With surveillance cameras in our streets and data-collecting TVs in our homes, privacy is always on my mind these days. If you feel the same way, I’ve got a few changes you should make.

In my years of smart home testing, I’ve narrowed down the most impactful privacy changes, and how they make my home feel much safer and more comfortable. If you’re looking for a major privacy boost, here are the steps you take.

Read more: The Top Home Security Myths You Need to Stop Believing

1. Keep the shutters on your security cams and smart displays closed

When smart displays first started appearing, they came with cameras to enable video chats and similar features. When those cameras started making people nervous, makers began putting physical shutters and off buttons on their smart devices so people could quickly shut them down and confirm the cameras couldn’t be used remotely.

In my experience, these cams rarely get much use and are best left turned off permanently until you’re ready to make a video call to a family member. The same is true of the mics in some smart speakers, which you can shut off when not in use if you’re worried about the speaker listening in. For the record, while you can find a lot of internet rumors about eavesdropping speakers, today’s models require the wake word to start listening in, and accidents are typically confined to picking up similar-sounding words in conversations, music or TVs.

The same is true of security cameras. Look for cams that have shutters or “off” positions (like facing down) if you’re concerned about privacy.

2. Switch off opt-in and data-sharing features

I spoke with Laurie Selkowitz, partner in Greenberg Glusker’s Cybersecurity and Privacy Group, about increasing home privacy with smart devices to find some good advice. 

“The biggest mistake people make is treating smart home devices like appliances instead of connected computers. Once you think of them as computers that happen to live in your home, the privacy decisions become much more obvious,” Selkowitz said. 

“A good rule of thumb is to enable only the features you actually use,” she said. “Many devices collect far more data than they need to function, so turning off things like unnecessary cloud storage, voice history or activity logs can significantly reduce your exposure.”

You can often change how companies manage and share your home data, but the methods are typically buried deep in settings, so you need to know where to look. I can help with that.

Here’s my guide on Alexa settings you may want to adjust, including options that control how long Amazon saves your voice recordings and other privacy features to help make voice assistant use better.

I also have a complete guide on Ring security features you may want to turn off, including all AI features if those recognition capabilities worry you, automatic data sharing in your neighborhood for tools like Search Party and disabling Amazon Sidewalk so it won’t share your bandwidth with strangers.

3. Shut down facial recognition

One home AI feature has emerged as highly controversial in 2026, and it’s a video doorbell/security cam capability to scan and recognize faces. As a series of recent lawsuits against companies like Ring and Nest allege, facial recognition can scan and save facial data from people who can’t consent. That includes delivery people, strangers passing by on the street at the right angle, distant family members visiting and even your own children.

If you want to prevent your app (and company) from collecting facial data on people, it’s important to double-check that any “familiar faces” technology in the settings is turned off. You usually have to opt into more advanced AI features like this, and they usually require a subscription fee to enable, so it’s unlikely to start gathering data by accident.

Technically, familiar-face technology can be used to automatically unlock a smart lock when the right person approaches, or only alert you if a security camera recognizes an unfamiliar face. But smart homes offer so many alternatives to these tricks, it’s really not necessary for the average user.

4. Use local storage instead of cloud storage

If you use security cameras, you have two choices for saving video (and you really need to save video; otherwise, the camera isn’t much more than live views).

The first option most cameras offer these days is cloud storage. But many people don’t like the idea of trusting companies to manage their video data, and those cloud databases have been hacked or accidentally shared in the past.

The second option, local storage, is much better for your privacy. Local storage uses either a microSD card or a hub with a built-in drive to store video. You may have to clear out videos occasionally, but it keeps your data in your own hands. Lots of brands offer local storage if you choose the right setup, including Eufy, Lorex, Blink and Wyze.

Just remember, even if videos are stored locally, police can still confiscate them with a warrant.

Best Home Security Cameras Without Subscriptions in 2026

5. Close your shades on a schedule

People probably aren’t peering through your windows at night, but that doesn’t mean you should make it easy. Today’s smart shades can automatically close on a schedule or when the sun goes down, even if you aren’t home yet. That helps guarantee extra privacy and may even deter burglars scouting for a target.

