A camera sends pictures. A radar sensor sends numbers. Both need the internet, and neither is private in the sense of nothing leaving; the difference is in what is on the wire, and that difference decides what a breach costs you.
Key facts
- 47% of Canadians aged 15 and older used Internet-connected smart home devices in 2022, up from 42% in 2020. Some said they did not trust smart speakers (40%) or other smart home devices (28%) with their personal information; Statistics Canada does not state the base for those two figures (Statistics Canada, Canadian Internet Use Survey, 2022, 2023).
- The US FTC alleged that Ring let employees and contractors view customers' private videos without consent, and that hackers accessed videos and account profiles of about 55,000 US customers (FTC, 2023).
What does "edge processing" mean in a home?
Edge computing "brings computation and data storage closer to the sources of data" (Wikipedia, accessed 6 September 2026). In a home, the sensor or a hub does the analysis. There are three patterns, not two.
| Pattern | What leaves the house | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Local-first | Device data stays local; push alerts and optional remote access still go out | Home Assistant "communicates with your devices locally, and will fallback to pulling in data from the cloud if there is no other option"; its apps notify you (Home Assistant, checked 6 September 2026) |
| Edge-processed | Numbers and alerts, typically not raw video or audio | Radar or PIR sensors that report "someone is here" to a family app |
| Cloud-processed | Raw video, audio or full sensor streams | Consumer cameras; check the privacy page |
Most family monitoring lives in the middle: something has to leave, or nobody outside can be told.
What leaves the house, device by device?
We found no Canadian or peer-reviewed count of how home sensors split between on-device and cloud processing. Below is our own characterisation, with vendor wording quoted where a vendor gives it.
Cameras. Video or clips go to a server unless the maker says otherwise. Google's Nest page says a camera "sends video footage to Google only if you or someone in your home has explicitly turned the camera on or enabled a feature that needs it" (Google Nest, checked 6 September 2026).
Acoustic monitors. These listen for sounds like coughing or a cry for help. Some send clips; some send only extracted features. Sensi.ai's page does not say which; it is based in Austin, Texas, with no stated Canadian availability (Sensi.ai, checked 6 September 2026). Ask.
Radar and PIR presence sensors. PIR means passive infrared, the kind used in motion-sensor lights. These sensors typically send numbers: someone is here, moving, or still. No picture, no sound. Aqara says "Automations of FP2 are executed without sending to the cloud, and they will keep working even in case of no internet connection", and that the FP2 "has the capability to detect and alert you when a family member falls down", with "Ceiling placement is required for fall detection" (Aqara FP2, checked 6 September 2026). We found no published evaluation of that fall claim. See cameras vs camera-free room sensors.
What has gone wrong with cloud video?
Two failure modes. Insiders: in the Ring case, a proposed FTC order required $5.8 million USD in consumer refunds, subject to court approval (FTC, 2023). Bugs: in February 2024, about 13,000 Wyze users received camera thumbnails belonging to strangers, and about 1,504 tapped one and saw a stranger's footage (BleepingComputer, 2024). Had only numbers left those houses, the same failures would have leaked only numbers.
What do Canadian privacy rules say?
General information, not legal advice. PIPEDA is the federal private-sector privacy law. Alberta, BC and Quebec have their own, but PIPEDA still applies when data crosses a border (OPC, PIPEDA in brief, 2024). Bill C-27 would have replaced it but died when the session ended on 6 January 2025 (LEGISinfo, 2025).
The OPC's 2009 guidance on data leaving Canada is still current. Its core idea is accountability, not geography. A company that sends your data to a processor stays responsible for it, must ensure a "comparable level of protection", and must tell you the data may be reached by foreign courts, police or security agencies. No contract can override the laws of the country the data was transferred to (OPC, 2009).
So a Canadian server is a good sign. Still ask who owns the company holding it, and whether an American company is subject to PIPEDA at all. See Canadian vs US-hosted monitoring.
Is local always better?
No. Nothing leaves means nobody is told. A fully offline system cannot alert a daughter in another city.
