The Best Indoor Security Cameras
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You don't have to deck your house with window, door, and motion sensors and hire an on-call monitoring service to stay safe. You can keep your home secure without difficult or pricey installations by snagging one or two of the best indoor security cameras. Knowing you can check in when you are away from home offers peace of mind, but these cameras aren’t perfect. There’s an obvious security benefit, but you must weigh the privacy risks.
After years of rigorous testing, these are our favorite security cameras. We’ve also got details on what to look for when shopping for one. Be sure to check out our many other guides, including the Best Outdoor Security Cameras, Best Baby Monitors, Best Pet Cameras, and Best Video Doorbell Cameras.
Updated December 2024: We added a Eufy camera to honorable mentions, a MyQ camera to the “don’t buy these” section, and specs tables throughout. We also updated prices.
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- Photograph: Simon Hill
Best for Most
TP-Link Tapo C120The C120 can stream and record video at up to 2K resolution, supports two-way audio (with a slight lag), and has a slot for up to 512-GB microSD cards to keep recordings local. This affordable security camera has a starlight sensor that offers impressive color night vision, smart detection (people, pets, and vehicles) without a subscription, and an IP66 rating, which means you can also use it outdoors (provided you can run the power cable). The handy base is easy to wall-mount, can sit on a shelf, and is magnetic. There is no need to spend more than this to keep an eye on an entrance or a specific room in your home.
Motion detection is reliable, and you can tweak the sensitivity and customize the notifications you receive. The video is crisp, but the frame rate maxes out at 20 fps, so fast-moving subjects sometimes appear blurry. You can set activity and privacy zones in the Tapo app, and there’s AI detection to recognize people, pets, vehicles, and the sound of a baby crying. Sadly, rich notifications, including a snapshot, are bundled with the optional Tapo Care subscription, along with 30 days of cloud storage for clips, and it’s expensive at $3.50 per month for a single camera or $12 per month for up to 10 cameras. There is no HomeKit or IFTTT support, but it works with Google Home and Amazon Alexa, though it was a little slow to load the stream on my Nest Hub. This camera also supports the open Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP).
If your budget is tight, the Tapo C110 ($16) is even cheaper with only a few compromises (lower frame rate, no pet or vehicle detection, microSD limited to 256 GB).
Specs Max Resolution: 2K Recording: Local microSD card (up to 512 GB) or cloud Audio: Two-way audio, Siren Smart Home: Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant - Photograph: Simon Hill
Upgrade Pick
Arlo Essential Indoor Security Camera (2nd Gen)With a compact design, clear video, and two-way audio, this camera from Arlo matches our top pick on features and performs reliably well. It can sit on a shelf or be wall-mounted, has a privacy shutter that comes down when the camera is not in use, and stores video in the cloud. Footage is detailed, and there’s no blurring on motion (the frame rate is 24 fps). Arlo’s second-generation Essential Indoor cameras come in two varieties: the cheaper 1080p camera and a pricier 2K model. I’m a fan of the app for its ease of use, loading speeds, and two-factor authentication, enabling you to log in to the live feed with your fingerprint or face scan (phone permitting). There’s also a built-in siren and smart home integration for Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and IFTTT, but not Apple HomeKit.
Unfortunately, cloud storage, accurate subject detection, and smart animated alerts require an expensive Arlo Secure subscription at $8 per month for a single camera. It’s a bit more palatable if you have multiple Arlo devices, as it costs $13 per month for unlimited cameras. For folks with video doorbells or other cameras from Arlo, this camera is an obvious pick to keep things in a single app. But the lack of local storage might be a turnoff, and there are occasionally a few seconds of lag on the live feed.
Specs Max Resolution: 2K Recording: Cloud-only Audio: Two-way audio, Siren Smart Home: Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, IFTTT
- Photograph: Simon Hill
Another Affordable Camera
Blink Mini 2The Blink Mini 2 (7/10, WIRED Recommends) brings a few crucial improvements over its predecessor that earn it a recommendation here: better image quality with a wider field of view (up from 110 to 143 degrees), enhanced low-light performance (with an optional spotlight), and on-device person detection (fewer false positives). Amazon’s Blink turns out some of the most compact security cameras available, and this rounded square comes with a circular base for easy mounting, or it can sit unobtrusively on a shelf. Footage is 1080p at up to 30 fps, and I found it clear, even in low light. You can also set activity and privacy zones, and the two-way audio is passable, though the sound quality isn’t great. I also appreciate the option to log in to the app with biometrics (phone permitting).
