Security cameras can save lives, especially in neighborhoods with lots of crime. However, there are downsides to having CCTV cameras near your home. One of the greatest risks of letting people in your community use cameras is the risk of neighbors spying on you. It’s no surprise that many people online want to learn how to block their neighbor’s security camera.

Although security cameras at first may seem harmless on their own, they are a great danger to your privacy. Many neighbors use these cameras to learn things they can gossip about later. However, countless people use surveillance cameras for malevolent purposes. In this article, we will teach you how to blind a neighbor’s security camera.

How to Blind a Neighbor’s Security Camera: Do’s

There are many ways to blind the neighbor’s camera from your home. Below are some of the steps you can take.

1. Talk to Your Neighbor

If you think that the neighbor’s camera is pointed directly into your yard purposefully, it’s best to discuss it with your neighbor first. Security cameras are often seen in suburban communities where community members often install these cameras to protect their property.

However, sometimes homeowners wrongly assume that the cameras are pointing towards their home. In many cases, the camera is just angled in a way that it seems that the camera is pointed at your window.

Instead of flipping out after seeing the camera, you can directly go over to neighbors and ask them about it. Talking to your neighbor first can help you clear any misunderstanding or avoid a nasty situation as long as you approach them in a non-aggressive and friendly manner.

That said, the way you speak needs to be polite, non-confrontational, and delivered diplomatically. At the same time, make sure that your body language is confident, but not in a way that feels condescending or insulting.

If you do it just right, the chances are that the neighbor won’t hold any grudge against you. If your neighbor is friendly and understands your concern, they may even let you see the footage yourself, but it’s never good to demand them to share the camera footage with you.

However, not every person has an understanding neighbor, so these people may have to use other methods to solve this problem.

2. Check if the Camera is Fake

It’s not rare for people to buy fake security cameras so they can scare off potential burglars. Because there is no need to jam fake cameras, you can save yourself from a lot of useless effort simply by doing a little research on the camera your neighbor is using.

The biggest sign that a camera is fake is that it will lack a short cable, an infrared light indicator, and won’t have a proper brand name. Of course, many unknown brand names selling security cameras do exist, but they usually have a narrower field of vision and produce images of poor quality. In other words, there is no need to worry about second- or third-rate products, but you must be wary of cameras offering HD footage.

3. Consult Local Mediators

Sometimes talking to your neighbor may not offer tangible benefits. This can be a huge problem if you’re sure that the neighbor is spying on you. In such situations, it’s best to bring in arbitrators and local mediators to resolve the issue. Many communities have local mediators that tone down escalating issues and help people reach amicable solutions.

Some closely-knit neighborhoods even have mediation centers where people raise their concerns over the behavior of their neighbors. The main purpose of these centers is to find the best solution for an impending problem within the community. Mediators from these centers can help both parties reach an understanding.

4. Contact Law Enforcement or Consult Your Lawyer

Local mediation is a nice option, but there are some neighbors who you cannot reason with. If that’s the case, you should consider calling your attorney and proceed with the case in court. In the worst cases, you may also want law enforcement to intervene.

Although deploying a security camera is not a crime in itself, using that camera to spying on your neighbors is a criminal offense. Therefore, if you have definite proof that your neighbor is spying on you, then the police can intervene to resolve the problem.

5. Obstruct the Camera with Physical Objects

Court cases can take a while to get going. So it’s best to obstruct the camera physically while the case is still in progress. However, it would be better if you just obstruct the camera from a distance for now. Growing trees and hedge fences can help you a lot in blocking the camera.

When you grow shrubbery in strategic areas on the fringes of your yard, it’s easier to prevent the neighbor’s security camera from capturing anything other than the canopies. It’s also useful to buy obstacles such as big trampolines, lawn furniture, or other things that obstruct the view physically.

Moreover, you can switch to thick, sturdy curtains to maintain the privacy of your living room. Tinted window glass is also a viable option if you’re concerned that your privacy is being violated.