Small devices can be weaker on security. The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security warns that "current IoT devices may have inadequate security control and encryption capabilities" (ITSAP.00.012, 2022). That guidance is voluntary. The UK made similar points law: its "consumer connectable product security regime came into effect on 29 April 2024" (UK Government, PSTI regime, 2024). We found no mandatory Canadian equivalent (checked September 2026). Whatever you buy: change default passwords, turn on automatic updates, use a guest network (Get Cyber Safe, 2021).
What to ask any vendor
What leaves the house, and in what form? Where is it stored, and who owns that company? How long is it kept, who can see it, and how do you delete it? What happens when the internet drops? A vendor who cannot answer plainly is telling you something.
Where WalledCare fits
Published by Moneli Automation, maker of WalledCare.
WalledCare sits in the middle pattern. It is a camera-free millimetre-wave radar presence sensor that reports presence, movement, prolonged stillness and prolonged inactivity, room by room. No camera, no microphone, so no picture or sound exists to leak. In the product page's words (WalledCare, checked 6 September 2026):
- What leaves, in what form: "Sensing happens on the device; only activity signals and alerts leave the home — and they stay on Canadian infrastructure."
- Where it is stored: "In Canada. Only activity signals and alerts are kept — never video or audio, because none is produced." The page does not name the cloud provider.
- How long, who can see it, how to delete: not published on the page (checked 6 September 2026). Ask for it in writing before you buy, from us and from every other vendor here.
- When the internet drops: "If a sensor loses power or drops off the Wi-Fi you're told it's offline."
A server is involved, and under PIPEDA Moneli stays accountable for that data. WalledCare does not detect falls, does not measure breathing or heart rate, and is not a medical device. If you need those, look at pendants, fall-detection vendors or clinical devices, and weigh their heavier data flows. For automations that survive an outage, Aqara says the FP2 runs its own locally, though setup and alerts still use its cloud. How WalledCare works, or the Technology hub.
This page is general information, not medical or legal advice. In an emergency, call 911.
Sources
- Statistics Canada, The Daily: Canadian Internet Use Survey, 2022 (2023). https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/230720/dq230720b-eng.htm
- Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada: Guidelines for processing personal data across borders (2009). https://www.priv.gc.ca/en/privacy-topics/personal-information-transferred-across-borders/gl_dab_090127/
- Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada: PIPEDA in brief (2024). https://www.priv.gc.ca/en/privacy-topics/privacy-laws-in-canada/the-personal-information-protection-and-electronic-documents-act-pipeda/pipeda_brief/
- Get Cyber Safe (Government of Canada): TVs and smart devices (2021). https://www.getcybersafe.gc.ca/en/secure-your-devices/tvs-and-smart-devices
- Canadian Centre for Cyber Security: Internet of Things (IoT) security, ITSAP.00.012 (2022). https://www.cyber.gc.ca/en/guidance/internet-things-iot-security-itsap00012
- US Federal Trade Commission: FTC Says Ring Employees Illegally Surveilled Customers (2023). https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2023/05/ftc-says-ring-employees-illegally-surveilled-customers-failed-stop-hackers-taking-control-users
- BleepingComputer: Wyze camera glitch gave 13,000 users a peek into other homes (2024). https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/wyze-camera-glitch-gave-13-000-users-a-peek-into-other-homes/
- UK Government: The UK Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure (Product Security) regime (2024). https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-uk-product-security-and-telecommunications-infrastructure-product-security-regime
- Wikipedia: Edge computing (accessed 6 September 2026). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edge_computing
- LEGISinfo: Bill C-27, 44th Parliament, 1st Session (2025). https://www.parl.ca/legisinfo/en/bill/44-1/c-27
- Google Safety Center: Nest privacy commitments (checked 6 September 2026). https://safety.google/nest/
- Aqara Presence Sensor FP2 product page (checked 6 September 2026). https://www.aqara.com/en/product/presence-sensor-fp2/
- Home Assistant (checked 6 September 2026). https://www.home-assistant.io/
- Sensi.ai (checked 6 September 2026). https://www.sensi.ai/
- WalledCare product page, Moneli Automation (checked 6 September 2026). https://www.walledcare.com/