The catch is that you really need the subscription at $3 per month or $30 per year for a single camera, or $10 a month or $100 a year for unlimited cameras. You can technically record locally, if you purchase a Sync Module 2 ($50) and insert a USB flash drive, but without a subscription, your live feed is limited to five minutes with no record option, videos are much slower to load, you don’t get person detection, and you can’t share clips. If you subscribe, you get all that and a generous 60-day unlimited cloud video history (30-day in the UK and Europe).
Specs Max Resolution: 1080p Recording: Local USB flash drive or cloud Audio: Two-way audio Smart Home: Amazon Alexa - Photograph: Simon Hill
Smartest Security Camera
Google Nest Cam (Wired, Indoor)With an understated style, Google’s indoor Nest Cam comes in a few elegant finishes (including one with a maple wood base) to help it blend in with your decor. It has HDR, the 1080p video quality is clear at 30 fps, and night vision kicks on automatically when the lights are out. There’s also two-way audio, enforced two-factor authentication, and accurate detection to alert you about people, animals, or vehicles. You can install and use the Nest Cam through the Google Home app, and it’s quick to load on Nest displays or a Chromecast with Google TV. (It's even now accessible via a web interface.)
You only get three hours of history unless you sign up for a Nest Aware subscription, which now costs $8 per month ($80/year) for 30 days of event video history and familiar face alerts, but that covers all your Nest devices. (You can also use the camera in a Nest Hub Max as an indoor security camera.) Once you have tagged familiar faces, your notifications include their names, which is handy (and can be reassuring). It’s good to know when your kids get home versus when an unfamiliar face pops up. It’s not 100 percent accurate, but it’s closer than any other camera I have tested. Sadly, there’s no local storage option, and the thing that really sets it apart (familiar faces) requires a relatively expensive subscription. It also lacks a privacy shutter. Try not to buy it at full price, as it's frequently on sale.
Specs Max Resolution: 1080p Recording: Cloud-only Audio: Two-way audio Smart Home: Google Assistant
- Photograph: Simon Hill
Best Panning Camera
TP-Link Tapo Pan/Tilt AI CameraWith a compelling range of features, including video at up to 2K and 30 frames per second, 360 degrees of pan and 149 degrees of tilt, and local storage on a microSD card (up to 512 GB), this camera unseats the Wyze Cam Pan V3 as my favorite panning camera. The live feed is consistently quick to load, and image quality is excellent if you select the higher resolution and frame rate and toggle on HDR in the app. You can also set waypoints for the camera to patrol through on your chosen schedule, and the automatic subject tracking is top-notch. The onboard AI can categorize by motion, person, pet, or vehicle, and you can set an alert when a line is crossed. The two-way audio is relatively clear and lag-free, and there’s sound detection too (baby, pet, or glass breaking). There’s also a large image sensor (TP-Link calls it the Starlight Sensor) for clear image capture in low light. The privacy mode prompts the camera lens to rotate inside, so you know you aren’t being recorded.
On the downside, a Tapo Care subscription (starting from $3.50 a month or $35 a year for one camera) is required for cloud storage, rich notifications with snapshots in them, and easy video filtering. Everything else is available without a subscription, making this an excellent local recording option, but it’s a real shame that the rich notifications are behind the paywall. This camera is usually cheaper on Amazon under the model name C225, but it also appears as TC73 sometimes.
Specs Max Resolution: 2K Recording: Local microSD card (up to 512 GB) or cloud Audio: Two-way audio, Siren Smart Home: Apple HomeKit Secure Video, Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant - Photograph: Simon Hill
Smart Home Hub
Aqara Camera Hub G3Cute ears are amazingly effective at adding personality to a device. This pan and tilt security camera doubles up as a smart home hub. It boasts wide compatibility, including Apple HomeKit, Google Home, Amazon Alexa, and IFTTT. It also acts as a Zigbee 3.0 hub, offering a way to bring all kinds of Aqara sensors and accessories into your smart home fold, and it even has an IR controller. A door or window sensor can trigger the camera to turn and start recording.