6. Check old Zillow and real estate listings

If you recently moved into a new home within the past year or two, I suggest checking the old selling or rental listing pages for your address. In some cases, these get left up for years after the home has already changed hands.

Those old listings could be an unwelcome window into exactly where your address is, what your home looks like on the inside and even access points a burglar might want to know. Also, people may get the wrong idea and assume it’s still available to rent or buy — I’ve had more than a few people peer through my windows for just that reason.

It’s better for your privacy if you run a quick check on platforms like Zillow, Trulia and local real estate sites to see if your home is still there. Then you can request it be removed.

7. Blur your address on Google Maps

There’s another place your home shows up to anyone willing to look — Google Maps, especially when using satellite and street view images.

Well aware of this fact, Google offers an option on its website (not its app) to blur out your address for privacy. We have a complete guide on how to do that here, but it’s free and takes only a couple of minutes. Apple offers a similar service in its Look Around map app function.

8. Switch to open-source or third-party smart home controls

If you’re worried about big brand names having easy access to your data, you can still get a full set of smart home features by using alternative platforms. You have several choices, notably the open-source, build-it-yourself Home Assistant and the third-party, privacy-first Homey hub and platform.

The catch is that these platforms will take much more work to set up and customize, and they tend to be buggier and require more problem-solving than you’ll find on any brand app. But if you don’t mind tinkering, these are great ways to mandate privacy while getting the high-tech smart features you want.

9. Adopt a home VPN

We talk a lot about using virtual private networks on our browsers, phones and laptops for greater privacy and reduced risk of third-party data collection, but many of the benefits apply at home, too. It’s even easier to use a VPN at home because many home Wi-Fi routers come with VPNs you can use, or you can add a VPN to them for whole-house protection, which in our tests only takes about 10 minutes.

With a VPN, every device connected to your router, including your smart home devices, typically has its data encrypted when it sends data online, making it harder for companies to glean information about your activity and home habits.

10. Disconnect your smart TV from Wi-Fi and other devices

A recent report showed that LG smart TVs seem to be listening in on users via their mics and connected devices without consent, although LG has denied these claims. Well, I have unsurprising news: All smart TVs (and nearly every TV is smart these days) are trying to collect as much data about you as possible, including what commands they hear and what’s happening on the screen from moment to moment.

If that’s a privacy problem for you, do what I did and never connect your TV to Wi-Fi at all. If you leave this part of the setup incomplete, the TV can never share data, no matter how much it tries to collect, and you still get access to all the other settings. Then you can use an online device that’s a bit safer (for now), like a set-top box, Chromecast-like plugin, game console and so on.

If your smart TV is already connected to the internet, you can disable the feature in its settings and change your Wi-Fi password so it doesn’t try to automatically reconnect. It’s also worth checking which other smart devices (like speakers or hubs from the same brand) the TV is linked to, possibly without you knowing.

Is it still safe to use foreign-made routers at home?

Earlier this year, the Federal Communications Commission banned foreign-made Wi-Fi routers for national security reasons — sort of. The reasons are complicated, and exemptions were quickly granted to top router brands like Netgear, so I don’t blame you if you’re unsure what to think about router privacy. We spoke to several security experts, and unless you have to buy a new router right away, we don’t think there’s much to worry about. No sudden security threat has made routers any less safe to use than before, but, as always, strong security practices will help keep you safe.

If you’re interested in off-the-grid options, check out my off-the-grid home security guide.

Tyler Lacoma

Editor / Home Security and Smart Home

Tyler has worked on, lived with and tested all types of smart home and security technology for over a dozen years, explaining the latest features, privacy tricks, and top recommendations.

With degrees in Business Management, Literature and Technical Writing, Tyler takes every opportunity to play with the latest AI technology, push smart devices to their limits and occasionally throw cameras off his roof, all to find the best devices to trust in your life. He always checks with the renters (and pets) in his life to see what smart products can work for everyone, in every living situation.

Living in beautiful Bend, Oregon gives Tyler plenty of opportunities to test the latest tech in every kind of weather and temperature. But when not at work, he can be found hiking the trails, trying out a new food recipe for his loved ones, keeping up on his favorite reading, or gaming with good friends.

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