Is it haram to film my neighbors with a doorbell camera?

It depends: a doorbell camera that protects your own home is fine, but deliberately filming your neighbors is haram. Recording your doorstep for safety is a reasonable need. Pointing the camera into their windows or garden, watching their comings and goings, or sharing clips to mock them crosses into spying, which the Quran forbids.

Protecting your home is allowed

Islam allows you to protect your family and property. A camera at your front door that records deliveries, visitors and anyone trying the handle is simply a modern lock. Catching your neighbor walking past on the pavement in the background is incidental and not a sin.

Spying is a different thing

وَلَا تَجَسَّسُوا۟ وَلَا يَغْتَب بَّعْضُكُم بَعْضًا "...And do not spy or backbite each other." Quran 49:12

Spying (tajassus) means seeking out other people's private matters. The Prophet ﷺ taught that asking permission before entering a house is required precisely because of the eyes, so that people's privacy isn't seen (Sahih al-Bukhari 6241). Angling a camera to see into a neighbor's living room or back garden, or tracking who visits them and when, is the digital version of peeping through their window.

Neighbors have special rights

The Prophet ﷺ said, "Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should not harm his neighbor" (Sahih al-Bukhari 6018). Constant recording can make neighbors feel watched and unsafe in their own homes, which is a real harm. Some practical steps:

Aim the camera at your own property, and use privacy zones to blur their windows and garden.
Turn off audio if it picks up their conversations.
Tell them you've installed it and what it covers; it builds trust.
Check local law: in the UK and EU, filming beyond your boundary can bring data-protection duties, and US states have their own rules.

Sharing footage online

Posting a clip of a neighbor tripping, arguing or dressed casually, just for laughs or to complain, is exposing their faults and can amount to backbiting. See Is it backbiting to complain about someone online? Sharing footage with the police or a neighborhood watch to report a real crime is different, because it prevents harm. The general rule on posting other people's images applies here too. See Can I post photos of my kids on social media as a Muslim?

If there's a dispute

If a neighbor objects to your camera, talk kindly and adjust the angle where you can. Treating neighbors well is part of faith, and it's also great dawah: many non-Muslims form their view of Islam from the Muslim next door. Respecting what belongs to them, from their privacy to their internet connection, follows the same principle as Is it haram to use my neighbor's Wi-Fi without asking?

Key points

A doorbell camera for your own security is allowed.
Aiming it at neighbors' private spaces is spying, which is haram.
Don't share clips that mock or expose neighbors.
Use privacy zones, turn off audio, and follow local law.

Tip: Most doorbell camera apps have a "privacy zone" or "motion zone" setting. Spend five minutes masking out your neighbors' windows and driveway, then let them know; it shows respect and avoids awkward conversations later.