You could want to quickly draw the shades closed if your neighbor seems to have a home safety system. According to a recent poll, most Americans also use their security cameras to surveil their neighbors and utilize them to keep their homes safe.

A quarter of Americans have surveillance cameras at home 

One out of four respondents to a smart home startup Vivint poll, over 1,000 Americans with home surveillance cameras confess to using them to spy on neighbors. Almost one in seven admit to watching an X-rated program after seeing a neighbor out in the open.

It seems that Gen X households are among the most likely next-door spies. Younger people, however, actually employ their webcams completely opposite! Three out of ten Gen Z participants said they employ their cameras to deter door knockers.

The most frequent incident (31.8%) that is captured by home security cameras every year involves people attempting to surprise friends with a visit. Interestingly, at least one in ten people believe some of the unexpected “guests” seen on their webcams are aliens, ghosts, or paranormal activity!

Most Americans consider safety a priority 

The main reason Americans engage in a home surveillance system remains to ensure their home is safe (48.7%), despite the possibility that some nosy neighbors are up to no good. However, because of internet shopping, “watching package deliveries” now ranks as the second most common justification for purchasing a home webcam (40.8%). In light of this, 37% of respondents claim to use their security system to watch for doorstep pirates. One in seven responders claims to have videotaped a porch thief in the act.

Nowadays, numerous disorderly acts are documented on camera. One in every eight individuals claims their CCTV captured somebody stealing gasoline from their vehicle this year when gas prices were already soaring.

Almost 12% of people have found their housemate stealing from the house, and another 18% have discovered a neighbor who doesn’t pick up after a dog.