![\"\"](\"https:\/\/smarthomesolver.com\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/How-to-Hide-a-Security-Camera-embed-compressor.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nTable of Contents<\/p>
- How to Hide a Security Camera<\/a>
- Using a Skin to Hide Your Camera<\/a><\/li>
- Hiding with objects around your home<\/a>
- Indoors<\/a><\/li>
- Outside<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li>
- Why hide it?<\/a>
- Why NOT hide it?<\/a><\/li>
- Our recommendation<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li>
- Best cameras to hide<\/a>
- Arlo Pro\/Arlo Pro 2<\/a><\/li>
- Wyze Cam<\/a><\/li>
- Nest Cam<\/a><\/li>
- Canary Flex<\/a><\/li>
- Mini Cam<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li>
- Overall<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n
How to Hide a Security Camera<\/span><\/h1>\n
Affiliate Disclosure<\/a>: This page contains affiliate links, which earn us commission from Amazon or other sites at no cost to you.<\/em><\/p>\n
When looking around for ideas about how to hide a security camera, there were surprisingly few resources out there. Most websites looked like they were from the 1990s selling something from\u00a0the old James Bond movies.<\/p>\n
Smart home technology makes it easy to have\u00a0wireless security cameras<\/a>\u00a0in your home instead of gimmicky cameras out of a spy kit. So to get started, let’s go over why you would want to hide a security camera in the first place.<\/p>\n
Using a Skin to Hide Your Camera<\/span><\/h2>\n
One of the simplest\u00a0ways to hide your smart security camera is by covering it in a camouflage skin. Basic security camera skins come in all different colors to help your camera blend into any surroundings, including camouflage. Specialty ghillie skins are excellent for hiding your camera outdoors, just like we did with our Arlo camera.<\/p>\n
![\"Arlo](\"https:\/\/smarthomesolver.com\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/20170818_145938-compressor.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/smarthomesolver.com\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/v1_button_check-it-out-blue-compressor.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Nest](\"http:\/\/smarthomesolver.com\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/nest_sunflower-300x225.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThere are plenty of specialty skins and covers to conceal most popular cameras. Here is an example of a Nest Cam disguised as\u00a0a cute\u00a0sunflower<\/a>. This skin won’t fool someone if they look closely, but a busy burglar moving\u00a0quickly may not notice it.<\/p>\n
Here is another hidden camera concealer by Dropcases that looks like an alarm clock<\/a>. Even though most\u00a0people use their phone as an\u00a0alarm clock, no one would think that a camera is hiding inside. This “alarm clock” does a great job concealing the camera.<\/p>\n
![\"hidden](\"http:\/\/smarthomesolver.com\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/alarm_clock_hidden-300x168.jpg\")
<\/p>\nHiding with objects around your home<\/span><\/h2>\n
There are also options for concealing a security camera without purchasing an extra skin<\/a> or case.<\/p>\n
Indoors<\/em><\/span><\/h3>\n
- \n
- Tissue box:\u00a0<\/strong>By cutting a small hole in your tissue box, you can make an opening large enough for a small security camera to keep an eye on things around the house. As you’ll see in our video above, we cut a small hole in our tissue box and then covered part of the hole with black construction paper. While ours was a pretty basic setup and we could have hid it better, it was still a very subtle way to monitor our home using a security camera.
