Home security company Wyze is apologizing after a massive glitch Friday exposed live video feeds from 13,000 customers’ cameras. Users took to social media complaining they could see inside strangers’ homes, representing a shocking breach of privacy.
Wyze blamed its partner Amazon Web Services, saying an integrated software library couldn’t handle the load when devices came back online simultaneously. This resulted in mixed up device IDs that connected data to the wrong user accounts.
While Wyze said over 99% of customers were unaffected, 13,000 users still saw thumbnails from other homes. Over 1,500 people clicked for a closer look, with some even watching live feeds.
The scale is troubling given Wyze has over 10 million overall users of its affordable security cameras and other smart home devices. Victims expressed outrage and disgust at the intrusion online. A Reddit user named H3H3ather said she was getting dressed for work during the outage: “I’m so disgusted and upset. I’ve already deleted my account but I’m feeling so violated.”
Unfortunately, this isn’t the first privacy issue for Wyze. Last August, another Reddit user posted an image from someone else’s home appearing on their camera feed. At the time, Wyze called it a 30-minute web caching error affecting around 10 people.
The repeated incidents have shaken confidence despite Wyze’s popularity for budget surveillance compared to giants like Amazon Ring. Many now say they’ll only place Wyze cameras facing outside.
In an email to customers, Wyze reaffirmed its commitment to security with ongoing initiatives and improvements planned. But for users feeling exposed both literally and digitally by the company’s mistakes, that provides little immediate comfort.
As connected home devices proliferate, consumers expect accountability when vulnerabilities lead to intimacy violations.
