Digital peephole on the door: privacy in a condominium

A digital peephole, that is an electronic viewer with a camera mounted in place of the traditional peephole, is lawful when it is used to see in real time who is in front of the door, as the eye would with an optical peephole. The problem arises with models that snap photos or record video of anyone approaching and store those images: if the lens frames the common landing and the neighbours, the recording function can turn a simple viewer into a surveillance device subject to Regulation (EU) 2016/679.

The concrete case

An owner replaces the peephole with a digital model that, on every movement on the landing, takes a photo or starts a recording, storing the images in the device's memory or in the phone. In this way it continuously collects images of the opposite neighbour, of those climbing the stairs and of couriers. Another owner, discovering this, objects to being photographed every time they walk past. It must be understood whether that use is allowed.

Live view and recording: the key difference

Watching live who is in front of the door, without keeping anything, is equivalent to using the traditional peephole and raises no data protection issues: there is no archive of images of people. Automatic recording or snapping and storage change the nature of the processing, because they create a systematic collection of images of identifiable people crossing a common space. This is where the device can leave the purely household sphere.

The household exemption and its boundaries

GDPR does not apply to processing for purely personal or household activity. Watching one's own entrance typically falls within this scope, but the exemption is lost when the device continuously films and stores the common landing, which is a common part under Article 1117 of the Italian Civil Code, and the neighbours' movements. The constant filming of uninvolved people and the creation of an image history shift the processing under ordinary rules.

• Allowed: watching live who is in front of your own door
• Delicate: recording only the area immediately in front of the entrance
• Avoid: permanently photographing or filming the landing and neighbours
• Forbidden: keeping a history of images of passers-by without purpose

How to configure the digital peephole

Anyone wanting a digital viewer for convenience or security should prefer live view only or, if recording is present, limit it to the area strictly in front of the door and reduce the motion detection sensitivity, so it does not trigger on everyone passing. Any recorded images should be kept for the minimum time and protected. The aim is to see who is knocking, not to monitor the comings and goings of the floor.

The landing is a common space

The fact that the viewer is on one's own door does not make the space in front of it available, as it belongs to all owners. Systematically filming the landing means processing personal data of people entitled not to be surveilled while using a common part. If there is a genuine security need on the landing, the correct route is video surveillance resolved by the condominium, with the condominium as data controller and the related safeguards.

Practical advice

• Choose live view only if an archive is not needed
• Limit recording to the entrance and reduce motion sensitivity
• Do not create a history of the neighbours' images
• For floor security, propose a condominium solution at the meeting

The consequences of improper use

A viewer that continuously photographs and stores whoever passes on the landing can lead to a complaint to the data protection authority, a request to stop the processing and a claim for damages by neighbours filmed without justification. The device's convenience does not justify surveilling a common space: the correct configuration protects both the installer and the person living next door.

If landing security requires a condominium system, resolutions and notices must be handled in an orderly way. With AmministraPro the manager records surveillance decisions in the minutes, distributes the notices and communicates with owners traceably: the features are described on the /funzioni page and the plans on the /prezzi page.