Warning issued to anyone with a Ring doorbell

UK households with a Ring doorbell have been issued a warning over little-known rules and regulations that could lead to fines of up to £10,000.

The smart doorbells are effectively a home security device as they provide a live video feed of your front door, detect motion, record audio and allow you to communicate with visitors. But these smart features could land you in trouble with the law if they aren’t used correctly, resulting in hefty fines.

Property buying experts at Gaffsy say there are strict rules and regulations for using CCTV in and around your home, so those with a Ring doorbell need to make sure their home is compliant.

The firm warns that if your CCTV films or captures images of people outside of your property boundary, such as a neighbour’s garden or home, shared spaces or public areas, then it must be GDPR compliant.

If it doesn’t comply, you could be subject to action by the Information Commissioner’s Office and risk fines of up to £100,000 as well as potential legal action by any affected individuals that appear in your CCTV images or videos. As for businesses, if these don’t comply they could be subject to fines as much as £17.5 million.

Max Royston, senior valuer and director at Gaffsy, says it’s important to ensure videos are properly stored and these must be deleted when appropriate, and if asked.

He explains: “Ensuring the data and time is correct is important, in case you need to submit videos for assessment. You’ll also need to check whether the recorded information is used for the purpose of which your system was installed. You might be tempted to upload clips to Instagram or TikTok, but you could be infringing on privacy rights.

“It’s your responsibility to ensure that the system is installed correctly, for all the information recorded by your system. You must also ensure that the information gathered by CCTV is not used for anything other than protecting your property.

“If the CCTV footage is captured outside your property limits, you should only keep the footage for an appropriate period and delete it after a few months. You should also delete footage of neighbours if they ask, due to the GDPR rules.”

The firm adds that households should follow these four top tips to ensure your CCTV system is abiding by regulations:

• Ensure you inform your neighbours about your system

• Putting a notice up to inform people recording is taking place

• Consider other options before installing a CCTV system – would extra lighting, fencing or gates work?

• Consider privacy filters to ensure you’re not filming your neighbour’s space unnecessarily.