Video surveillance at home: what is allowed in Germany

Putting a camera in your own flat is in principle not a problem in Germany. It becomes delicate as soon as other people come into the picture who know nothing about it or do not want to. This article is guidance and not legal advice; in individual cases courts decide, and the legal situation can change.

Your own home

Anyone who films within their own four walls generally falls under the so-called household exemption of the General Data Protection Regulation: purely personal or family activities are exempt from the strict obligations. That does not mean everything is allowed. The general right of personality of the people you record continues to apply. And pictures from the most private sphere of life can be a criminal offence under section 201a of the Criminal Code, for example in a guest's bathroom or bedroom.

Where the line runs

Three areas are delicate. First, anything that reaches beyond your property: pavement, street, neighbour's garden, communal hallway. There are regular disputes here, and courts have repeatedly ruled that neighbours may not be filmed permanently, not even “just in case”. Second, people who are in your home: guests, tradespeople, babysitters, cleaners, carers. They should know that a camera is running and should not be filmed in rooms where they change or wash. Third, sound: listening to and recording the spoken word is subject to stricter rules than pictures. More in the article Listening in on sound: when is it a criminal offence?.

Practical rules that almost always help

Talk to everyone who is regularly in the flat. One short sentence is enough: “There is an old phone in the living room that sounds an alert when it is loud.” Position the camera so that it shows only what it needs to, for example the cot or the dog basket and not the whole flat. Switch it off when you have visitors or someone unfamiliar is working in the house. In an apartment building the camera never belongs in the hallway or pointed at the door. For the nursery: parents may monitor their small children for supervision, but the older the child gets, the more important it is that they know and that their privacy grows with them.

Holiday flats and rentals

Anyone who rents out a flat may not monitor tenants or guests inside. That applies even if the camera is “only” meant to show the entrance. Platforms such as Airbnb expressly prohibit indoor cameras. If you want to know for good reasons whether the house is safe, alternatives such as an alarm system without a camera make more sense, one that only reports vibration and opening. This is exactly what the “alarm system” role in VintageCam is for: it uses neither camera nor microphone.

What VintageCam takes off your hands

VintageCam stores nothing as long as you are only watching or listening. Only when an alert goes off are an event, photo and audio clip created, encrypted on a server in Germany and for at most 30 days. That does not replace an agreement with the people in the house, but it makes sure as little as possible is created. The details are in the article Where are my recordings?.