Robot Cameras and Privacy

What a camera robot sees and hears

A robot with a camera sees your home from floor level as it moves: rooms, furniture, family members, guests and household staff. Many also build a detailed map of the layout, and some send obstacle images or live video to an app so you can check on the house remotely. Microphones may listen for voice commands. Some of this stays on the robot, while some is uploaded to the maker's servers for processing, storage or product improvement. Read the privacy notice for each feature before switching it on, and note which ones are optional. A robot that only needs its camera to avoid obstacles should have no reason to keep or upload the images.

Where the DPDP Act 2023 applies

The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (No. 22 of 2023) governs how organisations handle personal data in India. Under the Act, a company may rely on your consent only if you gave it freely, for a stated purpose and by a clear action of your own; it must guard the data with reasonable security safeguards, and you can ask it to erase what it holds. Under section 3(c)(i), the Act does not apply to personal data an individual processes for personal or domestic purposes, so your own use of the robot falls outside it, but the maker's processing of your recordings does not. For children, defined as under 18, section 9 requires verifiable parental consent and bars tracking or behavioural monitoring of children.

Rules and guidance still arriving

The Act's detailed rules came later. The Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025, notified in November 2025, phase in over eighteen months according to the Press Information Bureau's explainer, so several company duties bite only once that window closes. The explainer also says that after a personal data breach, the data fiduciary must inform all affected individuals without delay, in plain language, with what happened and the steps taken. Device security guidance is moving too: the Telecommunication Engineering Centre's Code of Practice for Securing Consumer IoT, TEC 31318:2025, calls for unique default passwords, a public contact for reporting vulnerabilities and a published end-of-life policy stating how long updates will last.

Settings to change on day one

Treat set-up as a privacy check. Switch off remote video viewing and obstacle photo uploads unless you will use them, and draw privacy zones around bedrooms and bathrooms if the app allows. Replace any default password, and limit how many family members can open the live camera. Look for the setting that controls how long clips are kept, and choose the shortest period on offer. TEC 31318:2025 says a factory reset must fully remove user data and credentials, so ask the maker whether your model does that before you sell or give it away. With robots such as the Amazon Astro or the Ring Always Home Cam, repeat these checks after each major app update, since new features can arrive switched on.

Sources and further reading

• DPDP Rules, 2025 notified: a citizen-centric framework for privacy protection and responsible data use — Press Information Bureau, Government of India.
  Government explainer on the 2025 Rules: phased compliance, breach notices to users and parental consent.
• The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (No. 22 of 2023) — Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India.
  India's data protection law: consent, security safeguards, erasure rights and extra protection for children's data.
• Code of Practice for Securing Consumer IoT, Release 2.0 (TEC 31318:2025) — Telecommunication Engineering Centre (TEC), Department of Telecommunications.
  Indian security baseline for smart devices: unique passwords, flaw reporting, stated update periods and full resets.

Common questions

Can I ask a robot maker to delete my home's map and recordings?

Yes. The DPDP Act 2023 lets you request erasure, unless keeping the data is legally required or still needed for the purpose it was collected for. Send the request from the email linked to your account, name the robot and the data involved, and keep the reply.

Do robot vacuums without cameras still collect personal data?

Often, yes. A robot that maps your home records its layout, room names and cleaning times, and the app links them to your account. That is less sensitive than video, but still worth checking in the privacy notice before you agree to cloud features or map sharing.