As a camera, you can expect crisp 2K footage (HomeKit is limited to 1080p). The camera has a 110-degree field of view. It rotates through 340 degrees, tilts up 30 degrees, and down 15 degrees to cover a large area. Sadly, recording at 20 fps means fast movement can cause blurring. Onboard AI enables person, pet, face, and gesture detection, a cruise mode has the camera cycle through positions, and it can track subjects (though it is a little slow to do so sometimes). Insert a microSD card (up to 128 GB) for local recordings. The sleep mode has the camera lens roll up and shows a pair of closed eyes. It’s a shame you can only connect Aqara accessories and must dig into the Aqara app to access certain features (including pan and tilt). But if you’re into automation, you will enjoy tinkering with this highly customizable security camera.
Specs Max Resolution: 2K (2,304 x 1,296 pixels) Recording: Local microSD card (up to 128 GB) or cloud Audio: Two-way audio Smart Home: Apple HomeKit Secure Video, Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, IFTTT
- Photograph: Simon Hill
Dual Lens Camera
Eufy Indoor Cam S350This feature-packed camera from Eufy is likely overkill for most folks, but it’s an impressively versatile device. It combines a regular camera with a 130-degree field of view that can go up to 4K with a 2K telephoto lens that provides 3X optical zoom. It also has 360-degree pan and 75-degree tilt controls, AI tracking that works well, and support for up to four preset positions it can patrol through, including the default it returns to after tracking a subject out of frame. There’s also privacy mode, two-way audio, and onboard AI to detect people, pets, and sounds. You can record locally with a microSD card up to 128 GB (not included), hook it up to a HomeBase 3 (sold separately), or subscribe for cloud storage from $3 per month.
The footage is crisp and detailed enough to zoom in on, though bright areas like sun streaming in a window can appear blown out. Because the frame rate is 15, sometimes fast-moving subjects appear blurry. The motion detection is reliable, and you can set up privacy zones in the app. Notifications are swift and come with a thumbnail if you don’t mind uploading to the cloud (it is optional). I sometimes noticed a slight lag on the live feed, and sound quality could be better. There is no HomeKit support, but you get Alexa and Google Assistant, though the camera was very slow and sometimes failed to load for me via Google.
Note: After a security researcher identified cloud uploads from a “local” only device and a report warned of video streaming without encryption following a bug in May 2021 that exposed some camera feeds to other Eufy users, we stopped recommending the brand. After initial denials, parent company Anker acknowledged and fixed the issues, overhauled its policies, and instituted a bug bounty program. We spoke with third-party security researcher Ralph Echemendia, who was hired to conduct an audit, and have decided to start testing Eufy cameras again.
Specs Max Resolution: 4K Recording: Local microSD card (up to 128 GB), HomeBase S380, or cloud Audio: Two-way audio Smart Home: Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant - Photograph: Simon Hill
Best for Amazon Alexa
Ring Indoor CamFolks with a Ring doorbell should consider this affordable Ring camera if they need something inside the home, as it means you can keep everything in one app. The Ring Indoor Cam (2nd Gen) records crisp 1080p footage at 24 frames per second, has optional color night vision, and has a privacy shutter you can swivel around when you don’t want it recording. You can get motion alerts, pre-roll captures a few seconds before each event, two-way audio is decent, and the Ring Indoor Cam has a built-in siren. Customizable zones are handy if you need them. The Ring app is feature-packed but can be slow to load the live feed and somewhat confusing to navigate, though there are good in-app tutorials.
Unfortunately, cloud storage for your videos and the best features, like person alerts and rich notifications, require a Ring Protect Plan ($5 per month for one camera or $10 per month for all your cameras and doorbells). I don’t recommend this camera without the plan, as you are limited to the live feed, motion alerts, and two-way audio. The perfect spot is vital for this camera because it has a relatively limited 115-degree horizontal and 59-degree vertical field of view, and there is no HDR, so bright areas can blow out.
Specs Max Resolution: 1080p Recording: Cloud-only Audio: Two-way audio, Siren Smart Home: Amazon Alexa
- Photograph: Simon Hill
Sync Your Smart Lights
Philips Hue Secure Wired CameraFolks with Philips Hue smart lights will find the company’s security camera intriguing. The Philips Hue Secure (7/10, WIRED Recommends) is a wired security camera with an optional weighted base. It feels solid and durable (it has an IP65 rating). Video maxes out at 1080p but is crisp and deals with mixed lighting and moving subjects well. It offers a wide 140-degree field of view. Night vision is decent, there’s two-way audio, and it’s quick to send alerts or load the live feed in the Hue app. But, if you want more than that, you need to subscribe from $4 per month ($40/year) for a single camera, which gives you 30 days of cloud storage and unlocks smart detection features.
