The Best Peephole Camera for Apartments and Rentals
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Peephole cameras are a natural fit for apartment doors or other rental situations where installing a fixed doorbell is not an option. These devices should fit right into the existing peephole in your front door so they’re really easy to install and, in many cases, don’t require any drilling or fixtures that would damage the property. Unfortunately, there aren’t many good products targeting this segment yet, but there are some that can be worth a look.
I’ve gone through dozens of these products to compare specs, features, and user experience to pick out the best options available right now. So many of these have not been worth considering due to poor quality and limited functionality. There are a couple of good options, though and I’ve chosen the Ring Peephole Cam as the best overall for its build quality, support, performance, and app experience.
Best Overall
Ring Peephole Cam
✔ Best Performance
✔ Removable Battery Pack
✔ Best App Experience
Best Screen
EZVIZ CP4 Doorbell
✔ Best Screen Quality
✔ Two-Way Talk
✔ Person Detection
Most Discrete
Brinno SHC500
✔ Gold Peephole
✔ No Tools Required
✔ Replaceable Batteries
Best Budget
digitsea Door Viewer
✔ Night vision Camera
✔ Doorbell included
✔ Long standby time
What To Look For In a Peephole Camera
Not all peephole cameras are created equal. In fact, most of them are fairly constrained in what they offer. You’ll probably have to compromise on what you get with any given model, so it’s worth taking some time the think about what you actually want to get out of it. Are you looking for round-the-clock security monitoring of your doorstep, or do you just want better visibility through your peephole?
What size is your peephole?
Door peepholes come in different diameters as do these peephole cameras. If you don’t want to be drilling out the peephole to make it wider, then you’ll need to pay attention to the compatible peephole sizes for reach camera. Unfortunately, this isn’t always easy to find in the product information.
The same applies to the door thickness. The cameras will support a range of thicknesses for correct installation. If your door is too thick, or too thin you won’t be able to mount the camera securely. Note that as these are all Chinese products, the included screws will be metric. In some cases you may need to source different screws to get a snug fit.
Video recording or still photos?
A door peephole camera will typically have a built-in screen on the inside of the front door to replace the normal peephole viewer, but not all of these devices will record videos. Some only record stills, and some don’t record anything.
The latter may be all you need if you’re just looking for a better way of seeing who’s outside, but if you’re looking to use such a device as a door peephole security camera to improve overall home security then you’ll need video recording, preferably with a motion sensor to trigger it.
A key benefit of not going with video recording is battery life. The still models will last much longer on a charge, so if you don’t need to record videos these may be a better option.
I’m yet to see a peephole camera that supports HDR, which means the video quality is never going to be the best when you have a person standing with strong light in the background such as a streetlight or the afternoon sun.
Peephole or doorbell?
The other key difference you’ll note is the outdoor design of the door peephole camera. This can either be made to look like a regular peephole or have a larger housing to accommodate a doorbell as well.
Having the doorbell is nice, but it makes the camera more obvious, and you might need to keep it more discrete depending on your apartment situation.
Keep in mind the peephole only models generally don’t have night vision capability as this requires extra hardware alongside the camera. This makes them essentially a digital door viewer, and like a conventional peephole you’ll need exterior lighting to see much at night.
The Best Peephole Cameras
Best Overall - Ring Peephole Cam
Best Display Model - EZVIZ CP4
Cheaper Display Model - Anjielo SMART Peephole Camera
Most Discrete - Brinno SHC500
Best Budget Camera - digitsea Video Door Viewer
Best Basic Door Viewer - Sonew Home Visual Door Eye
Best NVR Camera - Tuya Door Eye Hole
Frequently Asked Questions
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A peephole camera is a small digital video camera designed to fit into the peephole in your front door. It can be used to provide better visibility than a typical peephole lens by using a wide-angle camera, possibly with night vision, paired with either a smartphone app or an indoor display screen.
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Peephole cameras aren’t an alternative to having a hole through your door. In fact, they depend on that hole being there as they use it to attach to the door itself. Installation is typically very simple and by replacing the conventional peephole hardware the camera is able to be securely mounted to the door without any special hardware.
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Yes, this is one of the best use cases for a front door peephole camera. Unlike a video doorbell camera all of these cameras can be installed into an existing peephole without needing to screw anything into the front door or run any cabling. They consist simply of an external and internal component connected through the peephole and locked into place using a flange-like plate on the indoor side, often without needing any tools at all.
