Privacy masking in camera scenes

#1

Hi,
I’d like to request a feature that’s important to domestic security in the UK.
For some users of EufyCams (including me), it may be impossible to angle the cameras and completely exclude public areas such as pavements. Other vendor solutions often include a ‘privacy masking’ option which enables selected areas of a scene to be blocked or masked from viewing and recording.
Thanks,
Jonny.

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#2

Dear Anker Development Team,
Here in Germany I am also having the issue described by Jonny. It is almost impossible to place a wide-angle camera in a way that it does not capture any public area or foreign property. Using the camera in such a scenario is not legal in Germany and in most other countries of the European Union. I was really surprised that your cameras cannot exclude areas from the recording.
Are you aware of the fact that using your cameras may be illegal for many (or maybe most) of your customers in Europe?
I would really appreciate any help here! Your security products are great, and I would really like to be able to use them outside of the building.
Thanks,
Thomas

#3

One more thought on this:
I assume the recording and compression is done by the hardware, so maybe this behavior cannot be easily changed by a firmware update. However, there might be a very simple solution. The videos are encrypted and cannot be viewed without using the app. A simple option that instructs the app to blur or mask areas without movement detection during playback and also blocks the Download of the original video could be sufficient to use your cameras in Europe without running into legal issues.

#4

There are many illegal things happen here at the moment.
Will not talk about -> it would not be censored here, but talking about would lead to themes we are not discussing about here!

#5

Hey @Jonny5
I can only speak for us here in the UK, sorry @Thomas123
Capturing and recording images outside the boundary of your property in itself is not a breach of privacy laws, neither is capturing and recording images of people.
Its more what you do with them once you’ve captured them - uploading to the internet etc. Giving to official bodies such as the Police and insurance companies is excluded in the UK due to the fact they are bound by privacy laws.
You would run into trouble if you lived near what could be defined as a secure or sensitive facility, military, police or prison etc.
It would be wise to display in your window a sign declaring CCTV is in operation as you are still bound by laws giving those you might record rights.
Potentially a person who you record might requests a copy of a recording of them or request you delete a recording of them.

Personally I use a couple of basic cameras and one covers the garden and half of each of the neighbours.
I mentioned it to both neighbours out of courtesy and their complaint was that my camera didn’t cover all their gardens, they saw it as a benefit.

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