PCA Forums

Hi all,, I'm still alive but not kicking so great(!), hope everyone has been well.

I'm overwhelmed and i need help,,. If my brother were still with us, I'd task him with this, but he's not.I also don't want to put too much personal info "out there",,.

Can Blink cams be used for indoor monitoring in an indoor space/room that is in another State?

For those knowing my situation, it is probably obvious why I want to monitor.
Btw, it is legal for me to do so in that State, and in such a living complex.
The place has WiFi.

I need options,, hell's bells,, if someone could say get this and here's how it works and what you need to do,, even better .

Pls note that I've nothing high tech to monitor with on.my end,, A Samsung 10 mobile, Fire tablets, and if I need to unearth it, an outdated OS laptop.

Thank you so much.

I am using TP-Link Tapo cameras and their Android app as a 'baby monitor' for my Dad's room. We have two cheap Android tablets in the house that the caregivers use to keep tabs on him, and I can also monitor him on my phone.

I am sure the Blink cams work the same way, I am just not personally familiar with them.

Be aware most of these apps will only allow for 5 or 10 minutes of continuous monitoring, unless the camera and your device are both on the same network. This is because the video stream has to go through their servers and if everyone was watching a live stream for 24 hours, it would be expensive bandwidth for them. My Tapo app will time out after 5 minutes unless I'm home and connected to the home Wifi.

As for legality, that depends on whether or not there will be people visible on the camera that have an expectation of privacy:

- If this is a nursing home a relative is staying at, then most nursing homes do allow web cams in my experience (I am assuming you have their permission or are their health care surrogate and/or have power of attorney).
- If this is someone (even a relative) who does not know you will be watching them, it would likely be illegal (unless you have power of attorney and/or are their health care surrogate.
- If this is a home you own but are renting out or using as an Air B&B, then it is potentially illegal and violates Air B&B's policies to have cameras inside, where there is an expectation of privacy. Outside would be fine.

Hope this helps...

Hi FP and thank you ( I don't know why I didn't get notification of reply, but that's ok ).

Well, the 1st problem I see from what you wrote, is the camera and the device would not be on the same server,, I'm in a different State.

I don't need continuous monitoring,, I was thinking more of motion detection in one room.

Yes it's allowed, I've confirmed that.

It sounds like I need to hire professional company that does this but I've no clue where to start,,.

as for your equipment the fire tablet should work . also your samsung 10

Different states is not a problem. I assume you'll also be recording? I know Blink has cloud storage if you pay for it. Some cams, like my Tapos, also have an SD card slot, that allows for local recording without having to pay for a cloud account.

FlyingPenguin wrote: ↑Thu Jul 10, 2025 9:18 am Different states is not a problem. I assume you'll also be recording? I know Blink has cloud storage if you pay for it. Some cams, like my Tapos, also have an SD card slot, that allows for local recording without having to pay for a cloud account.

So if I get Blink and pay for cloud storage, I could access anytime from home ( which is a different State from where the camera will_be ), is that correct??

reno wrote: ↑Wed Jul 09, 2025 11:04 pm as for your equipment the fire tablet should work . also your samsung 10

Thank you, Mike :-)

darcy wrote: ↑Thu Jul 10, 2025 4:22 pm

FlyingPenguin wrote: ↑Thu Jul 10, 2025 9:18 am Different states is not a problem. I assume you'll also be recording? I know Blink has cloud storage if you pay for it. Some cams, like my Tapos, also have an SD card slot, that allows for local recording without having to pay for a cloud account.

So if I get Blink and pay for cloud storage, I could access anytime from home ( which is a different State from where the camera will_be ), is that correct??

Yes. Next door, next county, different state, it doesn't matter.

Many thanks!

Many thanks!