Home security systems are more popular than ever. They’re meant to make people feel safer. But some say they’re doing the opposite.

According to industry estimates, the home surveillance market was valued between $9.8 billion and $12.92 billion in 2024. And it’s only going up. By 2034, experts expect that number to more than triple.

Already, an estimated 68 million homes in the U.S. have some kind of video monitoring system installed.

But along with that growth come stories from people who say these devices are being used against them.

One of the most disturbing stories recently came from a mom on TikTok. She says a hacker gained access to her toddler through their Ring camera.

Mother Says Unknown Man Spoke To Her Toddler Through Their Ring Camera

TikTok user Kahlen (@kahlenb_) says her family used to rely on Ring for everything: the doorbell, the alarm system, and even baby monitors.

She says she had two Ring indoor cameras set up in her son’s room and paid for cloud storage to keep the footage.

Then one day, during what was supposed to be nap time, something strange happened.

“I just turn up the Ring live dash so I can watch him because he’s never been a great sleeper,” she explains. “He always wakes up.”

Not long after, Kahlen says she noticed him standing next to his bed, talking—but she couldn’t hear what he was saying.

As she walked toward the room to check on him, she heard her son say, “No, I don’t want to,” before crawling behind a chair to hide.

“I’m just thinking, this is so strange,” she recalls. “He’s got to be having a weird dream or something.”

But later, when she reviewed the Ring footage, she says she was alarmed to discover someone had been speaking to him through the camera.

“Someone woke him up and was telling him to go hide behind his chair,” she says in the video.

It Wasn’t A One-Time Thing, Either

According to Kahlen, a man had been regularly talking to her son at night. She says he would wait until one of the parents left the room before speaking through the device. Kahlen says he would sometimes use the child’s name.

She believes it followed a pattern. In the footage, she says, the voice would start by playing a sound to muffle itself, then speak, and then shut the sound off.

Looking back at past clips, she suspects this may be what caused her son’s frequent night wakings.

“The uncomfortable feeling that you get as a parent knowing that there’s an adult talking to your child in your home,” she says, adding, “and has been, like, watching him for who knows how long.”

Kahlen says she contacted both Ring and the police about the matter.

In her words, Ring told her it wasn’t possible for someone to hack the system. “’There’s no way that would ever happen,’” she says the company told her.

What Did The Police Say?

She also says she filed a police report. An officer came by, but, according to her, he seemed skeptical.

“I’m not saying that doesn’t happen, but I’ve never heard of it,” she remembers him saying. She says she then showed him at least 10 videos in which someone could be heard speaking to her child by name.

Still, she says her complaint went nowhere. Kahlen says police told her no laws had been broken, so they wouldn’t pursue it further.

In the end, she says they got rid of their Ring system. She’s now warning others to do the same.

“I’m just putting this out there because I had heard of people having their cameras hacked, but I was like, ‘There’s no way that’s gonna happen to me,’” she states. “And it quite literally happened to me.”

Kahlen urges parents to immediately stop using Wi-Fi-based baby monitors altogether, saying, “There are so many gross predators out there hacking these every single day, and we have no idea.”

How Could This Have Happened?

According to a 2025 study by Bitsight, more than 40,000 internet-connected cameras around the world are currently exposed to the public web—meaning anyone can view them, no hacking required.

Of those, they estimated over 14,000 are based in the United States.

Moreover, Security.org explains that any device connected to the internet can be hacked if not properly secured. Home security cameras are especially vulnerable due to weak passwords, lack of two-factor authentication, and even company-wide data breaches.

It’s important to note this isn’t just hypothetical, and Kahlen isn’t the only one who says this happened to her.

The New York Times reported four other cases last year where families claimed their Ring cameras were compromised. Strangers were allegedly speaking to their kids through the devices.

BroBible reached out to Ring to find out if it’s aware of the issue or currently investigating any of these reports.

How To Stay Protected

If you’re going to use a home camera system, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says there are a few things you should keep in mind.

In an article on its official site, the FTC recommends doing research on a device’s built-in security features before buying it.

Look for cameras that use encryption to scramble your account details, live streams, and stored footage. If you already have one, the FTC says to check whether encryption is available and how to turn it on. To check that, visit the manufacturer’s website or read the product’s packaging.

Securing your home Wi-Fi is just as important. Most cameras rely on your router to stay connected. Therefore, the FTC urges people to double-check their network’s password strength, update the router software regularly, and make sure the firewall is turned on.

One of the biggest vulnerabilities, according to the FTC, is passwords. Many users don’t bother changing the camera’s default login. Or they reuse old passwords from other accounts. That makes it easier for hackers to gain access.

The FTC recommends setting up unique, strong passwords and enabling two-factor authentication whenever it’s available.

And if you’re planning to watch your feed remotely—or let someone else view it—the FTC says to think twice before enabling that feature. Remote viewing is convenient, but it also opens another vulnerability door.

That’s especially important, the agency notes, if your camera faces private spaces inside your home.

https://www.tiktok.com/@kahlenb_/video/7521484357421255991

Viewers Are Appalled

Viewers flooded the comments with advice, concern, and shared experiences.

“Listen America—these types of issues are for the FBI,” one user advised. “You should have called them. The police are for domestic and traffic only.”

“The WiFi is the problem,” warned another. “You need closed systems.”

Several shared similar incidents.

“My friend was dropping something off at my house one day while I wasn’t home, and someone started calling her name over the ring camera in my kitchen,” a commenter shared.

Kahlen also chimed in with follow-up details when one commenter suggested that Ring could track the IP address used to access the camera.

“We asked this—to Ring and the police,” she replied. “The police said Ring would tell them, but a week after the investigation ‘opened’ they said they couldn’t do anything because no laws were broken.”

She added that they handed over the Ring IP address themselves in hopes of getting peace of mind. But in the end, she says, “We got nothing from them.”

BroBible reached out to Ring via email and to Kahlen via TikTok direct message.

The post ‘Traumatizing’: Woman Warns Against Ring Cameras, Says Man Started Talking To Her Toddler In The Middle Of The Night appeared first on BroBible.