The person and animal detection works well, helping to filter out false positives, and you can also set multiple activity and privacy zones. There’s vehicle and package detection, too, for outdoors use. There’s no local storage, but footage is end-to-end encrypted, so only you can access it. If you have a Hue bridge and lights, you can have the camera trigger them. I set it up in my office to turn the lights on and off automatically, with different brightness and color settings for different times of day. When you arm the system, it gives you a countdown, and when you get an alert, you can review and trigger flashing lights and a siren to try and scare away intruders, though the siren tops out at 80 decibels. While there are better cameras for this money, the impressively slick integration with the Hue ecosystem is the attraction. Trust is crucial with a camera inside your home, so it’s an easier sell for Hue fans.
Specs Max Resolution: 1080p Recording: Cloud-only Audio: Two-way audio, Siren Smart Home: Philips Hue 
Photograph: AmazonBest MicroSD Cards
Security Camera StorageMany security cameras support local storage, enabling you to record videos on the camera or a linked hub. A few hubs have built-in storage, and some provide slots for hard drives, but most rely on microSD cards. Here are some details on what to look for (and a few recommendations).
The microSD card you choose should have fast read and write speeds so that you can record high-quality video and play it back without delay. We recommend going for Class 10 microSD cards rated as U1 or U3. You can dive deeper into what that means in our SD card explainer. Before buying, check the card type, format, and maximum supported card size for your security camera. Consider how many hours of video each card capacity can store. For example, you might get a couple of days of HD video on a 32-GB card. If you want to record continuously, you likely want a higher-capacity card.
We recommend formatting the card as soon as you insert it into the camera. You will usually be prompted to do this, but if not, there is generally an option in the settings. Just remember, formatting will wipe anything on the microSD card, so back up the contents first.
Some security camera manufacturers, like Wyze, offer their own branded microSD cards. They work just fine in my experience, but for maximum reliability, here are my favorites. Always remember to check the specs. Even different sizes of cards in the same range often have different capabilities.
Photograph: Simon HillHonorable Mentions
Other Indoor Security Cameras We LikedThere are a lot of security cameras out there. Here are others we tried that didn't earn a top spot.
- Eufy Indoor Cam E220 for $32: This is a solid alternative to TP-Link’s Tapo Pan Camera above. Eufy’s E220 also offers up to 2K footage with a 125-degree field of view but pans to cover 360 degrees horizontally and tilts through 95 degrees vertically. It has person and pet detection, can automatically track movement, offers local or cloud storage, and supports Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. The weakness is the limited frame rate (15 fps), which can result in choppy footage.
- Ezviz C6 for $100: A cute design, crisp and clear video, and onboard AI and storage make this a compelling prospect. I like that the 2FA allows fingerprint unlock, it has a privacy mode, and it gives you the option to have gestures trigger a call. But the C6 struggled in mixed lighting, repeatedly identified my cat as a human intruder, and must be positioned low for the best view. We also tested the Ezviz C6N ($30), which had problems with subjects appearing blurry, and the Ezviz CP1 Pro (£25) and Ezviz SD7 (£130), which seem to be available only in the UK. The SD7 is a 7-inch portable screen with a battery inside that offers a dedicated view of your Ezviz cameras (up to 30), allowing you to play back video and control them where applicable, but that’s all it does, so I am slightly puzzled about why you would buy it over a smart display that can also do other stuff.
- Imilab C22 for $40: This is a decent pan (360 degrees) and tilt (115 degrees) camera that offers crisp 3K video, though I found it struggled with mixed lighting and tended to blow out bright areas, even with WDR turned on. You can insert a microSD card (up to 256 GB) for local storage or subscribe for cloud storage. It can track subjects but doesn’t return to the starting position when they walk out of frame. Things also get blurry when the camera moves, and it can be slow and jerky when attempting to track fast-moving subjects. It works with the Xiaomi Home app, so it's more attractive if you already have a Xiaomi phone or other gadgets from the Chinese brand.
