Is it legal to point security camera at a neighbor’s house in Oregon?

• The number of security cameras in the U.S. is growing, with an estimated 85 million installed by 2021.
• In Oregon, it is legal to point security cameras on your property toward public areas like streets and sidewalks.
• While you can generally point a camera at a neighbor’s house, aiming it into private areas like bedrooms or bathrooms is illegal.

There are millions of homes and businesses with security cameras and the number is only growing.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, surveillance camera installations in the U.S. were expected to grow from 47 million in 2015 to about 85 million by 2021.

An estimated 10 million Amazon’s Ring doorbell cameras are in use nationwide, according to a 2023 report from Politico, and dozens of other companies have made their own doorbell cameras to jump on the craze.

At the same time, concerns over surveillance are on the rise. Ring ended its partnership with Flock, a Georgia-based tech surveillance company, in February. Throughout 2025, Eugene and Springfield residents fought back against the installation of Flock license-plate reader cameras, which led to them being taken down seven months later.

On your private property, what laws exist around security cameras and where they can point? The Register-Guard looked at state and municipal laws to find out.

Can you point a security camera at the street or sidewalk?

Yes. You can absolutely point security cameras located on your property at the street.

There are no laws around recording video in “public view.”

“Public view” is classified as any area that can be readily seen by normal, unaided vision when viewed from a public place, including streets.

Can you point a security camera at your neighbor’s house?

Usually, yes, your surveillance cameras can be pointed toward others’ homes. While there are no specific Oregon laws against installing security cameras that are directed at your neighbor’s home, you may want to be careful where exactly it’s pointed.

If you have a doorbell camera, for example, that points directly from your front door to your neighbor’s front door across the street, that’s completely legal.

Anything visible in “public view” is permissible to video as long as you remain on public or your own property.

According to a city of Eugene spokesperson, there are no city laws against a private party having a security camera and what direction it is pointing.

However, it can get tricky, depending on where exactly you point your cameras. For example, if you have a two-story home and you point your security camera into your neighbor’s backyard, that might be harder to defend in court. It all hinges on ORS 163.700 — Invasion of personal privacy.

Can you point a surveillance camera into your neighbor’s bedroom or bathroom?

Effectively, no. You cannot point a camera into your neighbor’s bedroom or bathroom without risking breaking Oregon law.

This would likely be a violation of ORS 163.700, constituting an invasion of personal privacy in the second degree.

The law extends to any recording of another person’s “intimate area” without consent in places where the person recorded has a “reasonable expectation of privacy concerning the intimate area.” As defined by Oregon law, “intimate area” includes nudity and undergarments typically covered by other clothing.

Because people typically change their clothing in bedrooms and bathrooms, a security camera pointed into those rooms would more than likely capture them nude or in their undergarments, which would violate Oregon law.

Where a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy extends beyond bedrooms and bathrooms. According to Oregon law, it also includes, but is not limited to, locker rooms, tanning booths and any area where a person undresses in an enclosed space that is not open to public view.

Invasion of personal privacy in the second degree is a Class A misdemeanor, which can result in a fine up to $6,250.

Miranda Cyr reports on education for The Register-Guard. You can contact her at mcyr@registerguard.com or find her on X @mirandabcyr.