Video intercoms and neighbours' privacy: aiming the camera

The video intercom is by now a common tool, letting you see who is ringing before you open. As long as it films only the person at the door and the narrow space in front, it remains a lawful, private use. The problem arises when the framing widens to the common landing, the neighbour's door or the condominium spaces: in that case the device can breach others' privacy and amount to interference in the neighbours' private life. The key is aiming the camera correctly.

Video intercom and surveillance are not the same

A classic video intercom activates on the call and shows the image only for the time needed to answer, without recording. In this form it differs greatly from a surveillance system that films and stores images continuously. Many recent models, however, offer recording, call storage and remote viewing: when these options are switched on, the device moves closer to surveillance and inherits its obligations.

The household exemption and its limits

Using a video intercom for purely personal and household purposes falls under the so-called household exemption, which lightens GDPR obligations. But this exemption has a precise boundary: it applies only if the filming stays confined to the individual's own exclusive spaces, that is, one's own door and the area immediately in front. If the lens frames common areas or others' property, the household exemption no longer applies and the processing is again subject to the general data protection rules.

The minimisation principle applied to framing

The GDPR requires processing only the data necessary for the purpose. Applied to the video intercom, this means aiming the camera so that it films only what is needed to identify the caller: the person at the door. There is no need to frame the whole landing, the neighbour's door or the common corridor. A wide framing collects excessive data and must be avoided, both by reducing the viewing angle and by choosing the correct orientation of the device.

• Frame only the person at your own door and the strictly necessary space.
• Avoid filming the neighbour's door, the landing or common spaces.
• Disable continuous recording if there is no genuine need.
• If the device records and stores, consider the surveillance obligations.
• Reduce the angle or mask the non-relevant portions of the frame.

The risk of unlawful interference

Stably filming spaces that belong to another's private sphere is not only a GDPR problem: it can also amount to unlawful interference in private life, which the legal system protects. Pointing the camera at the neighbour's door, monitoring their comings and goings and habits, goes well beyond the purpose of seeing who rings your own bell. A neighbour who feels watched can react, ask for the device to be removed or reoriented and turn to the competent authorities.

The video intercom on common parts

The case of a video intercom installed on the condominium's common entrance, connected to the individual flats, is different. Here the system sits on a common part and the decision belongs to the assembly, not to the individual. In this case too the filming must stay limited to the entrance area and to the purpose of allowing calls to be answered. A condominium installation does not authorise extending surveillance to non-relevant areas, and the notice and signs must be respected when the system records.

How to prevent conflicts between neighbours

Most disputes over video intercoms arise from badly aimed framing rather than bad faith. Preventing them is simple: at installation it is worth checking what actually enters the field of view, correcting the angle if it films others' spaces and, when the device offers recording functions, considering whether to disable or limit them. A prior conversation with neighbours and the manager avoids complaints and later interventions. The rule stays one: see who rings, do not watch the landing.

When the system is a condominium one, keeping the resolution, notice, signs and technical documentation in order helps to demonstrate compliance: with AmministraPro the manager archives system documents and communications to owners in a traceable way. The features are described on the features page and the plans on the pricing page.