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All peephole cameras are battery powered because there is no easy way to run power cabling to the peephole as it’s built into the center of the door. Batteries are installed on the inside part of the peephole camera for easy access and to prevent tampering. Most wireless peephole cameras will last between 1 to 6 months on a charge depending on how much use they get, and whether they record video or not.
In some models, you can keep a USB power cable permanently attached. The challenge is finding a way to route it from the door to a power socket without it getting in the way or looking like a hatchet job.
Best Peephole Camera Overall
Ring Peephole Cam
★★★★★
Key Features
• 1080p HD night vision camera
• Peephole size: 12-14mm
• Knock detection
• IR motion sensor w/person detection
• 155-degree field of view
• 180-day cloud storage (subscription)
• Privacy zones and audio mute
• Integrated doorbell w/Two-way audio
• Peephole privacy shield
What I Like
After being discontinued for a couple of years, demand has compelled Ring to bring back their excellent Peephole Cam, and at a lower price. This model looks a lot more like a conventional video doorbell but with the key difference being the installation method and indoor battery compartment. Unlike other peephole cameras the Ring Peephole Cam retains the conventional peephole as well as adding a camera. The peephole shaft incorporates the cable that attaches the electronics in the outside unit to a Battery and Wi-Fi housing on the inside.
This means you get the simplicity of a normal peephole with the added features of a video doorbell. If you’re worried about people looking in through the doorbell, Ring has included a privacy shield to prevent people being able to do that. This is important if you want to be able to quickly check outside since the Peephole Cam doesn’t include an indoor display. All access to the camera view is via the Ring app.
I’ve found Ring’s app is best-in-class here, with excellent response times for notifications and live view access, custom motion zones, person detection, and the ability to create privacy zones and disable audio recording. Ring also provides a number of ways to temporarily turn off recording entirely. This is particularly important in an apartment context where the privacy of other tenants can be a significant consideration.
The Peephole Cam also includes Knock detection, so it can trigger notifications to you based on that if people don’t use the doorbell button. This can be an issue with peephole-based doorbells as people may not be looking for a doorbell button in the middle of the door. The knock detection is based on vibration, not sound, so it won’t trigger from people knocking on your neighbor’s door.
Video is stored in Ring’s cloud service for up to 180 days, which also provides for person detection and rich notifications, so you’ll get a thumbnail of what triggered motion detection included with the notification on your smart phone. You can get this fairly cheaply for a single camera with a Protect Basic plan at $4/month, and if you want to add more Ring devices later you can upgrade to a Protect Plus plan which gives you unlimited devices and an extended warranty for a flat $10/month.
Another nice feature that makes the Peephole Cam stand out is the inclusion of Ring’s removable battery pack. This can be easily released from the inside unit to charge, and you can purchase additional batteries to swap out on the fly, preventing downtime on your doorbell. Having a removable battery isn’t just a convenience, but it means you won’t be left with a bricked device when the battery eventually wears out.
Potential Concerns
Having to pay a subscription is not something any of us want to do, and using Ring’s cloud service to store your videos may be a concern for you if you don’t trust cloud services. That concern is valid concern as we don’t have any control over their internal security and data access policies of these companies.
In Ring’s case this certainly used to be an issue, but they have significantly improved in recent years and added various privacy controls and extra security features to their app. This actually gives us more control than other brands in terms of privacy and security, especially with the inclusion of the new end-to-end encryption feature. If you do need to use a cloud service, a major brand like Ring is also a better option as they attract far greater scrutiny from security researchers to ensure any issues are identified and fixed.
If you’d still rather avoid cloud-based storage, then the EZVIZ device below is your best alternative, albeit at a higher price.
✔ Superior performance
✔ Removable battery
✔ Generous cloud storage plan
✘ Cloud storage only
✘ No internal display screen
Best Peephole Camera With Screen
EZVIZ CP4 Peephole Doorbell
★★★★★
Key Features
• 1080p HD night vision camera
• Peephole size: 16.5mm
• 4.3” screen
• IR motion sensor w/person detection
• 166-degree field of view
• Local video storage (MicroSD up to 256GB)
• Optional Cloud storage
• Integrated doorbell w/Two-way audio
• IP54 weather rating
What I Like
After a LOT of searching, this model from security camera maker EZVIZ is easily the best peephole camera with an indoor display out there right now. EZVIZ is a well-established maker of security cameras with a worldwide presence. They have a growing line of smart home products as well, including a range of peephole cameras.
