Ring doorbell owners issued fine warning over breaking lesser ...

A warning has been issued to UK households with a Ring doorbell about lesser-known rules and regulations that could result in fines of up to £10,000. The smart doorbells, which offer a live video feed of your front door, motion detection, audio recording, and visitor communication, are essentially home security devices.

However, these intelligent features could potentially lead to legal issues and substantial fines if not used correctly. Property buying experts at Gaffsy have highlighted the strict rules and regulations surrounding the use of CCTV in and around homes. Therefore, those with a Ring doorbell need to ensure their property is compliant.

The company warns that if your CCTV captures footage or images of individuals outside your property boundary, such as a neighbour's garden or house, shared spaces, or public areas, it must adhere to GDPR regulations.

Non-compliance could result in action from the Information Commissioner's Office and risk fines of up to £100,000, along with potential legal action from any individuals appearing in your CCTV images or videos. Businesses failing to comply could face fines of up to £17.5 million, reports The Express.

Max Royston, Senior Valuer and Director at Gaffsy, emphasises the importance of properly storing videos and deleting them when appropriate or if requested.

He advises: "Ensuring the data and time is correct is important, in case you need to submit videos for assessment. You'll also need to check whether the recorded information is used for the purpose of which your system was installed. You might be tempted to upload clips to Instagram or TikTok, but you could be infringing on privacy rights.

"It's your responsibility to ensure that the system is installed correctly, for all the information recorded by your system. You must also ensure that the information gathered by CCTV is not used for anything other than protecting your property.

"If the CCTV footage is captured outside your property limits, you should only keep the footage for an appropriate period and delete it after a few months. You should also delete footage of neighbours if they ask, due to the GDPR rules."

The company further recommends that homeowners adhere to these four essential guidelines to make sure their CCTV systems comply with legal standards:

- Inform your neighbours about your system.

- Display a notice to let people know recording is in progress.

- Consider alternatives before setting up a CCTV system – could additional lighting, fencing, or gates be effective?

- Think about using privacy filters to avoid capturing footage of your neighbour's property unnecessarily.