Consumer Reports Investigation Finds Video Doorbells Sold on Amazon, Walmart, Temu, and Other Digital Marketplaces Have Serious Security Flaws

WASHINGTON, DC – A new Consumer Reports investigation uncovered troubling security vulnerabilities of video doorbells sold on digital marketplaces such as Amazon, Walmart, Temu, Sears, and Shein. 

As part of CR’s routine ratings assessment, CR examined Eken and Tuck video doorbells that appeared to be the same product under different brand names. A deeper look by CR researchers revealed security vulnerabilities. CR also found that these two products and at least 10 more seemingly identical video doorbells are being sold under a range of brand names on various digital marketplaces. They are all manufactured by a single company called Eken Group Ltd., which is based in Shenzhen, China, and controlled through a single mobile app called Aiwit, which Eken also operates. 

A snapshot of the security issues with the video doorbells are below: 

• Exposure of a user’s home IP addresses and WiFi network names to the internet without encryption, potentially opening a user’s home network to malicious activity.
• Ability of potential bad actors to take over the device by downloading the Aiwit smartphone app and entering the doorbell into pairing mode, which allows a malicious actor to take ownership of the device, view footage, and lock out the owner of the device.
• Remote access to still images from the video feed and other information without authentication, by acquiring the serial number of the doorbell.
• Lack of a registration code that must be visible on this class of product, under Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations.

Eken, Tuck, and the other brands are not prominent names in the video doorbell market, but they are relatively strong sellers online. The doorbells appeared in multiple listings on Amazon—we found eight for the Eken video doorbell and three for the Tuck version of the product. Those listings generated more than 4,200 sales in January 2024 alone.  Over the past few months, Eken and Tuck video doorbells have often carried badges saying “Amazon’s Choice: Overall Pick”. The badges appeared even after CR alerted Amazon to the security problems.

Justin Brookman, director of tech policy at Consumer Reports, said “These video doorbells from little known manufacturers have serious security and privacy vulnerabilities, and now they’ve found their way onto major digital marketplaces such as Amazon and Walmart. Both the manufacturers and platforms that sell the doorbells have a responsibility to ensure that these products are not putting consumers in harm’s way. 

“Major e-commerce platforms like Amazon and Walmart need to do a better job of vetting sellers and products sold on their platforms, so consumers are not put at risk. It’s become clear that we need new rules to hold online retailers more accountable.” 

Eken Group didn’t respond to CR’s questions about its video doorbells. CR also reached out to retailers Amazon, Walmart, Sears, Shein, and Temu about our findings.

Temu said in an emailed statement that it was reviewing CR’s findings and had removed from its website all video doorbells using the Aiwit app and made by Eken—but similar-looking if not identical doorbells remained on the site. Walmart told CR via email that it expects the products sold in its marketplace “to be safe, reliable and compliant with our standards and all legal requirements. Items that are identified to not meet these standards or requirements will be promptly removed from the website and remain blocked.” But as of mid-February, you could still buy the video doorbells on Walmart.com. Amazon, Sears, and Shein didn’t respond to questions from CR journalists.

CR is asking the FTC to stop the online sale of these doorbell cameras and calling on online retailers to take steps to guarantee the quality of the products they sell, just as physical supermarkets or department stores would. Amazon, Walmart and other online retailers should respond forcefully when problems are discovered—including by contacting customers who bought items that turn out to be harmful.  

CR also sent a letter to the FTC, Federal Communications Commission, and the California attorney general’s office, alerting them to the security vulnerabilities associated with these doorbells.  

Previously, regulators have asserted that thousands of unsafe products including potentially dangerous children’s sleepwear, carbon monoxide detectors, and dietary supplements have been widely available on Amazon.