The EZVIZ CP4 model is getting close to the features of a video doorbell, with IR motion detection, a night vision HD camera, a first-party smart phone app, and person detection. This last point is rare on peephole cameras, but is important for allowing you more control over the notifications you get via the app. This is also the only model to have an actual weather resistance rating thanks to a zinc alloy casing on the camera unit.
The field of view on the camera is also the widest I’ve found on screen-based models at 166 degrees (the DIY device at the end of this list has wider), that will be good for many people by eliminating more blind spots to the sides and below. Note that the motion sensor only has a field of 110 degrees, though.
The level of tech in this device is, in general, higher than that of the competition, but naturally that leads to a higher cost. For example, the memory card supports higher class cards going up to 256GB of storage, and the video is compressed using the newer H.265 standard to reduce storage size with no loss of quality. EZVIZ also offers their own security camera cloud service as an option. This is a much more credible option in this case given credibility of the company in the market.
I also love the design of the mount. It’s easier to wire up than other screen-based models, and the screen unit simply slots into the base using a simple connector on the bottom. This means you can just lift it off and take it away to charge rather than having to mess with USB cables at the door. You’ll need to do that around every 90 days based on light usage.
Potential Concerns
Now for the catch. For some reason, EZVIZ is not selling the CP4 in the US, but is pretty much everywhere else. Maybe they’re just trying to push their video doorbell product at the moment. It is available from Amazon Canada, however, so you should still be able to get one.
As with most smart home products, the CP4 only support 2.4GHz Wi-Fi. Not a huge issue from a capability perspective, but it can cause some headaches getting it set up for some routers.
✔ HD video recording to card or cloud
✔ Person Detection
✔ IP54 weather resistance rating
✘ Memory card not included
✘ Most expensive option
A Cheaper Alternative to the EZVIZ
Anjielo SMART Peephole Camera
★★★★✩
Key Features
• 1080p HD night vision camera
• Peephole size: 14mm
• 4.3” screen
• IR motion sensor
• 120-degree field of view
• Local video storage (MicroSD up to 64GB)
• 32GB card included
• Integrated doorbell w/Two-way audio
What I Like
The Anjielo SMART Peephole Viewer offers a motion activated 1080p HD video camera and a 120-degree field of view. Anjielo actually has a range of products for sale and actually seems to have a real company presence, so that’s also a mark in their favor from a support perspective, but they don’t have the credibility of EZVIZ to back them up.
This Peephole Camera will capture events on an internal memory card automatically when triggered by the motion sensor. The motion detection sensitivity is adjustable, and the app supports multiple users. The recorded videos can be viewed later from the screen directly, or you can opt to save the video to your phone via a smart phone app.
Smart phone functionality is provided through the use of the Smart Life app, as the Anjielo camera uses the popular Tuya smart home platform. This will ensure you get motion and doorbell notifications on your phone wherever you are and can respond from the app directly. The doorbell will similarly ring a chime on the inside unit, although it’s not very loud which may be an issue in a larger apartment.
It’s powered by an internal lithium-ion rechargeable battery that is stated to last for around 30 days of normal use. Recharging has to be done via a micro-USB cable to the screen unit.
The large screen and better-quality camera would be a benefit for older residents that want the added security of being able to clearly see who is outside without having to open the door. While setting up the app is optional, you’ll get low battery warnings through that, and it’s required if you want to use the two-way talk feature, as the screen doesn’t have a microphone.
Potential Concerns
The battery life is, of course, a sore point here. Having to recharge every month could be a nuisance, especially since you have to plug the indoor unit into power and can’t take the battery out. This is unlike other peephole cameras that have removable batteries.
Build quality is also, unsurprisingly, not great. There are a lot of reports of issues with poor performance and camera issues. Unfortunately, these are exactly the kinds of problems I’m wary of with these cheaper brands.
The usual Wi-Fi connection issues during setup again rear their ugly head as it’s only a 2.4GHz device. Setting up on some dual band networks can be a headache, but the setup process is fairly straightforward thanks to the Tuya app providing clear visual instructions. This is good, because the documentation is a Chinese translation so it can be difficult to understand, and I also wouldn’t expect too much in the way of support.
✔ HD video recording
✔ Memory card included
✘ Low screen resolution
✘ Most expensive
Most Discrete Peephole Camera
Brinno SHC500
★★★★✩
Key Features
• 480p camera
• Peephole size: 12mm
• 2.7” screen
• 90-degree field of view
• 6-month battery life
• Standard AA batteries
• Local video storage (MicroSD up to 32GB)
What I Like
The Brinno SHC500 is the lower model peephole camera from Brinno have been around for a while, manufacture a range of outdoor camera products, and are an actual full-service company with a 1-year warranty. You’ll get some peace of mind by having this support backing, decent build materials, and a theft proof concealed design.
