←back to thread

Show HN: Open-source private home security camera system (end-to-end encryption)

(github.com)
551 points arrdalan | 2 comments | 30 Nov 24 22:13 UTC | HN request time: 0.44s | source

I needed a security camera inside my house, one that would send motion notifications to my smartphone and would allow me to livestream remotely. However, I could not find one that I could trust due to privacy concerns. Many of them upload the plaintext of videos to their servers and none is fully open-source as far as I know. Therefore, I decided to use my spare time to build one from scratch. Called Privastead (as in Private Homestead), it uses OpenMLS for end-to-end encryption (between the camera local hub and the smartphone) and is mostly implemented in Rust (except for part of the Android app that is implemented in Kotlin). The system is functional now and I've been using it in my own house for the past couple of weeks.

Based on some of the discussions I've seen online, it seems like there are other users who are also concerned with the privacy implications of home security cameras. Therefore, I decided to open source my solution for everyone to use. If you need a privacy-preserving home security camera, please give it a try and provide feedback. Note that trying out the system requires you to have a supported IP camera, a local machine connected to the IP camera, a server, and an Android smartphone. I have put together detailed instructions on setting up the system, which I hope makes it easier for others to get the system up and running.

In addition, consider contributing to the project. The prototype currently has a lot of limitations: mainly that it has only been tested with one IP camera, only allows the use of one camera, and only supports Android. I'll continue to improve the prototype as time permits, but progress will be much faster if there are other contributors as well.

Show context
modeless ◴[01 Dec 24 07:41 UTC] No.42286902[source]▶
I've been wishing for a self hosted alternative to cloud cameras. My house was recently robbed and it was incredibly frustrating to know that criminals were literally in my house but not be able to see them due to the general crappiness of modern big tech software.

Seems silly to pay to upload all my video of my own house to who knows where and struggle to download it back with absurdly sluggish proprietary software when I have perfectly good computers here already. I should be able to check my cameras without waiting 10-30 seconds for loading spinners and I should be able to scrub through time instantly instead of waiting for interminable loading every time I touch the seek control.

What camera hardware are people using for custom setups? Is there anything out there that is wireless but with high quality/security firmware and reasonably priced?

replies(5): >>42286917 #>>42287053 #>>42287262 #>>42287294 #>>42287614 #
mattlondon ◴[01 Dec 24 07:43 UTC] No.42286917[source]▶
Ubiquiti cameras store the data on-prem.

Not open source, and not the cheapest (but not absurd either). App is acceptable.

replies(1): >>42287172 #
1. Tempest1981 ◴[01 Dec 24 08:50 UTC] No.42287172[source]▶
I read elsewhere that people are upset since Ubiquiti now requires using Unifi hub, at least for initial configuration. Maybe others do too?
replies(1): >>42287836 #
2. mattlondon ◴[01 Dec 24 11:33 UTC] No.42287836[source]▶
I think the hub thing is where the local storage is? I don't know if they are just open RTSP things or not that you could use with any random NVR?

I have unifi WiFi APs so have all the rest of the hub/controller anyway and trialled one camera but ultimately opted for Nest cameras instead.