Video retention, privacy zones and audio: the questions to ask counsel before the cameras go on
Cameras collect personal information the moment they're switched on, and some record sound. The New York laws to raise with counsel, and the UniFi Protect settings that put the answers into practice.
The camera that heard too much
Illustration, not a real event: a retail shop installs new dome cameras. Months later, during a dispute with a former employee, the owner pulls footage and discovers the cameras have also been recording sound: conversations at the register, a staff break-room argument, a customer’s phone call. Nobody turned audio on deliberately. Nobody turned it off either.
Video systems are personal-information systems. They capture faces, movements, license plates and, on cameras with microphones, conversations. Each of those raises questions an owner should put to counsel before the system goes live, not after footage is needed in a dispute. This post is not legal advice; it is the list of questions, and the settings that carry out whatever counsel decides.
Questions to ask counsel
1. Are we recording any conversations, and do we have consent?
New York’s eavesdropping law defines “mechanical overhearing of a conversation” as overhearing or recording a conversation without the consent of at least one party, by someone not present (N.Y. Penal Law § 250.00). A camera microphone in a room where the owner isn’t part of the conversation is exactly the case to ask about.
Know your hardware: Ubiquiti notes that sound is still recorded on cameras that don’t support full two-way audio (UniFi Protect - Two-Way Camera Audio). Protect’s AI features can also classify sound and, with an AI Key, transcribe speech (AI Detections and Facial Recognition).
Ask: Which cameras may record audio, if any? What notice, if any, should we post?
2. Are any cameras covering places where recording is prohibited?
New York Labor Law § 203-c bars an employer from video recording employees in a restroom, locker room, or room designated for changing clothes, unless authorized by court order, and bars using any recording made in violation (N.Y. Labor Law § 203-c). Check every camera’s field of view, including what it sees through an open door.
Ask: Are any of our camera views a problem under § 203-c or any other rule?
3. Does our employee monitoring notice cover this?
New York Civil Rights Law § 52-c requires employers that monitor employees’ telephone, email or internet access and usage to give written notice on hiring, get an acknowledgment, and post the notice (N.Y. Civil Rights Law § 52-c). Its text names those communications, not video.
Ask: Does § 52-c reach anything our system does (for example, door-access logs or anything tied to internet activity), and should our camera and access-control notice to staff be in the same document anyway?
4. How long should we keep footage, and when must we stop deleting it?
Ubiquiti’s own guidance frames retention as keeping essential footage only as long as necessary, and points to HIPAA and PCI as examples of rules some businesses must meet (UniFi Protect Recording Modes & Schedules). A product setting doesn’t make you compliant with anything; it carries out a decision.
Ask: Does any law, contract, lease or insurer set a minimum or maximum for us? When a claim or dispute is likely, what must we preserve, and who tells the person who manages the system?
5. Should we use face recognition or license plate recognition?
Protect supports face recognition on G6 and AI Series cameras and license plate recognition on supported models (AI Detections and Facial Recognition). SMC’s designs leave face recognition off by default and never design it for New York schools.
Ask: If we want either feature, what notice, consent, retention and access rules apply to the biometric or plate data?
6. Who may view and export footage, and to whom may we give it?
Ask: What is our process for requests from police, insurers, lawyers, employees and customers? Who approves, and what do we record about each release?
Settings that put the answers into practice
SMC’s preferred platform for business video is UniFi Protect, and these settings are where counsel’s answers end up. Where a business runs another platform, SMC maps the same decisions onto it.
| Decision | Protect setting |
|---|---|
| Don’t record a sensitive area | Privacy Zones black out part of a camera’s view; Ubiquiti notes they are used to comply with local laws (Manage Camera Zones) |
| Record only when needed | Recording mode Detection Only or Never, and Schedules (Recording Modes & Schedules) |
| Keep footage for a set time | Custom retention per camera; Enhanced Retention to keep older footage at lower quality (Managing Storage and Retention) |
| Preserve footage for a dispute | Export or archive the clips, or add them to Case Manager, which holds footage indefinitely (same source); flagging only prevents quality downgrading |
| Prove footage wasn’t altered | Evidence enrollment (Protect 7.2+) signs clips for verification at evidence.ui.com (Evidence Authenticity) |
| Footage stays in-house | Recordings and AI processing stay on your console; Ubiquiti says it cannot view your streams (How UniFi Protect Protects Your Data) |
Write each decision next to its setting in a one-page video policy. When someone asks why a camera doesn’t record sound, or why footage from last March is gone, the policy answers.
Checklist
- Every camera’s view reviewed, including through doors and windows
- Audio decision made per camera with counsel; microphones checked
- Privacy Zones set where counsel or the policy requires
- Retention period decided, written, and set per camera
- Preservation process for disputes: who decides, who acts
- Face and plate recognition off unless a documented decision says otherwise
- Viewing, export and release rules written; releases logged
- Staff and visitor notices reviewed by counsel
When to get help
SMC designs camera systems with the privacy decisions built into the specification, prepares the questions for your counsel, and turns the answers into settings and a written video policy. SMC doesn’t give legal advice, sell equipment or take commissions. UniFi is our preferred platform; if your current system fits, we apply the same review to it.
Start with the free security assessment at https://www.securitymedic.com/assessment. You get a gap report to keep and a free results review; physical security questions are also covered on a free 30-minute call.
Sources
- New York State Senate, Penal Law § 250.00, definitions including mechanical overhearing of a conversation.
- New York State Senate, Labor Law § 203-c, video recording of employees.
- New York State Senate, Civil Rights Law § 52-c, employer electronic monitoring notice.
- Ubiquiti Help Center, UniFi Protect - Two-Way Camera Audio, updated October 22, 2026.
- Ubiquiti Help Center, UniFi Protect Cameras - AI Detections and Facial Recognition, updated October 20, 2026.
- Ubiquiti Help Center, UniFi Protect - Manage Camera Zones, updated October 13, 2026.
- Ubiquiti Help Center, UniFi Protect Recording Modes & Schedules, updated October 21, 2026.
- Ubiquiti Help Center, Managing Storage and Retention in UniFi Protect, updated September 28, 2026.
- Ubiquiti Help Center, UniFi Protect: Evidence Authenticity and Visible Watermarks, updated September 19, 2026.
- Ubiquiti Help Center, How UniFi Protect Protects Your Data, updated September 8, 2026.