What you can and cannot do with a digital peephole to comply with the law

In recent years, the so-called digital peepholes have become fashionable, an evolved version of the classic ones of all time with which we knew who was knocking at the door by looking into their optics.

These devices allow you to improve the performance of traditional peepholes, offering more useful features such as viewing the outside of the door at a glance, sending notifications to mobileimage capture, etc.

However, these extra options are very good in some cases of single-family homes or in buildings with common areas far away. But there are situations in which you may not need them. We are not always complying with the law and we may face subsequent financial penalties if a neighbor reports us.

What we can and cannot do with a digital peephole to comply with the law

The AEPD (Spanish Data Protection Agency) emphasizes that images produced by camera or video camera systems are considered personal data and, as such, must be treated in accordance with data protection laws.

According to Article 22 of the Organic Law on Data Protection, individuals or companies are allowed to use camera systems for the purpose of ensuring the security of individuals and property. However, It is strictly prohibited to use these systems to conduct surveillance in areas not authorized by the facility.

This is the case of private spaces of third parties or public areas without a valid and adequately supported justification. In addition, Cameras are not allowed to affect people’s privacy that move freely through the area.

With all this we can basically highlight Two types of digital peepholesand depending on which one we have, we will or will not have to be more careful when using it:

• First we have the basic models of digital peepholes which only transfer the image of the hallway to an interior viewer in real time by pressing a button. These are the least problematic because they behave like the classic ones of a lifetime but now with a small screen. If they do not have the ability to record or store images, in principle they are not subject to the General Data Protection Regulation and we can install and use them without any problem as we would with an analogue peephole.
• The most advanced ones work as a video surveillance system with the option to record imagesstore them on digital devices such as a smartphone and view, copy and distribute them later. These behave like a classic video surveillance system and therefore are subject to the General Data Protection Regulation.

What do I need to consider when installing one of these advanced peepholes?

• You must have permission from the community of owners. As established by the Horizontal Property Law, according to article 17 of said law, There must be at least 3/5 community supportthat is, 60% of all voters. The ideal would be to be able to count on the explicit permission of the neighbouring neighbours that can be recorded with the peephole, although in principle the mandatory requirement is the permission of the community.
• We must take care of the location and viewing angle from the peephole. For example, we cannot aim at common areas beyond the area right in front of our door, we cannot aim at neighbors’ doors or places that invade the privacy of third parties.
• If there are neighbouring doors nearby or common areas nearby, It is not advisable to install mobile peepholes or peepholes with a shifting viewing angle.as they may constitute a violation of the rule.
• We cannot use digital peepholes as a video surveillance system and therefore the image captures cannot be recorded and recorded indefinitely. Ideally, they should be activated by pressing a doorbell without causing a constant or extended recording over time. If this were the case, they are already legally considered surveillance cameras and not simple peepholes.
• Care must be taken with the data stored by peepholes. The data captured by the peephole must be stored securely, with a limited retention period. In addition, it must only be accessible by the homeowner and of course can never be shared or published on social media.

More information | General Data Protection Regulation | OCU | UOC

Cover image | EZVIZ

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