6. Install Security Cameras in Your Own Yard

If you’re annoyed by the neighbor’s persistence of pointing security cameras towards you, you can always install a security camera yourself. Remember that, the same home CCTV law that applies to neighbors also applies to you, as well.

Installing your own camera and then pointing that camera towards the neighbor annoys them and exposes their hypocrisy. Doing so can help you obtain surveillance in case the neighbor tries to do anything illegal.

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How to Blind a Neighbor’s Security Camera: Don’ts

Understandably, your neighbors pointing cameras at your property is annoying as hell, but there are still a few things that are either impractical or too out of line to consider. You should avoid doing the following things while blinding the neighbor’s camera.

i) Hacking into Their System

Terms such as “hacking” indicate the particular course of action is not a good idea. Sure, it’s possible to learn how to hack a security system. There are countless skilled hackers that only require the neighbor’s e-mail address to infiltrate the security system and access its digital data. However, doing so cannot prevent the camera from recording physically. Most importantly, you can be arrested for cyber-crime if caught hacking into the security system.

ii) Buy a Jammer

Using a jammer may seem like a good option, but again, it is expensive and requires too much work. Before buying the jammer, you must be aware of the type of camera the neighbor uses as well as the broadcast frequency of the device. Moreover, if you are caught putting jammers in the neighborhood, you can earn a lawsuit of your own.

iii) Blinding with LED Lights

It’s possible to point LED lights or laser pointers at the camera lens to disrupt it for a while. But there are many problems with adopting this approach. One key problem is the fact that you must ensure that the laser light is pointed towards the camera lens, at the perfect angle.

Trying to maintain this approach will be extremely tedious. Even if the camera moves slightly, point the light will be useless. Other than that, you must physically point the laser or LED light on your own, which is something the neighbor’s security camera can record. This means that the neighbor can gather evidence and sue you for trespassing and interfering with property.

iv) Cutting the Cables

Trying to cut the cable powering the security camera might make sense to you, but you need to use basic logic to resolve this problem effectively. When you approach a functioning security camera carrying a cable cutter or pair of garden clippers, the camera will record you. If you carry on with the action and cut the cables, you might be sued for damaging your neighbor’s property. In contrast, you will have a higher chance of conviction since the camera has recorded you.

v) Smearing, Spraying or Covering the Camera Lens

Just as cable cutting, trying to smear the security camera with jam or butter on the lens will expose you to the camera’s recording. Covering the camera with cloths or spraying paint is also similar to cutting cables. All these actions are categorized as tampering with someone else’s private property, so you can get charged with it in court.

vi) Breaking the Camera

At this point, it makes no sense to mention something this extreme, but we have to because many people still attempt it. It’s frustrating to let a security camera record you while your neighbor does not listen, but once you lose your cool and break the neighbor’s camera, you will be subject to a lot of trouble.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it legal to point a camera at the neighbor’s house?

CCTV security camera laws are different in most countries. For instance, the CCTV laws in the United Kingdom were made public in 2012, as they developed a Code of Conduct in the following year. Furthermore, the Data Protection Act protects each tape recorded by the security cameras.

Meanwhile, in the United States, the majority of camera surveillance legislation is derived from the state. Therefore, the United States has at least 50 different CCTV security camera laws neighbors across the country must watch out for. Of course, these laws can sometimes overlap each other as well.

However, in most of these places, no law forbids people from pointing a security camera at anyone’s home. Unless you are intruding the person’s private life or specifically recording a neighbor’s movement, the law doesn’t forbid you from pointing a camera at a neighbor’s house.

Can my neighbor legally point a security camera at my property?

The law regarding allowing neighbor’s to record or point camera at your property depends a lot on what the security camera is overlooking, why it is used, which acts is the neighbor capturing, and what the neighbor does with the video footage.