- Cync Indoor Smart Camera for $36: This Cync camera (9/10, WIRED Recommends) was our top pick for a long time, but it is getting old. We still love the privacy shutter and the two-factor authentication you can't opt out of. This Cync (formerly C by GE) camera is also affordable, captures 1080p video at 25 fps, and offers two-way audio. The app is easy to use, so you don't have to be a tech wizard to figure it out. For more than a live view, you need a microSD card or a cloud subscription (from $3/month or $30/year). It’s still a solid choice, but most of our recommendations offer better video quality, and the lack of any smart detection, HDR, and the 32 GB microSD card limit moves it down the chart.
- AlfredCam Indoor Bullet Camera for $30: The AlfredCamera app took off as a way to turn your old smartphones into security cameras (see below), but the company now makes its own line of affordable cameras. The Bullet Camera is compact, offers up to 1080p footage, and can take a 256-GB microSD card for local recording (including eight hours of continuous recording). I also tested the AlfredCam Plus ($50), which bumps the resolution up to 2K and has an IP65 rating, making it suitable for outdoor use. Both come with seven days of free cloud storage for video clips. Sadly, you need a subscription at $6 a month or $30 a year to unlock 14-day cloud storage, smart features (including person detection, scheduling, and zones), and better-quality video for the live feed and recordings. The free version is low-quality video, triggered by any movement (including changing light), full of ads, and constantly tries to upsell you, but if money is tight, it could be worth a look.
- Botslab Indoor Cam 2 Pro C221 for $40: This is a feature-packed camera at a reasonable price, and it improves on the Botslab Indoor Cam 2 ($40) I tested previously, with a higher-quality picture, better low-light performance, a privacy shutter that hides the lens, and onboard AI for human, pet, and vehicle recognition. It can also warn you if someone enters or leaves an area in view, detect crying or alarm sounds, and even have gestures trigger alerts to family members. You can record locally by inserting a microSD card, but if you want the AI features and 30-day video history in the cloud, it will cost you $5/month or $30/year for a single camera. Unfortunately, the app is confusing, it still lacks 2FA, and I noticed a slight lag on the live feed.
- Psync Camera Genie S for $35: Easily the most interesting security camera I have tested recently, the unusual Psync Camera Genie S has a funky, blocky design that folds open to reveal a 2K camera and four LED lights. It records in a vertical format like TikTok, can pan 350 degrees and tilt 135 degrees, and has smart motion tracking. It supports two-way audio and has 32 or 64 GB of storage inside. In keeping with the AI trend, it is GPT-enabled, so if you spring for a ViewSay subscription ($1/month during Beta, then $7/month), it uploads frames of each video to a secure server and uses a visual language model to describe them for your notifications. This can have unintentionally hilarious results. Instead of getting a generic alert, it might say, “A man is opening a door, and a cat is behind him,” or, “A person is standing in a dark room, holding a baby, and looking at the camera.” Those are both real notifications I got, though the latter was actually my daughter holding a cat toy. ViewSay can also label objects in the room, but for most folks it seems like a pointless gimmick, and they definitely need to work on the accuracy to make it useful. The feed is quick to load, but I found the footage a bit blurry in low light (the maximum frame rate is 20), and the vertical orientation limits your field of view.
- Wiz Indoor Security Camera for $57: For a 1080p camera with a relatively narrow 120-degree field of view, the debut Wiz security camera is pricey (especially in the UK). Parent company Signify owns Philips Hue, but Wiz is cheaper, and if you own any of its smart lights, you can use the camera to trigger them. It also works with the company’s SpaceSense technology to use Wi-Fi and your Wiz lights to detect motion. It supports two-way audio, sound detection, and night vision. You can insert a microSD card for local recording, but you need a subscription ($4/month) for activity zones, cloud storage, and manual recording. There is a privacy mode, but it lacks a shutter. It’s a reliable camera, but only worth considering for folks with Wiz lights. It comes with a USB cable, but no power adapter.
- TP-Link Tapo C210 for $20: If you want the ability to pan around the room, TP-Link’s Tapo C210 is another affordable indoor security camera with versatility. Like its sibling, our budget pick above, this camera supports up to 2K video, two-way audio, and local recordings via microSD cards up to 256 GB. But it has the same disappointing frame rate (15 frames per second), which can result in jerky video clips, which is more of a problem with a panning camera. There’s also some lag on the two-way audio, and the camera does not return to its starting position after tracking a subject, which can leave it facing the wrong way.