It’s not a particularly capable device and I had previously picked the SHC1000 model over this one as it’s far more capable, but time in the market has proven it’s a bit of a lemon. This model only captures a handful of still photos when motion is detected and doesn’t have any smart phone or smart home support.
Its main benefit is that it’s very easy to install without any tools, and the camera itself is disguised as a normal peephole for a much more discrete installation. This not only conceals the presence of the camera, but also ensures there is nothing to vandalize on the outside. This can be useful as a hidden camera for apartment door situations that don’t allow visible additions to the outside.
You can view the camera live, or you can press the button to capture a ‘digital visitor log’ of who has come to the door. It will also capture 5 still photos when an event is detected. A log of the events is stored on the device, and each activation can send the photos via email to an address of your choice as well. The photos are stored on an internal MicroSD card which needs to be purchased separately.
Four AAA batteries are included and will give you an estimated 6 months of usage, or 3000 activations according to Brinno. That’s pretty decent, but I wouldn’t expect anything less given it’s not recording much. Going with a rotating set of rechargeable batteries is probably a good idea.
Potential Concerns
Brinno has opted for a low-quality camera and screen combination, with a limited 90-degree field of view. This can mean it’s difficult to see much beyond what’s right in front of the peephole, and packages or kids can be invisible. Motion detection is also sketchy. Relying on the camera and not a proper motion sensor can result in the photos triggered too late to be useful.
These factors, and that it only takes still photos, mean it’s not suitable for security purposes, but more for being able to more clearly see who is outside than using the conventional peephole.
Battery life has also been reported by some to be far worse than claimed. Using lithium batteries can help with this, but your mileage will vary depending on your environment and usage.
✔ Long battery life
✔ Good Support
✘ Only takes still photos
✘ Memory card not included
Best Budget Peephole Camera
digitsea Video Door Viewer
★★★★✩
Key Features
• 480p night vision camera
• Peephole size: 15mm
• 3” screen
• Micro SD card included
• 6-month battery life
• 1200mAh internal battery
• 120-degree field of view
• Doorbell included
What I Like
The digitsea Video Door Viewer has the highest rating of any peephole camera I’ve found so far. It’s a more basic peephole camera and doorbell with simple installation and a lower cost for the price sensitive. As such this one comes in as my ‘best budget’ peephole camera pick. Don’t expect any smart features here, it simply allows you to see who’s at the door when they press the doorbell, or when you press the button from the inside.
This digital door viewer is a basic peephole replacement with standard definition night vision camera and a 120-degree field of view. When pressed it will capture images that will be saved to the internal memory card, which will store a rotation of the last 75 photos. You can remove the card to extract the photos or view them from the screen by using the buttons on the side to move forward, back, and delete.
The device is powered by an internal lithium-ion battery that needs to be recharged via the included micro USB cable. As the installation is a very simple snap on design, you can take it down to recharge easily, and given the fairly basic functionality, the battery life is very good, lasting 6 months to a year for most people.
Potential Concerns
This is a very basic peephole camera from a no-name manufacturer. Product quality is not great as a result, and there is no support available. It is not uncommon for these to die in a short time frame, but it still rates fairly well so it seems to be luck of the draw. As with these types of low-cost devices, you’ll find the exact same hardware from various off-brand names.
Easily half the price of the more capable models, if you don’t want anything too fancy, this may fit the bill. Just be sure to take advantage of Amazon’s return window if you have any trouble with the one you get.
✔ Long battery life
✔ Doorbell included
✘ No app access
✘ Takes still photos only
A More Basic Door Viewer Option
Sonew Home Visual Door Eye
★★★★✩
Key Features
• 1080p camera
• Peephole size: 14mm
• 3.5” screen
• 6-month battery life
• Standard AAA batteries
• 120-degree field of view
• Anti-pry design
What I Like
I’ve highlighted this model of the verbosely named Sonew Home Doorbell Digital Door Eye Viewer primarily as it also earns a high customer rating, for what it does. To put that in perspective, it’s a very basic device that is by no means equivalent to a video doorbell.
What it does do is provide a large, clear, easy to use display of the outside of your door. Basically, it’s an electronic peephole. You need to trigger this view manually by pressing the button next to the screen, so it really is just a digital version of a regular peephole. That may not be what you’re looking for, but it is a genuinely useful device for those with poor eyesight, or who find looking through a peephole difficult.