As long as the recording videos don’t hurt your privacy, and the recording is done for lawful purposes such as preventing package thefts or monitoring suspects, the neighbor can legally point a camera at your home. That said, the law regarding this is different in every country.

Can my neighbors record me on my property?

Technically, yes. Security cameras nowadays have a wide coverage and can record in high-definition quality. They can have a clear overview of your yard. Nevertheless, many of these cameras can record the entire part of the street, something that includes the front yard of the neighbor.

These high-tech security cameras have both benefits and setbacks. The biggest advantage of these cameras is that they cover a large area. So if a break-in happens, you can rewind the footage and watch everything in detail, making it easier for you and the police to identify the perpetrator and capture him/her.

For instance, many cameras allow you to record the face of anyone who passes by, their vehicle, as well as the faces of other potential collaborators. However, the downside of installing the camera is that you may capture the neighbor’s front yard, as well as everything happening there.

This can be bad since many powerful cameras can even record with amazing clarity by watching through the window. Although it’s a scary thought, it’s entirely possible with today’s technology.

Of course, recording video is just only a single part of the problem. There are many security cameras hat also record audio, which makes it even more difficult to address the problem. However, many states in the US provide you safety against intrusive recordings.

Can you block the security cameras?

Yes, there are many ways to block security cameras. Some of these are legal, whereas others can get you in trouble with law enforcement..

We have discussed some ways to block cameras physically or through other means above. Some blocking techniques are easy to implement while others are difficult, cumbersome, and can even be illegal.

For more information, see the video below:

Can infrared light blind a camera?

Infrared light is present all around us. Although we can’t see these lights on our own, cameras can. Infrared light indeed affects a camera’s ability to record normal things correctly. However, the majority of manufacturers employ IR blocking filters over digital camera sensors to stop the infrared light from disrupting recording. This means that IR light can stop your neighbor from recording as long as the camera isn’t high-tech.

Can you disable a camera using a laser pointer?

Yes, you can disable cameras from using a laser pointer, but as we mentioned before, the laser light has to be pointed at a perfect angle to disrupt recording. Trying to shift the laser light to ensure its always pointing at the camera is extremely tedious. Also, if you are physically pointing the light at your neighbor’s camera, they record your actions and can endanger you to a lawsuit.

What is a camera jammer?

A camera jammer is a device that disables spy and security cameras based on wireless LAN, wireless video, and Bluetooth bands.  It is an excellent way to block spy cameras from recording things on your property and maintain your privacy. It can block signals across a frequency range covered by the jammer. Jammers are usually small and can easily be hidden.

However, camera jammers can be problematic for you. First off, they are expensive and require significant effort to setup. Before buying jammer, you must know the type of camera the neighbor uses as well as the broadcast frequency of the device. Moreover, if someone catches you using jammers to disrupt security cameras in your neighborhood, you can potentially get sued.

Does aluminum foil block thermal imaging?

Thermal imaging is a technology for improving the visibility of objects based on the heat signatures an object or person is radiating. Many security cameras have thermal imaging employed to capture footage in darkness.

However, thermal imaging cannot see through aluminum foils. Any electrically conductive material will block infrared radiation. The more electrically conductive something is, the more it will block IR radiation. Since aluminum foil is made from a highly conductive material, it stops all kinds of infrared radiation.

How can you detect a hidden camera?

Many people malevolently install hidden cameras and microphones in all various places to spy on unsuspecting people. Although it is illegal to record someone without their consent or proper notice in most places, that doesn’t mean that someone is not recording you.

There is more than one way to detect hidden cameras. One of them is to look for them physically. Most times, cameras have reflective surfaces that shine when exposed to light, especially the camera lens.

Moreover, you can search for electrical signals to detect a camera nearby. It’s possible to detect the RF broadcast of a camera using RF signal detectors that automatically start beeping as soon as they find signals from a hidden camera.

Conclusion

It’s frustrating to find a neighbor’s camera pointing at your home without your permission, but you can successfully avoid being recorded by following the techniques mentioned here.