How to Reset Eufy Cameras so Strangers Can’t See Them
Eufy manufactures a variety of cameras for a variety of home needs: cameras for doorbells, cameras that you can mount at your desk to communicate with people while you work, security cameras that you can place in the corner of your ceiling, and more. They have one common attribute: some kind of bug, vulnerability, or annoying issue on the Eufy side was allowing random people to view each other’s camera feeds.
As one Reddit user wrote :
This is VERY EXTREMELY worrisome.
I have had my camera at the front door eufy for a little over a month now. I wanted my partner to have access to the account as well, so instead of creating a separate account for her and inviting her, I just logged into my account on her phone.
And now here’s what worries … Now on her phone she sees someone’s front and rear cameras … We can see it live, we have full control over it … Wtf !?
This is troubling because if it does, how do we know if our account is somehow not being seen by someone else …
Does anyone know why this might have happened?
And you will see similar complaints from users all over the world in the same subreddit , as well as other forums where users Eufy clusters of people.
Yufie has since taken to Twitter to vaguely describe what happened:
But this is not really about the elephant in the room – the fact that some people may have been viewing footage from others’ cameras. In fact, Yufi’s brief statement does not mention it at all, which is almost startling given the breach of privacy.
If you haven’t panicked yet and disconnected Eufy permanently, the company recommends that all owners disconnect their devices and reconnect them. Also, log out of the Eufy security app wherever you are using it and log back in. Hopefully, this will fix everything, otherwise Yufi will face an even more serious catastrophe.
Now what?
I’m not going to get into a soap box and say that problems like this are much more likely to occur now that everything we do and buy seems to have some kind of built-in connection to the cloud.
For a CCTV camera, this makes sense; Why don’t you, for example, be able to call from afar and see what’s going on in your backyard? However, when it comes to home cameras, I would recommend that you think carefully about where they are located and located. If your camera picks up unwanted areas – like the bathroom when you’re going in the morning – consider directing it elsewhere. Or think again if you really need a connected camera in the bedroom, for example, for security; maybe it’s better to put it outside the house, or point to the front door, or somewhere where you don’t undress all the time.
Likewise, if your camera’s settings allow you to turn it on and off on a schedule, or you don’t mind using a smart switch to accomplish the same, consider turning it off for a time when you know you are at home. (Unless you’re using said camera to monitor your baby, or tell your new puppy to stop chewing from afar.) You can probably even set up smartphone automation that turns the camera on and off when you’re at home or away. …
I understand that “scheduling” a CCTV camera somewhat negates the need to constantly monitor your home, but when the said camera is connected to the cloud, all it takes is one hacked password, incorrect account configuration, or whatever, heck take, with Yufie, to suddenly give access to someone else who shouldn’t have it. I’m not sure if prison safety tape is worth the lost privacy.