How long does a baby monitor get security updates under PSTI in the UK?

What does PSTI require for a baby monitor?

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) lists baby monitors among consumer smart devices covered from 29 April 2024. The law is Part 1 of the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022 plus the 2023 Regulations. It applies to products that connect to the internet or to a home network (for example by Wi-Fi). A DECT audio set that never joins Wi-Fi is a different product class and is not the subject of the published-update duty.

NCSC notes that most smart devices are made outside the UK, but the Act also applies to organisations importing or retailing products for the UK market. Failure to comply is a criminal offence, with fines up to £10 million or 4% of qualifying worldwide revenue, whichever is higher.

How do I find the published security-update end date?

The Regulations define a defined support period as the minimum length of time, expressed as a period of time with an end date, for which security updates will be provided. A security update is software that protects or enhances security, including fixes for issues the maker has found or been told about. The information must be available without you asking, in English, free of charge, and understandable without prior technical knowledge.

1. 1
   Read the shopping listing before you buy On the maker's own UK site, the support end date should sit alongside the invitation to purchase — not only in a buried PDF. Retailers also have duties when they make a connectable product available in the UK.
2. 2
   Ask for the statement of compliance A statement of compliance must accompany the product (it may be a paper sheet or a digital document). It should name the defined support period. Importers and distributors must not make the product available without that statement.
3. 3
   Search the brand support page by model code Copy the model from the camera label, not the marketing name. Look for 'security updates', 'support period' or 'PSTI'. If the page only says 'we provide updates' with no end date, that is not the published period the Regulations describe.
4. 4
   Write the date in your phone calendar NCSC treats the support date as a use-by for updates: when they stop, devices are easier to hack or may stop working as designed. A published date is a legal disclosure, not a laboratory test of your unit.

Does the law set a minimum number of years of updates?

No. PSTI forces publication of a period with an end date. It does not write a statutory minimum such as three or five years into the 2023 Regulations. Two listings can both comply and still differ by years. Compare dates the same way you compare battery claims — as a published figure, not as a quality score from MayTally.

• The date can be extended. If the maker lengthens the period, the new defined support period must be published as soon as practicable.
• The date must not be shortened after the first publication. Cutting a published period fails the security requirement in Schedule 1 paragraph 3.
• Hardware that cannot receive updates is outside that paragraph. The support-period duty applies to hardware and software that are capable of receiving security updates, including the companion app the product needs for its intended purpose (with a narrow exception for cellular smartphones and tablets).
• Second-hand and pre-2024 stock may have been supplied before the regime began. No published date on an older box is not an all-clear and is not a recall. Search the model on the maker's site and on the GOV.UK recall list.

What does an unsupported baby-monitor app look like in practice?

Which? used the Liv Cam (sold by Summer Infant until early 2020, still seen on second-hand marketplaces) as an abandoned-app example. Which? recorded that the app was last updated in September 2016. Researchers retrieved the camera password and opened the video and audio feed. The product used an open Wi-Fi network, so a neighbour could join it. Which? did not contact the brand for comment because the device was already outside its official support window.

That write-up is an unsupported-app case study, not a verdict on any other model and not a finding that a listed PSTI date makes a monitor fine to buy. Changing a default password is still useful; PSTI exists because a password change alone does not replace a published update window.

NCSC's consumer steps sit beside the legal duties: change any default password (three random words), turn on two-step verification if the app offers it, apply updates when prompted, and turn on automatic updates if they exist. Those steps do not extend a support period that has already ended.

What if I already own a monitor and cannot find a date?

Email the UK support address with the model code and serial. Ask for the defined support period in writing. If the brand cannot name an end date, treat the unit as having no published period on file — the same logic as checking a used monitor for a recall: not found is not an all-clear.

If the app store listing shows years without an update, or the maker has left the UK market, NCSC's buying guidance is to avoid devices that are no longer supported or whose support ends soon. That is a purchasing filter, not a bedroom-safety certificate. If you stop using the camera, factory-reset it before you sell or recycle it.

Does a support date change how my baby should sleep?

No. The Lullaby Trust's position is that a monitor is not a substitute for a parent or carer. Stay in the same room as your baby for the first six months, day or night, and follow safer-sleep advice: back to sleep, clear flat firm surface. A long PSTI date does not replace that. If your baby was born early or has a medical condition, ask the clinical team what monitoring, if any, they want you to use.

In shortIn short: PSTI makes the update end date a published fact you can read before you buy. Compare that date, keep the app updated while it lasts, and do not treat a missing or expired date as proof the hardware is fine. A monitor still does not replace a parent or carer in the room.