On Amazon alone, there are more than 40 brands of home security cameras from which to choose. Try to use a brand that is reputable and is owned by a company you’ve heard of or can easily research. The biggest players are associated with names you know, among them Nest (Google), Ring or Blink (Amazon), and product lines from Panasonic and General Electric. Other players include Arlo, SimpliSafe, Wyze Labs and Anker’s Eufy.

Beware of unknown brands. You can find many cheap, oddly named knockoff cameras, but these will carry the biggest security risk of all. Something like Ring may have had more high-profile issues, but it also has the budget, backing and motivation to remedy problems properly.

“No company is going to have a perfect track record, but you want someone who is vetted and is going to take the issue seriously,” says Jake Laperruque, the deputy director of the Center for Democracy and Technology’s Security and Surveillance Project.

Make sure each camera has a light that lets you know the gadget is on, and look for a physical cover that can go over the camera vs. trusting that the software has turned it off. If you’re buying a more niche product, such as a camera designed just for monitoring pets, it should be equally secure.