Do Security Cameras Have Sound, and is it Legal?

John Carlsen

Staff Writer, Security & Smart Home

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While it'south prophylactic to assume that most security cameras also record audio, it's not always the case. Let's explore which types of security cameras employ audio and what they use information technology for.

Practise security cameras have audio?

Near modern Wi-Fi cameras (besides chosen IP cameras) come with built-in microphones, which they apply for three purposes:

  • Capture audio while recording video footage of a motility detection event. Recording audio can reveal useful information non captured on video, like arguments with a person out of frame or the sound of a vehicle driving away.
  • Some cameras use audio to trigger video recording so you don't miss important details that happen before motion detection kicks in.
  • Two-way audio uses a photographic camera'due south built-in speaker like an intercom so y'all tin can talk with people most the IP camera using your mobile device. This is helpful for talking to family members without phones or issuing warnings to intruders.

A traditional surveillance camera system with video cables and a DVR typically doesn't have a microphone. Yous'll need to buy specific audio surveillance cameras and DVRs to record audio with these systems.

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How can you tell if a security camera has audio?

You can find microphones on security cameras near the lens. It ordinarily looks like a pinhole, similar to what y'all can find on many kinds of headphones and smartphones.

Is information technology legal to record sound using my security camera?

Privacy laws in two-party consent statesone (all-party consent) get in illegal to record sound without the express permission of everyone existence recorded. Hither are the 12 states requiring two-party consent2:

  • California
  • Connecticut
  • Delaware
  • Florida
  • Illinois
  • Maryland
  • Massachusetts
  • Montana
  • Nevada
  • New Hampshire
  • Pennsylvania
  • Washington

All other US states are one-party consent states, which allow recording equally long as 1 person in the recording gives consent. To exist on the safe side, it'south probably non a good idea to tape sound if you're not present, either in-person or remotely using two-way audio.

Most states accept privacy laws forbidding recording of any kind in places with a reasonable expectation of privacy like bathrooms, bedrooms, and private spaces owned by others.

It never hurts to double-cheque your state's security camera laws if yous're unsure about setting up a photographic camera legally. This article is for data purposes only and isn't a substitute for advice from a legal professional person.

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Sources

  1. Digital Media Law Project, "Recording Phone Calls and Conversations," January 2021. Accessed Baronial 11, 2021.
  2. Recording Police force, "All Party (Two Party) Consent States," September 2017. Accessed August eleven, 2021.
  3. Teo Spengler, Legal Beagle, "If I Put Up Surveillance Cameras, Do I Need to Postal service a Sign?," December 2018. Accessed August 11, 2021.

John Carlsen

Written by

John Carlsen

John is a engineering journalist specializing in smart home devices, security cameras, and habitation security systems. He has over nine years of experience researching, testing, and reviewing the latest tech—he was the Smart Habitation Editor for Top X Reviews and wrote for ASecureLife before joining SafeWise equally a Staff Writer in 2020. John holds a Bachelor's caste in Communications, Journalism accent from Utah Valley University. In his spare fourth dimension, he enjoys hiking, photography, cooking, and starting endless DIY projects he has even so to complete.

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