Home security cameras have proved their usefulness time and time again, from catching sand porch pirates in the act to letting you see who’s at the door. Smart cameras aren’t for outdoor use only. Some smart cameras can also help you keep an eye on your kids while you’re out of the house or even check in to see how things are going when they’re home with a babysitter.
A smart nanny cam can help with this, but you might want something a little different from the usual home security-oriented features. I’m not considering concealed cameras for this list, since that gets into some pretty questionable territory as regards privacy. Instead I’m weighing all the needs you might want met for your nanny cam: two-way talk, quality real-time streaming, story footage storage options, and field-of-view or pan-and-tilt functions.
Taking all these considerations into account, these are my favorite nanny cams.
David Priest / CNET
Wyze’s $ 50 panning and tilting camera is perfect for keeping an eye on the kiddos because it can follow them around the room – or even multiple rooms, depending on how you position it. The camera can swivel 360 degrees, it’s got two-way talk and it’s super affordable, with or without a subscription.
What’s more, you can have the camera scan the room periodically, checking for irregularities, or you can set it to follow motion – so your whirlwind 4-year-old stays in frame while you’re trying to ask him about his day.
Read our Wyze Cam Pan v2 review.
Arlo
While the Arlo Essential Indoor Cam is fairly standard for a $ 100 smart camera – 130-degree field of view, 12x digital zoom, 1080p HD live stream, two-way talk, night vision, a built-in siren, etc. – it has one design feature that might make it worth special consideration as a nanny cam: its privacy shield. When the camera isn’t on, a quarter-sized white shield shows it’s not recording. When it starts to record, the shield flips. This makes it easy for caretakers and children to tell at a glance whether they’re being recorded, which makes maintaining privacy boundaries a little easier.
Read our Arlo Essential Indoor cam review.
Dale Smith / CNET
If you’re less worried about keeping a digital log of your kids ‘or caretakers’ activity throughout a whole evening than you are about dropping in to chat with them during that period, an Echo Show 5 kids edition may fit your needs better than a traditional camera. First off, you can drop in to chat, and the kids will actually be able to see your face. Second, your kids or caretakers can contact you through the device with a simple voice command. Finally, checking the activity log on the Echo is a nice, indirect way to see what your kids have been up to while you’re out – making sure not to intrude too much, but also give some helpful insights, depending on how much they use Alexa.
Read our Echo Show 5 (2021) review.
How we test home security cameras
Hands-on testing is core to our evaluations of any home security products. In short, when it comes to security cameras, we pay special attention to resolution, night vision and latency, extra features, general performance and overall value. We evaluate all of these elements in a real home environment over the course of a week. If you want to read more about our review process, check out our in-depth article on how we test home security cameras and video doorbells.
Nanny cams compared
|
Wyze Cam Pan v2 |
Arlo Essential Indoor Cam |
Amazon Echo Show 5 Kids |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Price |
$ 50 |
$ 100 |
$ 95 |
|
Resolution (pixe |
1,920×1,080 |
1,920×1,080 |
960×480 |
|
Field of View |
120 degrees |
130 degrees |
Not specified |
|
Setup |
Moveable, indoor only |
Moveable, indoor only |
Moveable, indoor only |
|
Extra Features |
Live streaming, 2-way talk, sound and motion alerts, color night vision, panning and tilting functions |
Live stream, 2-way talk, night vision, built-in siren, privacy shield |
Parental controls, video calls, built-in camera shutter, microphone / camera off button, drop-in function |
|
Review Score |
9.2 |
7.6 |
8 |
Nanny cam FAQs
Is it OK to use a nanny cam?
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.
Can someone hack my nanny cam?
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, such as 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.
Should I hide my nanny cam?
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 he. 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.
Is there a difference between a security camera and a nanny cam?
“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.
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