How to Use Arlo’s Privacy Zones to Protect Others
Prevent unwanted recording by blocking out sensitive and public areas from your feed.
Prevent unwanted recording by blocking out sensitive and public areas from your feed.
While security cameras are meant to bring peace of mind, they can also make other people uncomfortable. This can cause disputes with neighbors (especially if your camera films their backyard or points at their windows). The good news is, Arlo makes it easy to protect your neighborhood’s privacy and avoid unnecessary data collection with Privacy Zones. Let’s learn how to use and set them up. |
Privacy Zones are areas of your camera’s Field of View which are blocked from recording. If you’re an Arlo Secure subscriber, they work very similarly to Activity Zones — you can draw an area in your camera’s view which you’d like to block out. This area can be adjusted or deleted any time.
When a Privacy Zone is active for an area it will look like the photo below.
The gray block indicates a Privacy Zone area. Arlo’s camera feed continues monitoring key areas in the driveway and front yard, but the public street is not visible. 3 reasons to set up Privacy Zones
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Can I set up privacy zones on any Arlo camera? |
Most Arlo cameras can support Privacy Zones as a feature. Here’s the complete list of qualifying devices:
Arlo Essential 2nd generation cameras
Arlo Essential 3ʳᵈ generation cameras
Pan Tilt cameras support Privacy Zones when they’re set to the “Home” position. When the camera starts to move the Privacy Zone disappears. This may be a good option if you don’t want to record a public area constantly but still would like footage if motion is detected (like a delivery person arriving or someone making off to a car with your package). |
You can set up to 3 Privacy Zones in your camera’s Field of View, using either 4 anchor points (forming a rectangle) or 8 points (in case you want to block out a more specific area, like the shape of a neighbor’s house). How to create Privacy Zones: 1. Open the Arlo Secure App and tap on Devices. 2. Select the device you’d like to set Privacy Zones on. 3. Tap the gear icon and select Zones, then Privacy Zones. 4. Tap Add to begin shaping your Privacy Zone. 5. To resize the Privacy Zone, tap and hold each anchor point and then drag the points of the zone to the desired size and shape. 6. To reposition the Privacy Zone, tap and hold inside the Privacy Zone and then drag the zone to reposition it. 7. You can customize the zone by giving it a name (e.g. “Neighbor’s yard”). Tap the pencil/edit icon, type the desired name, and tap Done. 8. If you want to remove the Privacy Zone, select the zone, move the slider on the left side and tap on the red trash icon or DELETE. Important note: Auto Zoom and Tracking will disable Privacy Zones. If you want to retain the Privacy Zone, make sure to disable Auto Zoom and Tracking in Settings. |
Do I need a subscription to use Privacy Zones? |
No, Privacy Zones are available in the Arlo app even if you don’t have a plan. However, Arlo Secure plans add additional controls, like Activity Zones, which ensure you only receive alerts and notifications if motion is detected in an area important to you. Arlo Secure also provides additional peace of mind with Person and Vehicle Recognition, so you always know when someone familiar — or not — arrives at home (think kids getting dropped off by the carpool). You’ll also be the first to experience the latest AI improvements like Fire Detection and Advanced Audio Detection which can recognize a fire starting and alert you about sounds like breaking glass or gun shots. |
