The question is not if it is illegal… it is illegal for what?

If you want to go for a secret operation to capture some video or audio content, just to make it viral or to have fun. Then installing a camera without someone's knowledge will be illegal and one can be booked under the Information Technology Act.

But that doesn’t make a spy camera an illegal device. You can still use a spy camera if you have a proper warrant for using it. Your intentions and purpose actually matter while using a spy camera against someone.

Is using a Spy Camera Illegal?

If you think your babysitter smokes while your baby is around, or your child is been torched in school and he is afraid to share it, or maybe shady boss proposes compromising entanglements to you every day… and you want proof for it to lodge a formal complaint then you can possibly use a spy camera.

According to figures published by The National newspaper in Dubai, there have been around 25,000 CCTV cameras in Dubai in 2011. This figure is probably going to be considerably larger by now. Only recently, another article in Gulf News reported that Abu Dhabi authorities have increased the amount of CCTV cameras on the streets to undertake and reduce the number of traffic offenses.

However, though there are no specific provisions impacting the usage of digital spy cameras, from the legal perspective there are various challenges that can be raised by the use of hidden cameras.

While CCTVs cover public places as a security measure, where discreet security cameras keep watch over property, cars, and valuables… Spy Cameras are also used in bedrooms, placed by a doubting spouse.

What we want to say here is that it is not illegal to buy a spy camera but it is illegal to use without any positive concern. Strict action can be taken if found the person is using a spy camera for blackmailing or even for a negative purpose.

With advancing technology, CCTVs (closed-circuit television), hidden cameras, spy cameras, and various other spying devices are mushrooming in the market and people are buying it anyway.

Even journalism is mainly based on catching the perpetrator of the crime red-handed, which is possible only by the advent of spy cameras. With the help of spy cameras, we can protect our rights with the law as we could provide concrete evidence to the court. Thus we would also say as, for a society, a spy camera can be also seen as a generous boon.