It runs on four regular AAA batteries that can be easily changed out by opening the flap on the top of the screen housing. Those batteries are stated to last about 3 months, but your mileage will vary, of course. It’s fairly easy to install thanks to a simple video tutorial, but you will need a screwdriver and two hands. The provided screws are also metric, so you might need a shim or to source some different screws to perfectly fit your door thickness.
Potential Concerns
Build quality is the key call out here, it feels a bit flimsy, and you’ll need to take some care when attaching the screen to the mounting plate. This hardware is actually a generic device sold under a bunch of off-brand names, so I wouldn’t expect much in the way of support from any of them.
Also note that as this presents as a fairly basic peephole on the outside, there are no infra-red LEDs to provide night vision capability, and the camera doesn’t support IR at all. You’ll need a light outside if you want to see anything at night.
✔ Normal looking peephole
✔ Long battery life
✘ No recording of any kind
✘ No app access
Best NVR Peephole Camera
Tuya Door Eye Hole
★★★★★
Key Features
• 1080p camera
• Peephole size: 23mm
• Wi-Fi, no hub
• ONVIF RTSP Recording
• Local storage (card not included)
• Remote access via app
• 180-degree field of view
What I Like
I’ve included this product as a viable alternative for the more DIY oriented. For those who prefer to run their own video recorded for their security cameras, or who are quite happy using their phone to view their door camera instead of a screen this camera might be a better option. Easier to install and with better quality video recording than most, it’s a much simpler and more robust way of putting a camera in your peephole.
The big selling point of this type of peep hole door camera is that they not only record to a local memory card but can also stream to a Network Video Recorder (NVR) in your home. With support for ONVIF RTSP streams, if you have such a recorded for other security cameras, then you can integrate this with that system for a more holistic CCTV experience.
If that’s more than you are looking for, you can also use the Tuya app to view the camera feed or access recorded videos from your smart phone with no other equipment.
Potential Concerns
While this is a very compact solution offering more video features than most peephole cameras, the biggest downside is that it needs to be plugged in. The back of the camera (the inside part) has a micro-USB port for this purpose, so you’ll have to find a way to run a cable from your door to a power socket. It also has a external Wi-Fi antenna which will hang down from the back of the camera about 6 inches, so it’s not the best looking solution.
You might also have noticed the barrel width is quite wide, well above my other picks with the need for a 21-28mm hole diameter. You’ll need a particularly large peephole to avoid having to drill out more space. There’s also no night vision capability as it’s only intended for use inside apartment buildings.
✔ ONVIF NVR support
✔ Remote access
✘ No night vision
✘ Needs power cable
Alternative Options for Apartment Doors
Remo+ DoorCam 2
Key Features
• 1080p camera
• Works with Alexa, Google Assistant, IFTTT
• Free 3-day cloud storage
• Two-way talk via app
• 160 field of view
• Infra-red motion sensors
• Standard D Cell batteries (included)
If you’re looking at peephole cameras, you may find Remo’s take on this problem to be a viable alternative for a door viewer. Instead of installing the camera in the peephole, the Remo+ DoorCam 2 is hung over the front door itself. This option is much more capable and is more akin to a decent video doorbell, but without the button.
Inside the door is the battery pack and Wi-Fi antenna similar to a peephole camera, powered by three included D cell batteries, which are easily accessed from the inside unit with a standard slip off battery cover. You can get a good view of the whole area in front of the door, all the way to the ground. This is great for both keeping an eye out for packages, and for avoiding tampering.
Being hung over the door itself, installation is super easy, and you’ll get better video quality than most other products on the market from the full 1080p night vision HD video camera with a 160-degree field of view, and it’s backed up with infra-red motion detection from two motion sensors and better than average night vision capabilities.
The recorded video is stored in Remo’s cloud storage service, and you get a rolling 3-day storage plan for free. You can upgrade that for a small monthly fee if you want to keep videos for longer.
The Remo DoorCam 2 doesn’t have a screen as it’s mounted at the top of the door, so you’ll need to use the Remo smart phone app to view videos and interact with people at your door, similar to a normal smart video doorbell. With the app you can connect the camera to amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and IFTTT for smart home integration, and it has an IPX4 weather resistance rating. That’s not very high, but it does give some assurance against condensation and light rain, and it’s better than all the peephole cameras on offer.
