Guidance on installing CCTV, including ring doorbell cameras
We understand that keeping your home safe and secure is extremely important and installing CCTV may help you achieve this, therefore, we have designed this guidance to provide you with advice on what you need to consider and what the law expected from you when installing CCTV.
If you are using CCTV, whether that be cameras or a ring doorbell, for personal/ household use then this is exempt from the The UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA18). This means that you must only capture the boundaries within your home, for example the front or back of the home, a driveway or garden.
If your CCTV is capturing footage outside of these boundaries, such as someone else’s garden or driveway, it would no longer be classed as personal use, and would therefore be subject to the UK GDPR and the DPA18. This does not mean you are breaching law, however there are legal obligations you must comply with.
Data protection law says that if you are operating a CCTV camera or smart doorbell outside of your property boundary you should:
- Make people aware you are using recording equipment
- Provide footage if requested by a person whose images have been captured, and delete the footage if requested
- Stop recording a person if they object to being recorded, but only if it is possible to do so. For example, if you can point the camera in a different direction but still use it for the same purposes
- Regularly or automatically delete the footage
