New findings regarding smart doorbells

Smart doorbells are now a common sight in the Netherlands. Many people like the convenience and feeling of safety they offer. At the same time, research shows that these devices often conflict with privacy regulations.

Today, more than 1 in 7 households — around 1.2 million — has a smart doorbell installed. On behalf of the Smart Doorbell Consortium, Ipsos I&O recently conducted a nationwide study.

While many users value the convenience and sense of safety these doorbells provide, the findings reveal that their use often does not comply with privacy legislation in practice. Many devices, for example, not only record the area directly in front of the user’s door but also capture footage of public spaces and neighbors’ gardens. Moreover, many people are unaware that these devices also record audio.

What the research shows

The study consisted of a survey of 761 respondents and two focus groups — one with smart doorbell owners and one with people who do not own a smart doorbell. Below are some of the key findings:

Many owners appreciate the convenience (70%), for example, being able to communicate remotely with parcel couriers.
62% of smart doorbell users report feeling safer thanks to the device.
There is broad support for police use of recorded footage: over 80% of Dutch citizens find it acceptable for the police to use footage in serious incidents.
Privacy concerns are real: more than 50% of respondents find it troubling that data such as video and audio recordings are collected about them, and 71% find it (sometimes) problematic that these recordings are stored by manufacturers.
Awareness is limited: many people don’t know when recording takes place, whether audio is being captured, or what happens with the data.
Communication is lacking: 59% believe neighbors should be consulted, yet in practice this rarely happens. Only 13% of owners inform their neighbors when installing a smart doorbell — even though 75% believe this is the right thing to do.
In fact, 75% of Dutch citizens believe neighbors should at least inform them when installing a smart doorbell, and 59% think it should be discussed. In practice, however, this rarely occurs: 84% of smart doorbell owners say they did not inform their neighbors.
During the focus groups, conversations around the topic led to increased awareness and a more critical attitude toward the use of smart doorbells. Some participants indicated they had never really considered the impact of their smart doorbell and only during the conversation did they become truly aware of the privacy and data storage implications.

Read our full report (only in Dutch)

I thought it was just a convenient gadget. Only now do I realize how much of other people’s privacy [ passersby, neighbors, delivery workers ] I’ve been unintentionally violating.”
— Participant, Focus group national research

Consortium recommendations

In response to the findings, the Smart Doorbell Consortium, which is a collaboration between TU Delft, AMS Institute, Privacy First, VNG, and the cities of Amsterdam, Breda, The Hague, and Groningen, is exploring interventions to help foster transparency. This includes:

Behavioral design nudges, like playful prompts to initiate conversations with neighbors.
Hardware innovations, such as “reading glasses” lenses that cause the image to blur after 2 meters, or that allow you to see what the bubble is and is not filming.
A feature wishlist for manufacturers that prioritizes privacy and transparency by design.

Six out of seven front doors in the Netherlands still don’t have a smart doorbell. With this research, we hope to encourage residents to pause and consider: Do I really need one? Am I creating a disturbance for the neighbors? And if so, how can I use it responsibly?”
— Thijs Turèl, Program Manager, AMS Institute