- Eve Cam for $150: This is a solid HomeKit security camera for Apple households. Footage is reasonably good quality, the night vision works well, motion alerts are reliable, and it can generally distinguish pets from people. The magnetic base is quite handy, and it is easy to automate this camera through Apple’s Home app so that it turns on when you leave the house or triggers lights when it senses motion. But it is relatively expensive, and it only works with Apple devices. An iCloud storage plan (starting from $1 per month for one camera) and a HomePod or Apple TV to act as a HomeKit hub are essential.
- Panasonic Home Hawk Window for $145: This camera sticks to the inside of a window, so you can keep an eye on the outside of your house without mounting anything—a huge plus if you're renting. The image quality is surprisingly clear, it has a decent 150-degree wide-angle view, and you can set detection to just people to avoid notifications for every car that drives past or bird that pops up. But, it's pricey, there's no 2FA, and there's no cloud storage, so you'll need a microSD card to view anything outside of a livestream.
- Blink Mini for $30: Compact, versatile, and cheap, the Blink Mini offers good-quality video, two-way audio, accurate motion detection, activity zones, and integration with Alexa. The 1080p footage is clear, even in low light, but bright areas can appear blown out. There is two-way audio, but it often lags and distorts. If you don’t want a subscription (from $3 per month), you can add a Sync Module 2 ($50) and record to a USB flash drive (sold separately). It worked reliably in my testing, but it detects any motion (it can’t distinguish between pets and people). You can also get the Blink Mini Pan-Tilt Camera for $40, which is a regular Blink Mini camera with a pan-and-tilt mount, so you can pan through 360 degrees and tilt through 135 degrees.
- Kami Indoor Camera for $60: This camera is very similar to the panning cameras we recommend above. It has location bookmarks, like the front door and living room windows, so you can get the camera's focus back to that exact spot without having to fuss with the controls. Unfortunately, this camera doesn't have two-factor authentication, though you can set a pin separate from your password to view the live feed. (If you sign in using Facebook, you can use two-factor authentication, but Facebook has its own security issues.) It also isn't as widely available as other cameras.
- Ezviz C1C for $27 and C6CN for $60: Ezviz's cameras are as affordable as Wyze. The app has a really nice grid view, so you can easily watch a live feed of all your cameras, but there's a small delay when detecting motion—I set up the C6CN panning camera in my living room, and it didn't start recording until I made it from the door to the other side of the room. It always detected motion accurately, but the delay might be an issue if you're dealing with an intruder.
- TP-Link Kasa Spot for $18: I tried the Spot and the Spot Pan Tilt ($20), and both are impressive and inexpensive offerings from TP-Link. They have a wide field of view and decent motion detection that alerts you instantly. These cameras lacked two-factor authentication when we tested them, but the company has since added the feature to the Kasa app.
Photograph: AmazonDon't Buy These
Indoor Security Cameras to AvoidWe didn't like every camera we tested. These are the ones to avoid.
- Chamberlain myQ Smart Indoor Security Camera for $30: While we love the MyQ Garage Opener (8/10, WIRED Recommends), the firm’s foray into security cameras was not as successful. We had issues getting the camera up and running, the MyQ app was slow and buggy, and a subscription starting from $4 per month is required if you want to record video (there’s no local option). The 1080p resolution is OK, but the night vision is weak, and there are several better options above.
- Wyze Cam Pan V3 for $30: This was our pick for the best panning camera because it can spin 360 degrees and tilt 180 degrees to take in a whole room. I also like the option to set waypoints in the app to have it cycle through, the privacy mode, the automatic motion tracking, and the ability to record locally on a microSD card (up to 256 GB). But after repeated security breaches from Wyze, most recently exposing thousands of camera feeds to other customers, it is impossible to recommend its cameras for inside your home.
- Winees M2X for $40: This pan-and-tilt camera goes up to 2K for crisp footage, though bright light blows out areas of the picture. It can pan through 350 degrees and tilt through 55 degrees. The motion tracking is good, and the camera returns to its original position when the subject moves out of frame. You can also set zones and tweak sensitivity, and there’s onboard AI for detecting people, pets, vehicles, and packages. But the AiDot app is confusing and glitchy and sometimes refuses to connect to the live feed, and it reported connectivity issues despite being close to my router.
