Digital Door Viewer: What to Consider and the Best Models for Remote Viewing

I’ve been wanting to install a digital peephole at home for a while, but the truth is this topic raises quite a few questions. It’s normal that at first there are many unresolved questions, so today I want to help you understand how the law stands and which models I recommend.

My favorite, after a lot of searching, is the EZVIZ CP4, as it offers a superb balance between features and price. 

This digital peephole features a 4.3-inch color display so we can clearly see what’s happening outside our home, offers 1080p video and a wide 166° field of view to avoid blind spots, plus infrared night vision (up to 5 meters) and motion detection with instant alerts in the app, so we can both talk to the delivery person and notice an unwanted presence.

Digital peepholes can be a fantastic resource for expanding our smart home. However, there are so many doubts and uncertainties surrounding them that they have not quite lived up to the boom they deserve, perhaps because as users we can be overly cautious.

I have done thorough research on them and I want to share everything I’ve learned so you don’t have to invest as much time as I did.

The highlights

Why they stand out

If you want to nail the smart peephole that best fits your needs and get the most value for your money, here are the essential features to look for.

Screen. A key advantage of these peepholes is the external display that allows you to see what’s happening outside from the door itself, with much better quality than traditional peepholes. Here the size, expressed in inches, and the image quality you get matter.

Vision. We’re talking not only about image quality but also features like night vision and a wide angle to avoid blind spots.

Battery life. When choosing a good connected digital peephole, it’s worth looking for long battery life to avoid losing connectivity right when you need it most.

Audio. If the peephole lets you talk to whoever is at the door and also hear what they say, that’s called two-way audio. It’s very useful for giving instructions to a courier or scaring off someone with questionable intentions.

Mobile app. One of the big advantages of these devices is that you can view what’s happening at your door from your phone. A secure, easy-to-use app with features such as presence detection or doorbell notifications are among the most valuable points.

Avoid recording what happens at your door, as we’ll see later in the law section. If you use it like a traditional peephole but with the added ability to view from your phone without going to the door, and your neighbors have given explicit consent, you shouldn’t have any problems with it.

Other options to consider

Ezviz EP4. If you want the very best of the best, Ezviz EP4 is the model to consider. Not only is it equipped with a 5.5-inch color screen, it also captures the exterior scene superbly. It offers 4K resolution and a wide 155° field of view to avoid blind spots.

Furthermore, it uses AI to get more out of the images it collects. The detector accurately identifies shapes and recognizes familiar faces. Only when there is a real notification (to avoid false alarms) does the user receive, via WiFi and in real time, if someone approaches their door.

Lastly, it’s worth noting that it features two-way audio and image correction to prevent distortions or quality issues.

Imou VD1. On a much lower price tier, we find this Imou option which is an interesting alternative for those seeking something more affordable and without too many frills.

It includes a 4.3-inch display and recording at 2880 x 1620 px, with a 149° viewing angle. A downside is that there is no night vision.

It stands out for the possibility of having the AOV mode, which keeps the peephole recording continuously 24/7. The content is stored on a MicroSD card (which you’ll need to buy), so you’re not dependent on the cloud or paying extra subscriptions.

AYR MOD 756. On the side of non-smart digital peepholes, the AYR MOD 756 is a very cheap option for those who simply want to modernize this element but do not wish to run into legal issues with possible recordings, etc.

It has no connectivity at all, so you can’t link or control it from an app. Its operation is very straightforward: on the outside of the door you mount the camera and on the inside the 2.6-inch color display turns on with a single touch. Perfect for seniors, children, or simply for those who want to see what’s happening with better clarity than traditional peepholes.

The viewing angle is 100° and there is no option for audio.

What the law says about digital peepholes

If you live in a single-family home, with a porch or a garden in front of the door where you’re going to install the peephole, there’s no big problem since it’s private property.

However, things get tricky when we talk about installing connected peepholes on a landing or hallway in an apartment building. Here the law does come into play.

Specifically, and although there isn’t a specific regulation as such for these issues, the answers lie in two documents: the General Data Protection Regulation and the Horizontal Property Law.

On the one hand, in the General Data Protection Regulation and more specifically in Article 6.1, the topic of consent is addressed, which must be “freely given, specific, informed, and unambiguous.”

On the other hand, the Horizontal Property Law comes into play, in its Article 17.3, which explains that, “the establishment or removal of concierge, porter, surveillance or other common services of general interest, whether or not they modify the title constitutive or the statutes, will require the favorable vote of three-fifths of the total property owners who, in turn, represent three-fifths of the participation quotas.”

Therefore, the first step to considering the use of a digital peephole would be obtaining the consent of 60% of the homeowners’ association.

Moreover, these must be installed in a way that does not invade neighbors’ privacy, and here it’s important that it be a fixed peephole, so no one can claim that we are freely altering the viewing angle at will.

After informing myself very well on this topic, I am clear that I do not want a digital peephole with recording, since that only complicates things. If it’s recording all the time it isn’t considered a peephole anymore; it would be a video surveillance system and then the matter changes. Even if it only records intermittently (for example when it detects a presence), it could still fall under the interpretation of the regulation.

Just like with electric scooters or many other things, the legal framework isn’t prepared for this and can be open to interpretation.

We have cases with conflicting rulings on the table. In 2023, the Spanish Data Protection Agency fined 300 euros to a user who installed a peephole without neighbor consent.

In 2022, the same AEPD dismissed another similar lawsuit arguing that “its function is exactly identical to traditional peepholes, and the owner of the peephole can know the entrances and exits of neighbors in the same way they could with a traditional peephole.”

What I’ve concluded: I don’t want my digital peephole to be able to record

This ruling makes a lot of sense. The traditional peephole serves as a shield to know who is calling at your door before you open. And this can be the same goal for digital peepholes, with the difference that we can view from the mobile what’s happening at our door, without getting up from the couch, while we’re in the bathroom or, better yet, when we’re away from home.

They seem extremely useful to me and in my case, where I work remotely and 90% of my workday is at home, they would help me avoid distractions. I often have a lot of courier traffic at home, so ignoring the door isn’t an option, but it annoys me when I’m interrupted and I have to stand up to open the door for door-to-door salespeople who nobody invited.

Of course, being able to see what’s happening at your door while you’re away also seems very interesting to me. Just as I leave a camera inside when I’m on vacation, having another at the door and being able to view it from the mobile gives me extra peace of mind.

Besides obtaining neighbor consent, using a fixed peephole that cannot move its viewing angle and avoiding recordings (in most models you can simply uncheck this option in the mobile app and not insert a memory card), you must consider how to install it. Usually, installing a digital peephole is fairly straightforward, but you do need a bit of DIY.

Final recommendation

Among all the digital peepholes currently available on the market, at Xataka Móvil we choose Ezviz CP4 as our favourite option, a model with an excellent price-performance ratio that won’t make you compromise on anything. 

Beyond its generous color display, it features a very complete app so you know at all times what’s happening on the other side of the door. The transmitted image is of very high quality (Full HD) and it also includes two-way audio and extras like a vandal-resistant zinc housing or PIR motion detection with human shape detection to avoid false alarms.

It also has night vision and a generous 166° viewing angle, as well as a solid battery life that can reach up to 90 days with minimal use.

In Xataka Móvil | When the phone rings but no one is on the other side: how to respond correctly to silent calls

In Xataka Móvil | Watching TDT channels on the TV with better image quality has a trick: you just need to adjust this setting