![\"hidden](\"https:\/\/smarthomesolver.com\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/dog_cam-compressor.png\")
<\/li>\n- Stuffed animal:\u00a0<\/strong>Here’s where things can get a little creepy. By recycling an old stuffed animal, you can hide a security camera\u00a0inside\u00a0<\/strong>the animal and have it look through one of the eyes. The idea behind this is that you would put the stuffed animal next to several others and it would blend in nicely. If you look closely, the camera is probably be visible, but most of the time it would be hidden well. Anyone who sees the camera won’t be able to un-see it since it’s pretty scary looking.<\/li>\n
- Bookshelf:\u00a0<\/strong>I’m a big fan of bookshelves, especially those from Ikea. We have a Kallax shelf<\/a> in our front room that we fill with books, picture frames, and decorations. It looks nice, but it’s also busy enough to install a security camera without anyone noticing it. Most homes have bookshelves, so reorganizing them so that a security camera can fit typically isn’t too complicated.<\/li>\n
- Install it high:<\/strong> This tip could also apply to outdoor cameras.\u00a0Placing your security camera up high not only allows it to see a wide field of view, it also makes it more difficult for guests to see it. Just be careful not to place it\u00a0too<\/strong> high or it will only record the top of your guest’s heads.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Outside<\/em><\/span><\/h3>\n
- \n
- Birdhouse:\u00a0<\/strong>We recently hid an outdoor security camera in a basic $5 craft birdhouse from Walmart. The top was glued on, but once we pulled that off and put in a battery-powered Arlo, it was all set up and ready to keep an eye on our outdoors. The birdhouse hid our camera effectively and with very little effort.<\/li>\n
- Plants and trees:\u00a0<\/strong><\/strong>One of the first things that come to mind when thinking of how to hide a security camera is using plants and trees. Most homes have a few real or artificial plants already, and if you don’t they are not too expensive to add. Once you have the plant picked out, there are some tools\u00a0to help conceal a camera in a plant or tree. You can use a\u00a0ghillie skin\u00a0to camouflage the camera, combined with a twist mount for attaching the camera to the limbs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Why hide it?<\/span><\/h2>\n
There are plenty of aesthetic and practical reasons to hide a security camera.<\/p>\n
Don’t let burglars tamper with your camera.\u00a0<\/strong>This is possibly the biggest argument for figuring out how to hide a security camera. If intruders see your camera, they could steal or smash it. Those who have cameras with local storage will lose any footage of the burglar. If your security camera doesn’t upload the cloud, there is no doubt that it should be a hidden camera.<\/p>\n
Get an unedited view of your home.<\/strong> When a cleaning service or babysitter comes over, it could be to your advantage if\u00a0they don’t know that you have cameras in your home. With a camera sitting out in the open, it’s a clear indicator of where not<\/strong> to do mischievous things. A\u00a0mean\u00a0babysitter will\u00a0just act nice in front of the cameras and be mean everywhere else. If you have issues with teenage vandals or troublemakers, hiding a camera outside could help you catch them in the act.<\/p>\n
Keep your home looking nice.<\/strong> The first reason to hide cameras is that they can be an eye sore compared to your home decor. It’s easy to set up a security camera on a kitchen counter or entertainment center without putting much thought into it, but hiding the camera can give you a good view of the room while still out of sight. Guests can feel pretty awkward when a camera is pointing right at their face.<\/p>\n
Why NOT hide it?<\/em><\/span><\/h3>\n
However, there is also the argument that keeping the camera easily visible is a good deterrent. This may be true with outdoor cameras or those that offer two-way voice. The sight of a security camera may be enough to scare off criminals who are scouting for a house to break into. One study<\/a>\u00a0by UNC Charlotte found that burglars look for outdoor security cameras and are less likely to target homes that have an alarm system.<\/p>\n
Newer\u00a0cameras have two-way voice (a microphone and speaker), making it easy to tell the intruder that you are calling the police. This\u00a0is a great way to scare off burglars,\u00a0especially if they don’t know where the sound is coming from. You can also get a camera\u00a0with a siren, such as the Canary<\/a>, or have your cameras trigger an external siren using SmartThings<\/a> or similar home automation.<\/p>\n
Our recommendation<\/em><\/span><\/h3>\n
As you can see, it depends on your circumstances as to whether or not you want to hide a security camera. We have a visible camera outdoors and a few hidden cameras indoors.<\/p>\n
In the end, for many situations it makes more sense to hide a security camera instead of leaving it out in the open. Just take a look at this video of burglars stealing a\u00a0Nest Cam for an idea of why hiding a camera is a good idea:<\/p>\n
- Plants and trees:\u00a0<\/strong><\/strong>One of the first things that come to mind when thinking of how to hide a security camera is using plants and trees. Most homes have a few real or artificial plants already, and if you don’t they are not too expensive to add. Once you have the plant picked out, there are some tools\u00a0to help conceal a camera in a plant or tree. You can use a\u00a0ghillie skin\u00a0to camouflage the camera, combined with a twist mount for attaching the camera to the limbs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- Stuffed animal:\u00a0<\/strong>Here’s where things can get a little creepy. By recycling an old stuffed animal, you can hide a security camera\u00a0inside\u00a0<\/strong>the animal and have it look through one of the eyes. The idea behind this is that you would put the stuffed animal next to several others and it would blend in nicely. If you look closely, the camera is probably be visible, but most of the time it would be hidden well. Anyone who sees the camera won’t be able to un-see it since it’s pretty scary looking.<\/li>\n
- Wyze Cam<\/a><\/li>
- Our recommendation<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li>
- Outside<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li>
- Hiding with objects around your home<\/a>
- Using a Skin to Hide Your Camera<\/a><\/li>