Can baby monitors be hacked?

Below is what went wrong in those cases, what you can check today on any baby monitor, and how it works in our own app. We make NightEar, so that last part is our own description and no outside verdict.

What went wrong in known cases?

In the reported cases it was often about passwords, servers and the link to the internet. Two examples:

The Testaankoop test (December 2022). This Belgian consumer organisation examined 10 camera baby monitors and found 55 weak spots, 9 of them critical. It lists poorly configured servers that let outsiders see footage or change settings, photos and video sent without encryption, and password rules that allowed easy-to-guess passwords.

One password for a million cameras (May 2026). The Dutch site Androidplanet reported that a researcher found more than a million remotely reachable cameras in 118 countries, baby monitors among them. They shared one password and the same servers, even across brands. Many devices also still used a factory password such as "admin".

What can you check now?

This list works for any baby monitor connected to the internet or Wi-Fi. The first three steps come from the UK’s NCSC, which wrote them specifically for smart cameras and baby monitors.

1. Change the default password. The NCSC suggests three random words you can remember. Don’t use this password anywhere else.
2. Install updates. Turn on automatic updates if you can. The Dutch government-backed site Veiliginternetten.nl explains that you usually find them in the app, or otherwise on the supplier’s website. If automatic isn’t possible, set a calendar reminder every six months.
3. Turn off remote viewing if you don’t use it. Note that this can also stop movement alerts and links with smart speakers.
4. Check your router. Testaankoop advises a strong Wi-Fi password. The NCSC also names UPnP and port forwarding as ways in from outside. You can switch them off, though some apps and games consoles may then work less well.
5. Turn on two-step verification if the maker offers it.
6. Stop using a device with known serious flaws that won’t get a fix.

Androidplanet also suggests putting smart devices on a guest network. That’s good advice for cameras that work over the internet. With a baby monitor app that works directly between two phones, such as NightEar, it can block the connection, because a guest network often stops devices talking to each other.

How can you tell if your baby monitor is hacked?

You rarely know for sure. Androidplanet names these signs:

• the device gets reset
• the camera suddenly moves
• you get unknown notifications or login attempts
• you hear strange voices or sounds
• lights come on that you don’t expect

If you see these, change the password straight away and install updates. If that fails or it keeps happening, take the device off the network and contact the maker.

Which baby monitor can’t be hacked?

None, and any maker who promises that is promising too much. We don’t promise it either. The useful question is how much there is to attack: is there an account that can leak, a server that can be breached, a password that can stay on its factory setting, a way in from outside?

So ask a maker these questions before you buy or install anything:

• Do I have to create an account, and what happens to the password?
• Does my picture or sound go over your servers?
• Is the connection encrypted?
• How much longer will this device get updates?

How does NightEar handle this?

Here are the same questions, answered in our own words.

• Account: you don’t create one. So there’s no password to leak or to leave on a factory setting.
• Servers: we have no server for sound or picture. They go directly between your own paired phones, over your own Wi-Fi. Remote viewing doesn’t exist in this app. Why that can also be a drawback is in baby monitor app without Wi-Fi.
• Encryption: sound and picture are encrypted with a key only the paired phones have. That key is created during pairing. Curious what stays on your phones exactly? It’s in the privacy policy.
• Pairing: a code works for one phone and for ten minutes, and only while the pairing screen is open. An old photo of the QR code is useless after that.
• You can see who’s watching: the baby phone shows who is watching and who is talking.

What’s left, then?

This design takes away some risks, though not all of them. You should know these too:

• Anyone holding a paired phone can listen while on your Wi-Fi. Lost it or sold it? On the baby phone, open Settings and pick Unpair next to that phone. That phone’s key is then gone.
• Anyone on your Wi-Fi who sees the code while the pairing screen is open can pair. So don’t leave that screen open, and now and then look in Settings on the baby phone to see which phones are paired.
• The phone itself is still a phone. No app can protect an infected or unlocked device. Keep both phones updated. Using an old phone as the baby phone? See what to tidy up on it.
• This is our own description. We have no report from an independent security test and the source code isn’t public, so you can’t check this yourself.

Rather have no camera in the room at all? In NightEar you can switch watching off on the baby phone, leaving only sound. More on that choice is in audio or video baby monitor. The other functions are listed here, and the home page says more about this baby monitor app with no account.

Frequently asked questions

Can my baby monitor be hacked?

Yes, any connected device can in principle. The risk depends on passwords, updates, servers and whether remote viewing is on. You can check most of that yourself with the list above.

Can a baby monitor be hacked if it’s not on Wi-Fi?

Not over the internet, if it isn’t connected to it. Someone nearby could in principle try to pick up the radio signal. How hard that is depends on that device’s encryption, so check the manual.

Is a baby monitor app safer than a camera monitor?

That mostly depends on how it’s built. Ask every product the same questions: is there an account, does it go over servers, is the connection encrypted, and will updates keep coming?

What should I do if I think my baby monitor is hacked?

Change the password, install updates, and take the device off the network if the problem continues. Then contact the maker.

Sources

• UK NCSC: 'Smart' security cameras, using them safely in your home, 3 March 2020
• Testaankoop: baby monitor camera security (in Dutch), 22 December 2022
• Androidplanet: baby monitors with cameras hacked, tips (in Dutch), 12 May 2026
• Veiliginternetten.nl: how do I update my smart baby monitor? (in Dutch), undated

NightEar is not a medical device and does not replace adult supervision.