However, even locally stored and processed facial recognition cameras raise privacy issues for some.
“Surveillance—and I would count facial recognition as one mode of surveillance—is primarily an exercise of control and power,” says Chris Gilliard, PhD, a professor at Macomb Community College in Warren, Mich., and advisory board member of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, a digital privacy advocacy organization. “Users will ultimately have little say in how the tech will be used against them, even if it is processed locally, in the event of hacks, subpoenas, and terms of service policies of companies.”
He says that some risks persist even if a camera does not have any facial recognition capabilities at all, because law enforcement or others could still obtain those images and run them through their own facial recognition algorithms.
One notable example of such home security cameras—without facial recognition—that have raised privacy concerns is Ring, owned by Amazon.
Ring allows users to participate in a neighborhood watch social network, called Neighbors, in which they share videos and information with partner police agencies.
The network has been accused by digital rights and social justice groups of unfairly targeting communities of color, criticisms that persist despite recent changes by Ring to its policies to address those concerns.
For those reasons, Gilliard cautions consumers away from home security cameras, especially those with facial recognition. “My overall recommendation is that people avoid it, as the purported convenience, or security for that matter, benefits are far outstripped by the risks.”
CR’s Brookman sees some legitimate safety reasons to want to know when a few predetermined people are coming and going from your house but agrees that the cameras come with downsides. “I can imagine coercive and abusive applications if adults and kids are being tracked without their awareness.”
So, he says, consumers should be aware of those risks and limitations when they consider home security cameras. And, he says, these cameras don’t require facial recognition features to be effective. In fact, none of the 10 top home security cameras in CR’s ratings offer that feature.
