How to secure your home security cameras: Ring, Nest, Wyze and others

Stories about hacked cameras usually sound like someone cracked the device. In practice the weak point is almost always the account in the camera company's app. Criminals take email and password pairs leaked from other sites and try them on camera services, and anyone who reused a password is in.

The clearest public example is Ring. In 2023 the FTC charged that Ring failed to put basic security safeguards in place, letting hackers take control of customers' accounts, cameras and videos, and that it failed to restrict employee and contractor access to customer videos. In 2024 the FTC sent more than $5.6 million in refunds to Ring customers under the settlement. Ring now requires two-factor verification, but the lesson applies to every brand: the account is the camera.

Company-side failures happen too. In February 2024 Wyze said a caching error during a service outage showed some users thumbnails from other people's cameras; it put the number at about 13,000 users (GeekWire report of Wyze's customer email). You cannot fix a company's bug, but you can choose where cameras point and which features you use.

1. Use a unique password for the camera app, generated by a password manager. See password managers compared.
2. Turn on two-factor authentication in the app's account or security settings. An authenticator app is stronger than text-message codes; our 2FA guide explains the options. Nest cameras use your Google Account, so secure that account, ideally with a passkey.
3. Secure the email address the camera account uses, since it can reset the password.
4. Check the sign-in or device list in the app and remove phones and tablets you no longer use.

Normally your video is encrypted on the way to the company's cloud and while stored, but the company holds the keys, so its systems (and, as the Ring case showed, potentially its staff) can view it. End-to-end encryption means only your enrolled phones hold the key.

Ring offers it on compatible devices: in the Ring app, open the menu, then Control Center, then Video Encryption. Ring says you need iOS 17 or Android 9 or later, and it lists older models that are not compatible, including the first and second generation Video Doorbell and Stick Up Cam. Turning it on disables a long list of features, among them shared users, video links, viewing on ring.com, Alexa and Fire TV viewing, Bird's Eye View and smart alerts (Ring's encryption guide). Store the recovery passphrase safely: without it you cannot view encrypted video on a new phone.

Apple Home users with compatible cameras can record through HomeKit Secure Video; Apple lists Home data among the categories it end-to-end encrypts under standard data protection (Apple's iCloud security overview).

For other brands, search the company's help center for "end-to-end encryption" before you buy. If it is not offered, treat the cloud recordings as something the company could access, and place cameras accordingly.

Every brand lets you share cameras with family members, and those shares tend to outlive the reason for them: an ex-partner, a former roommate, a dog walker from two years ago. Every few months:

• Open the app's shared users or household members list and remove anyone who no longer needs access.
• Share with each person through their own account rather than handing out your login.
• Disconnect integrations you no longer use, such as old smart displays or third-party services.

• Leave automatic firmware updates on. Camera makers fix security bugs through updates, and wired cameras usually install them overnight.
• Use a guest or IoT network for cameras if your router offers one, so a weak device cannot reach your laptops. Our home Wi-Fi guide shows how.
• Change default passwords on any camera that has its own local login, which is common on cheaper brands and recorders. Turn off remote access features you do not use.
• Replace cameras that no longer get updates. A discontinued model with known bugs is a liability.
• Before selling or giving away a camera, remove it from your account and factory reset it.

Where a camera points decides what can leak. Keep indoor cameras out of bedrooms and bathrooms, turn them off or use a privacy mode when people are home, and think about what the camera sees through windows.

Outside, recording your own front door and driveway is common, but audio recording and cameras aimed into a neighbor's windows or yard can raise legal problems. Audio recording consent rules vary by state, and some states require everyone recorded to agree. If you are unsure, turn audio off and angle the camera, or use the privacy zones most apps offer to black out part of the view. This is general information, not legal advice.

If you employ a nanny, cleaner or carer, tell them where cameras are. Hidden recording of employees can break state law even in your own home.

The security checklist covers the rest of the household, and the self-check takes five minutes.