✔ Smart home integration
✔ Wide field of view
✘ No local storage
✘ Poor Support
No-Drill Doorbell Mounts
Clamp Doorbell Mount Examples
No Drill Adhesive Mount
With a dearth of decent peephole cameras available right now you do have another option if you’re looking for more smarts and features. There are a wide variety of no-drill mounts available for major brand video doorbells that allow you to use these without damaging the property.
These mounts tend to use a clamp design that wraps around the edge of the door to hold it in place. Popular options include:
Eufy 1080p Doorbell No-Drill Clamp
Blink Video Doorbell No-Drill Clamp
Generic Anti-Theft No-Drill Clamp
Some might also use adhesive foam tape to attach to the outside of your apartment, so you’ll want to be sure about doing that in a way that it can be removed cleanly. Those from Wasserstein use this approach in order to conform the mount to the shape of the doorbell for an inconspicuous installation. They’re available for a range of big names doorbells such as these:
Arlo Essential Doorbell No-Drill Mount
Google Nest Doorbell No-Drill Mount
Blink Video Doorbell No-Drill Mount
Considerations before buying
Video quality and viewing angle
Like home security cameras, a higher resolution peephole camera is always going to give you better results, but you may not need full HD video for your situation. Cheaper options can still provide sufficient clarity to identify people and see what is going on in front of the door, especially when these types of devices can’t be angled any other way. The best peephole camera for you may not be the highest resolution one, and high video resolution doesn’t reflect true camera quality.
A bigger consideration may be the viewing angle. 170 degree field of view will provide the best coverage but will also compress the image towards the edges which can make it harder to see details. If you have an open space outside the front door and want to ensure you see well to the sides, this is still useful. If you’re looking at a more constrained area, though, a narrower field of view can provide clearer details and less distortion.
Outdoor Design
Many of these peephole cameras have a larger housing on the outside of the front door, usually to accommodate a doorbell button and night vision LEDs. You might not need that, in which case going with a more discrete model could be preferable. These models completely conceal the presence of a peephole camera, and just look like a normal peephole. This is less obvious and ensures there nothing for vandals to target, but you’ll also lose some functionality like night vision, two-way talk, and integrated doorbell functions.
Two-way Talk
This is a feature common on video doorbells and basically means you can talk to the person outside the door from the inside, or even from the smartphone app (if there is one). After all, there isn’t much point being able to see the person outside if you have to open the door to talk to them anyway. Peephole camera don’t commonly support this feature, so it’s worth keeping an eye out for it.
Motion Alerts
Many peephole cameras will have motion detection features and capture either photos or video of the event. This is handy, but of limited usefulness if you can’t be notified about it as well. Better models will include some sort of notification when motion is detected, which may be as simple as a beep on the internal screen.
Peephole security cameras with Wi-Fi and a smartphone app provide the best home security benefit as they will be able to alert you wherever you are and may offer advanced notification controls to limit where motion will trigger a notification, and what types of motion you’re interested in (only people for example).
Video storage location
Some of these devices are merely a door viewer and don’t even store video. For those that do, storing peephole camera videos locally provides the best solution from a privacy perspective, but often limits the usefulness of the device. In these cases, you may only be able to access the video from your local network, or possibly only on the device itself.
Cloud storage often requires a subscription fee, but also ensures the videos can’t be stolen by a home intruder and can be accessed from anywhere that you have your phone. Given many of these products are from unknown brands, the security of any cloud offering is dubious at best. If privacy is a concern, then steer clear of these. You could, of course, look at potentially getting a video doorbell that can be installed without drilling, but these often cloud-based. Subscription free video doorbells are a better option, if you can find a mount for them.
The Warp Up
While there are a number of peephole cameras on the market now, almost all of them are fairly limited in capabilities. That doesn’t make them useless, and indeed these home security devices are a simple upgrade for a standard peephole by adding a wider viewing angle and possibly night vision, along with some form of event recording without needing to use a cloud service, or sign up for an app.
The best peephole camera for apartment doors comes down to overall quality and features, and I’ve chosen the Ring Peephole Cam for its video recording quality, superior performance, good support, and excellent smart phone app. The EZVIZ CP4 is another good option if you want something with a screen and local storage instead.
The CP4 peephole camera will still set you back a bit, so if you can do without video recording then the budget digitsea Door Viewer may be enough capability for what you need. It’s half the price, but only records still photos when the doorbell is pressed, or you trigger it from the inside. It’s cheap and basic, but it’s highly rated for what it does.
