Neighbor points security camera at our front door?

[Anonymous]

My next door neighbor has a security camera above their door. It is turned at a 90 degree angle so that it points out our porch/door.

This neighbor is broadly hostile and we (and other neighbors) tend to avoid them. They complain a lot on the neighborhood list serve and get worked up about stuff other people are pretty calm about (stuff like trash pick up days sometimes getting shifted due to weather, or some street parking issues that are fairly minor since everyone has off-street parking). We aren't doing anything that I'd worry about them getting on camera, but it makes me very uncomfortable.

WWYD?

[Anonymous]

Can you block it with some type of screen?

[Anonymous]

Can you put up a lattice or something?

If you had an ok relationship you could ask them to fence you out of the picture (most services can do this) but as it is, I wouldn't engage.

Also, fwiw, the placement of my security camera and wiring means mine looks at my door but also catches my neighbor's driveway. I'm not trying to watch them, it's just the angle my camera can use.

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure there is much you can do since the front is public, its not looking into your home etc.

I like the idea of a screen or something that you can put on your own property (trees even).

[Anonymous]

Are you sure it’s recording your property? We have our neighbors blocked but it looks like it’s recording their property but it’s not. It’s strictly recording ours as they constantly do alterations to our property without permission.

[Anonymous]

I would get a camera for any side or back entrances and a Ring or other video doorbell. I would keep a log of any incidents that make you uncomfortable and take screenshots of NextDoor or Facebook rants as a baseline.

He’s probably a harmless grump, but a mentally ill man in Arlington blew up his duplex after a long harassment campaign against his neighbors that he thought were spies. All sorts of people on the normal end of eccentricity or grumpiness fall down the rabbit hole of conspiracy theories and fear mongering conservative media and you never know who will actually snap and become dangerous.

[Anonymous]

I agree with using a lattice or fast growing trees. If you use trees, make 100% sure they will grow fast. I bought trees to block out neighbor junk in their yard and the trees have barely grown in four years.

[Anonymous]

Tell everyone who comes to your door to look at their camera and wave.

[Anonymous]

The Arlington house explosion involved a “hostile neighbor” situation.

OP: I am in no way suggesting your hostile neighbors’ house will be destroyed in a fiery explosion, as actually happened recently in Arlington (and the neighbor’s home was also completely destroyed).

However, I am suggesting your “hostile neighbor” situation may well be more serious Han simply the annoying camera issue.

[Anonymous]

Hi OP! Agree; this could be serious.

The Arlington situation involved a left-wing nut job (LWNJ) who was a conspiracy theorist. Do you get any sense your neighbor might be similarly inclined?

[Anonymous]

OP here. Angle of houses makes a screen hard to do. I guess it's possible they have our house blocked but the angle of the camera is bizarre-- pointed right at our door, not their yard or front walk.

I do not want to escalate with them as I do think they are volatile (mainly the husband, though she seems not super stable). I am mostly trying to figure out what they might have to gain in doing this? What reason would they have for wanting to watch us enter and exit our home? We do have a young child.

[Anonymous]

OP again. Also, for those of you who have these kinds of cameras, do they record sound as well? They have a ring doorbell camera as well that neighbors think they've used to record conversations in front of their building (a conversation between a delivery person and another neighbor that happened on their front walk). So I'm wondering if they might be recording us (or guests) talking on our porch? Am I being too paranoid?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Arlington house explosion involved a “hostile neighbor” situation.

OP: I am in no way suggesting your hostile neighbors’ house will be destroyed in a fiery explosion, as actually happened recently in Arlington (and the neighbor’s home was also completely destroyed).

However, I am suggesting your “hostile neighbor” situation may well be more serious Han simply the annoying camera issue.

Maybe op is the hostile neighbor. That’s why we got cameras.

[Anonymous]

I don’t know if this will ease your mind, but with our ring camera, you can set it so you can get a certain angle, but it will only record a certain zone that you select in the app.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Arlington house explosion involved a “hostile neighbor” situation.

OP: I am in no way suggesting your hostile neighbors’ house will be destroyed in a fiery explosion, as actually happened recently in Arlington (and the neighbor’s home was also completely destroyed).

However, I am suggesting your “hostile neighbor” situation may well be more serious Han simply the annoying camera issue.

Maybe op is the hostile neighbor. That’s why we got cameras.

OP here. We keep to ourselves. We've never done anything to them!

Are your cameras pointed at your neighbor's home? It's super weird.