Nanny cams do raise important questions about privacy in the home, parental reach and an array of other issues. Laws differ based on where you live, but it’s almost always illegal to conceal cameras in places where privacy is presumed — such as bathrooms. Otherwise, however, as long as the nanny or babysitter is watching the children in your home, you are generally within your legal rights to use a camera.

Whether you should or not — or whether you should tell the nanny about the camera or not — is a more complicated question, and one that you’ll have to settle for yourself. Some experts recommend telling the nanny about the camera as a sign of respect, while others worry that defeats the purpose of the camera: to catch abuse or other problems when they happen. In general, such issues can be at least partly avoided by performing thorough background checks on caretakers, watching how your children behave around them, and dropping by the house at unexpected times to check in.

The short answer here is: probably, although it’s not likely. That said, you can protect your device in a few ways. First, be sure to use a camera from a major developer with a solid track record when it comes to device security. Second, use additional security measures for your device, like multifactor authentication, local storage and video encryption, when possible. Third, use a camera with a clear privacy screen or a physical cover, so you can reliably disable it when you’re not using it. 

Although some parents hope to hide their nanny cams, our recommendation is to keep your cameras in an open space — clearly communicating your expectations to your children and their caretakers about staying in monitored spaces, calling using two-way talk at certain times and so on. In general, establishing clear boundaries and expectations help build trust with caretakers and children both, while still giving you the ability to monitor your home while you’re away.

“Nanny cam” is a term used to talk about how a camera is used — as opposed to how it’s designed. You can easily use a smart security camera, a video baby monitor or any other camera as a nanny cam. Generally speaking, I recommend nanny cams based on their monitoring and communication features — without factoring in devices made to be concealed.