CCTV at home and in the shop: what you can and cannot do

A CCTV system today costs little, can be viewed from your phone and brings real peace of mind. But filming people is data processing: there are precise rules, and they are easy to follow if you know them before drilling the walls.

At home

• You may film your own property: entrance, courtyard, garden, garage, interiors.
• You may not frame the public street beyond what is strictly necessary in front of the gate, nor the neighbours' garden or windows, nor common areas of the building without the owners' meeting's consent.
• Sign: if the camera films even a small area accessible to others (the pavement in front of the gate, the landing), a clearly visible "CCTV in operation" sign is required before the filmed area.
• Recordings: keep them for the minimum necessary (generally 24-72 hours) and protect access with serious passwords.

In shops, offices, warehouses

• Information signs at the entrance and in the filmed areas, with the owner's name and the purpose (security, protection of property).
• Employees: cameras may not be used to monitor work. If they film areas where people work, a union agreement or an authorisation from the Labour Inspectorate is required before installation. This is the most often ignored point, and the most fined.
• Forbidden areas: changing rooms, toilets, break areas.
• Retention: as a rule 24 hours, extendable to 72 for specific needs; beyond that, a written assessment is required.
• Full privacy notice available on request and record of processing if the company is required to keep one.

Where to place the cameras

• At the entrances, 2.5-3 metres high, with the face of whoever enters as little backlit as possible.
• One overview of the courtyard or warehouse, not ten narrow cameras.
• Under the eaves or the balcony: protected from rain and hard to reach.
• Lighting: a sensor light is worth as much as an extra camera.

Which system

We prefer wired (PoE) cameras with a recorder at home or on the premises: no batteries to charge, no subscriptions, footage that stays yours. Wi-Fi cameras are fine to cover a spot that is hard to wire. The phone app shows live images and recordings and sends a notification when it detects a person. As in our system for the warehouses in Via Bard.

Intrusion alarms

Cameras and alarm are two different things and complement each other: door and window sensors trigger the siren and the notification, cameras let you see what is happening. We design them together, with a single app.