Making a Spycam Webcam? Some Dos and Don’ts.

Do you need to setup a spycam and want to use a humble webcam to achieve this goal? Read on.

First, the term ‘spycam’ suggests the monitoring is being done because there’s a suspicion… as opposed to some sort of preventative video monitoring application. Not a big fan of the term ‘spycam’ since it sounds all cloak and dagger-ish, yet people often have good reasons for wanting to set one of these up… maybe there are contractors coming and going at your home, or you’re suspicious that your property is being trespassed, or there have been vandalism problems… the list goes on. There are lots of technology options to achieve this goal – cloud services like Camcloud (we offer a free plan), through to simple mobile apps, or software installs like VitaminD.

Regardless of the technology you use or what you call it, here are a few dos and don’ts if you decide to setup your own spycam webcam.

Do Follow Your Local Privacy Laws

Before you run off and setup one of these, be sure you understand the laws in your local jurisdiction. Monitoring your home is different than monitoring employees at a business, and monitoring with video can have different legal implications than monitoring with sound only. Check before you create more trouble for yourself than it’s worth!

Don’t Blow Your Budget

Sure, you could buy $1000 in hardware and sign multi-year alarm company contracts, but really…. is that needed? Start with a simple setup and increase your investment as you go along.

Do Keep it Simple

If you want to set this up for yourself and you find yourself in the middle of a 6 hour software install marathon, trying to configure network settings and tweaking software to work properly… STOP! There’s no need. There are plenty of simple options – everything from cloud services that do the video storage and streaming for you, through to relatively simple pre-packaged software. No need to hack anything.

Don’t Store Recordings Locally

So… you’ve setup a camera to keep an eye on your house or child sitter or whatever… and all the recordings are right there ready and waiting to be deleted? Hmmm… better to push the recordings into the cloud and off-site rather than storing them locally.

Follow those tips and you’ll be up and running in no time with your own spycam webcam! Try Camcloud to test out the concept – we have a free plan and you’ll be up and running in minutes.