- Nooie 360 Cam 2 for $70: We liked the original Nooie 360 Cam. This version sports a similar design, allowing for almost 360-degree rotation and 94-degree tilt, and bumps the video resolution up to 2K. It takes microSD cards (up to 128 GB) and cloud plans start from $1 per month for 7-day event recording. Unfortunately, alerts are not reliable (sometimes they didn’t come through to my phone). The Nooie app is buggy, and often took a frustratingly long time to load the video feed. Any motion triggers a recording (there’s no person or pet detection) and you can set the camera to track a subject or pan and tilt manually, but annoyingly, it doesn’t return to a default position. There is 2FA, but it’s optional.
- SwitchBot Indoor Camera for $30 and Pan/Tilt Cam for $40: These cameras are affordable and offer clear video, but both struggled with exposure in mixed lighting. The app is a little flaky and crashed on me when I tried to play back video from an inserted microSD card, and there’s no 2FA. If you enable motion tracking, the pan cam also has the unfortunate habit of staying in the last position it tracked movement.
- Wyze Cam V3 for $26: While it offers good-quality video and works well on the whole, a price rise and limitations on the free service make this far less of a bargain than it used to be. It does boast local or cloud recordings, 2FA, and a choice of smart-home integrations. But this is one of the cameras that had a major security flaw that Wyze failed to fix for several years.
Photograph: NooieTake Our Advice
How to Stay SafeSecurity cameras are great tools, but you also need to protect your security from those cameras. You don't want to find out that a stranger has been watching you sit in your bathrobe bingeing trash TV for the third day in a row, or worse. If you follow these tips, you can be a vigilant and conscious consumer and still feel like your home is protected while you're away.
- Avoid no-name cameras: If you type "security camera" into Amazon’s search bar, you’ll come up with hundreds of cheap options from brands you’ve never heard of. We don’t feel comfortable recommending those. You should always go with brands that clearly outline their privacy policies and make it easy to set up security protocols. That doesn't mean they can't be hacked—Wyze, Nest, Eufy, and Ring have all had breaches—but you probably won't be hung out to dry by a brand intent on protecting its reputation. Somewhat counterintuitively, it may be better to pick a brand that has had issues, because the increased scrutiny typically encourages them to improve their security practices. (This also depends on how they have responded to previous security breaches.)
- Use a strong password and set up two-factor authentication: Setting a strong password you don't use for anything else is extremely important. You should also change the password for your Wi-Fi network from its default if you haven't already. Set up two-factor authentication as soon as you create an account with the camera brand you've bought. It will make it harder for a hacker to gain access to your device, even if they do figure out your password.
- Keep it updated: Make sure you're frequently checking for software updates (for your camera and router) that can patch any security issues that may have come up. Set your camera to auto-update if possible.
- Turn it off: When you're home, or at least when you're doing something personal you wouldn't want someone to see, turn the camera off. Some cameras have a physical shutter that you can close or a sleep mode that obscures the lens. You could also turn the camera around for good measure.
Photograph: Phil Barker/Getty ImagesDIY It
Use an Old SmartphoneYou don't need to spend money on a new security camera—an old smartphone will do as long as it can still connect to Wi-Fi. Just download a camera app (we like Alfred) to both your old phone and your new phone, then sign in with the same email address. Find a spot to mount your device and keep it charged, and you'll be able to view the camera feed through your current phone.
The field of view won't be as wide, the battery won't last as long, and the mount will probably be a lot less secure. Still, if you're going on a weekend vacation, it's a quick and easy way to set up something essentially for free. Alfred is available for iOS and Android. It offers motion detection and can set off an alarm when it detects someone.
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Photograph: krisanapong detraphiphat/Getty ImagesHow We Test
Testing Indoor Security CamerasI test every security camera for at least two weeks, but often far longer. I run through the installation process and note any issues. I check that alerts come through correctly to my phone when I am home, connected to Wi-Fi, or away connected to a cellular network. I usually place two or more cameras in the same spot to compare picture quality, motion detection, and other features. I consider the image resolution, frame rate, and audio quality of videos and the live feed. I also check for lag with the live feed. I test the performance during the day, see how it copes with the sun facing the lens, and how it performs in the dark at night (testing both spotlight and night vision). I check how long the live feed and recorded videos take to load at different times of the day.
I play around with the settings in the app to try every mode and feature. I test any smart detection features to see if they can correctly identify people. I test the two-way audio for a short conversation and try the siren where applicable. I also test local storage and cloud storage options for recording videos. If there are any smart home integrations, I set them up and check how quickly the feed loads on a smart display. I always ensure the cameras we recommend support 2FA and test any additional security or privacy features.
