When you’re driving down the street, you may notice a small security camera hanging from a pole on the side of the road, or a security camera parked on the corner of a building. You might be wondering, can security cameras see inside the car? The answer is yes. Security cameras are often able to see inside the car in different lighting conditions, but how well a camera can see inside the car depends on many factors. In this article, I’ll describe how these factors affect a camera’s ability to see a car and the science behind how the camera sees through the glass.

Why/ Why Not Would You Want a Security Camera to See Inside a Car? 

Security cameras being able to see inside your car can be very useful in certain situations, such as when your car is parked in a public area, if you want to monitor it, or if you’re concerned about suspicious activity in a car parked on the street.

Another useful example is if security cameras are installed at entrances or gates to monitor who is entering and leaving the house.

Many open street car parks and multi-story car parks have security cameras installed in various locations to monitor the safety of the car park or the interior of the vehicle and any illegal or inappropriate activity.

On the other hand, if a security camera installed outside a building or business can capture footage of you or your family sitting in a car in front of a traffic light, that feature could also become a privacy concern.

However, it’s important to remember that security cameras aren’t perfect, and even during the day, they may not be able to see everything that’s going on inside the car.

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Factors Affect Security Cameras’ Ability to See Inside Cars During the Daytime

• Ambient Light: Needless to say, in order for the camera to see anything during the day, there needs to be enough ambient light, and the light must be able to pass through the window glass to provide visibility inside. Likewise, if the car is parked in a dark garage or under a tree, the lack of light can make it difficult to see inside the car.
• Light reflections: Depending on the angle of the sun and the location of the security camera, windows can reflect sunlight, creating glare that makes it difficult or even impossible for cameras to see inside.
• Type of glass: Privacy glass is commonly used in newer vehicles. This glass has a dye added during the manufacturing process to create a dark color. The dye will reduce the ability of light waves in the visible spectrum to pass through the windows, reducing visibility inside the vehicle.
• Tinted windows: If the windows are tinted, it will be harder for security cameras to see inside the car. Tinted windows block a lot of light, making it difficult for cameras to see inside. The degree of visibility obstruction will depend on the darkness of the window tint, which is measured by the percentage of light that is allowed to pass through the window, known as visible light transmission (VLT). The lower the VLT, the darker the tone. Most states allow up to 50% VLT.
• Distance from the car: The further away the security camera is from the car, the harder it is to get a good image. If the camera is too far away, the image may be blurred or distorted.

How Do Security Cameras See in the Dark?

Before we explore the factors that affect a security camera’s ability to see through a car window at night, let’s take a look at how well a security camera can see in the dark.

Most cameras with “night vision” have infrared LED lights around the lens. When it is dark and there is no ambient light, the infrared mode is activated and the LED lights emit infrared light. This light is invisible to the human eye but bounces off objects and back into the camera. The camera sensor can then detect infrared light and generate a black and white image.

Can Security Cameras See Through Car Windows At Night?

The window between the security camera and the object reflects infrared illumination. Therefore, it returns to the camera’s lens as a mirror image. Almost nothing can be seen at night due to the resulting distorted image.

Factors Affect the Ability of Surveillance Cameras to See Through Glass

Some of these factors may seem obvious, but for ease of completion, I’ll list them here:

1. Check for obstacles, such as trees or other vehicles, between the camera and the car.
2. Monitor the distance between the camera and the target vehicle. The further away the car is, the less likely the camera will be able to see clearly inside the car.
3. If the windows are closed or rolled down.
4. Privacy glass: This includes adding dyes during the manufacturing process to create dark glass. This dark color reduces visibility by blocking visible light, but not UV or IR light. Therefore, privacy glass may reduce camera visibility, especially in the presence of ambient light during the day and night.
5. Glass tinting: This blocks UV and some IR light, some tinted films have a higher ability to block IR than others, so under different lighting conditions can reduce the visibility of in-car cameras to varying degrees.
6. The location of the security camera.
7. The quality of security cameras.

How To Tell If A Security Camera Is Watching You?

Make sure that the LEDs of the IP security camera are working properly. It’s also a quick way to determine if a security camera has night vision. . With a book or any other cover, you can keep the light away from the lens of your surveillance camera. When the light turns red, the security camera is activated

Tips to Reduce the Visibility Inside Your Vehicle

• Park in a well-lit area.
• Remove window tint or use a high VLT tint.
• Make sure your vehicle doesn’t have privacy glass.
• Keep your windows open (only if you’re inside the vehicle or nearby).
• Ensure there are no physical obstacles between the camera and your car.
• Keep your car windows clean.

Tips to Improve the Visibility Inside Your Vehicle

Park in a shaded area like under a tree or inside a garage and not in direct sunlight.

Install privacy glass.

Install a removable window shield.

Use window tinting to reduce visibility.

Make sure your windows are rolled up.

Throw some dust on the car windows.

Final Thoughts

While security cameras are able to see inside the car in different lighting conditions, their ability to see clearly what’s inside the car depends on many factors.

Whether your preference is to reduce in-vehicle visibility for privacy or to increase vehicle or visitor visibility for added safety, it can be helpful to understand how these factors affect a camera’s ability to see through a glass, using these simple tips to help Help you achieve your desired goals