn't have to do this but play very loud static white noise. I suggest placing a camera in your house as well. This creep sounds like he doesn't know boundaries and would try to go inside your unit.

[@tutsecret499]

I have a need to put a camera in front of my door or on the windows on the side aiming the hallway inside bldg where people come and going out to the street. But across my door there is another door of the neighbor. It's a dilema, because the camera might get her area. Whether there is camera or not. If the neighbor opens the blind and or the door, everybody walking by will see inside the neighbor place and I see everything in the neighbor from my window if the neighbor does no close the blind. I want to put camera because there are many abnormal things happening, one male neighbor upstairs keeps harassing me, he did 10 times, he is very hostile, mean, aggressive, manipulator, very dangerous person towards me directly or indirectly and he also did to other neighbors, one neighbor even moved out. It's so bad that I avoid him, but sometimes I can't see him, and he shows up out of nowhere. Now I have to step out of my door with my cell phone recording, in case he repeats the insults. I pretend I am speaking with somebody to prevent him to approach me. I tried to put a camera turned off by my window pretending I have a camera on to prevent mean people doing stuff around my door. The bldg has a camera that points to the neighbor windows. How come I can't have a camera aiming the hallway? One time one guy was ready and planning to insult me in my garage, he drove by my garage and ready to open his trashy mouth, and I had already the cell phone pretending I was talking to somebody and stopped him and I started. "You cancelled the meeting, how come? You messed up the calendar.....blah, blah...."

[@SmartHomePoint]

Sorry to hear all that, that sucks. I hope some of those issues can get sorted asap. Yes, the rules on recording public walkways can be difficult - especially on private property owned by someone else. Worst case, you could always explore recording voice audio on your phone if you ever feel threatened. That can sometimes work fairly well.

[@anonymous12154]

Look online for a mirrored tint. If the hallways have light this should work even at night. There needs to be a reflection or it doesn't work. You can set up your cameras and enjoy privacy and nobody will know.

[@mattalford3932]

I won't move my cameras either lol. I can't tell who the person is across the street so they'll be fine lol.

[@kool-aidman5828]

If it is on my property and is showing public, they have no right to assume no privacy in the middle of the Public Street. Just like if I walk into a bank, they not going to be like oh well what about his privacy? Let me black him out even though he may rob the police, let me protect his privacy.

[@mattalford3932]

idk about other countries but in the United States if I can see it from the street I can video and audio record. there's no expectation of privacy in public.

[@SmartHomePoint]

Yeah that's fair enough, thanks for sharing your experience. In the UK it's a bit more of a grey area, but generally speaking, as long as you're not using the cameras to harass people, you'll be fine

[@liberationwasalie2982]

how tf is this shit even legal , privacy is non-existent

[@liberationwasalie2982]

stupid pointless zoological planet

[@T_maktown]

Exactly my thoughts - I am screenshotting all these comments I hate when people imply it's no big deal- it's a real thing not wanting weirdos recording audio & video of you they can see live feed from their phone ewww 😠 rewind pause share it etc... perverts walk among us

[@jabah126]

My neighbour has one at our front door, shared property with three flats in a house. No permission was sought from the landlord or tenants. HA have now asked it be removed. It's very uncomfortable as I garden and chat with neighbours, we have a shared pathway. It's nothing but an annoyance when it invades your privacy. Don't feel happy leaving or coming back into the property anymore. Due to be removed Monday else HA will remove.

[@SmartHomePoint]

Sorry to hear it, yes a shared pathway isn't a great place for a Ring camera or doorbell (unless privacy zones are used, and audio is disabled - but both of these can easily be removed by the owner).

[@T_maktown]

Sounds almost exactly like my neighbor, this guy is a wannabe cop homeland insecurity real creep, to me, when they resist taking it down that's not a good sign but it feels great now that it's gone 😌

[@B.C36]

@@SmartHomePointthere is no way to ensure that the owner of the camera will do this or change the settings back without the neighbours knowledge.

[@mad-b264]

If you got nothing too hide an all that, My cctv helps my mental health as i suffer CPTSD, From being attacked on my front door by a dude with scarf round his face an a knife in his hand, If i had the camera up at that time, The dude with the knife woudlnt of done it, Tho i dont use a ring thing i got 24hr motion recording on my front door with cloud recording, If you buy nice things then you become a target, Its actually why i dont do a youtube channel, Coz im scared people will see my E-bike for example, Its not even expensive really coz its just a bafang mid motor conversion, But for me its expensive an a essensial bit of kit suffering CPTS, Hence why i got tracker an camera recording it, But i pay for monthly motion recording, An i can tell you now crims do not like cameras, If people know you have hidden cameras then there is less chance of a person stealing your stuff, Unless its summit extra valuable or priceless, And now the torys have taken 20 thousand police away with cuts an more cuts, Then cctv cameras are an important tool in reducing an oncoming crime, Torys needs to legalise cannabis an make drug addicts go into treatment programmes.... Like i said if you got nothing to hide then why moan about somebody else paying tawards a safer neighbourhood, You go into shops you are recorded, Walk through a town centre you are recorded, I like the fact that big brother is watching as i have nothing too hide......

[@SmartHomePoint]

Yikes, sorry to hear your experience, that's awful. Yes, I agree that smart cameras and/or CCTV is definitely a useful tool.

[@mad-b264]

@@SmartHomePoint Dont need to apolagise but its respectfull so thanks, Yeah i live among a crazy esate so cctv is so important for me, My fight an flight is back in the stone ages, As long as i stay away from busy crowds an use my E-bike to travel the PTSD symtoms are not as bad, Everyone should have an E-bike by the way, Its a really nice way to travel and eco-freindly, Im all for eco-friendly, I cant afford house insurance on top of everything else so yeah cctv is massive help, I read tho if you have 24hr monitoring your isurance on household goods is cheaper yeah?? Cheers for that tho....

[@SmartHomePoint]

Yep I bet. And I agree about e-bikes, they seem a great invention. Regarding home insurance, I know that some providers give a discount if you have a monitored alarm system, but I don't know about cameras/CCTV to be honest. I haven't heard of such discounts in the UK, but I haven't dug into it too much tbh.

[@mad-b264]

@@SmartHomePoint Im going to look into that then, Coz surely if you alarm monitering then cctv is as good if you got motion to your phone, Sounds like people are not trusted to be honest about things, lol....