Should you use a security camera as a cheap baby monitor UK?

What did Which? say a security camera is missing?

In January 2026 Which? published a news piece on using a wireless indoor camera as a baby monitor. The test notes are about job fit, not a medical or product-safety recall. Five design points sit on that page:

The Lullaby Trust’s position is separate: there is no research showing monitors prevent SIDS, and a monitor cannot replace an adult in the room for the first six months. That sentence applies to dedicated monitors and to indoor cameras alike.

What do you drop if the camera is about £20?

Which? put the temptation in cash terms: its cheapest Best Buy smart baby monitor cost more than £100; indoor-camera Best Buys started at about £20, and the camera can be reused as house security later. The £80 gap is the parent unit, the cot-focused lens, the temperature readout and the sound lights — the items in the table above.

A cheap audio baby monitor is the other comparison. Which? has had audio Best Buys under £30 (its features article says under £30; the later camera piece says audio Best Buys from around £30). That is still a dedicated parent unit with lights, and no app.

• Who holds the display: on a camera, it is your phone. A call, a flat battery or a Do-Not-Disturb setting is the “parent unit” going dark.
• Where the sound is: an app notification is not the same as a speaker that stays on in the kitchen.
• What the sensor reports: a camera motion alert is built to flag an adult in a hallway. A baby rolling under a sheet is a different target.

How do you compare a camera listing with a baby monitor?

If a marketplace title says “baby monitor / IP camera”, score it against the three Which? gaps that cost almost nothing to check: parent unit, temperature, sound lights.

1. 1
   Find the parent unit — or admit there isn’t one A dedicated baby monitor ships a second box you carry. If the only screen is “see it in the app”, you are buying a camera. Which? treats the parent unit as the primary device for watching sleep.
2. 2
   Search the spec for temperature Look for a nursery °C reading and an alert band. Indoor cameras sold for security rarely include one. A separate room thermometer is the Lullaby Trust’s usual tool for 16–20°C guidance — that is not the same as a camera app.
3. 3
   Search for sound-sensitive lights Lights let you mute the speaker and still see a cry climb the bar. Apps use banners and badges. Those vanish if the phone is face-down or in another room.
4. 4
   Read the NCSC camera steps if it is on Wi-Fi The National Cyber Security Centre’s smart-camera guidance (which names baby monitors in the same class) is: change any default password, keep firmware updated, and switch off remote internet viewing if you do not need it. That is account hygiene, not a product-safety certificate.

Why do some cheap cameras include a siren?

Which? used a named indoor camera from its test batch that included a remote siren. The point on that page is product purpose: a siren is built to scare an intruder, not to sit over a cot. Two-way talk on a camera can still be useful; a siren trigger in the same app is a control to keep away from night-time shortcuts.

The wide-angle lens is the quieter mismatch. A hallway camera is framed to see a door. A baby-monitor camera is framed to fill the screen with a cot. You can mount either so the cot is in shot; the sensor and the parent unit still differ.

Does a feature gap equal a recall or official listing?

No. A missing temperature chip or parent unit is not a GOV.UK recall and not a Lullaby Trust ban. Official records on recalls are a different check: model code on GOV.UK Product Safety Alerts. “Not found” on that list is not an all-clear for any camera or monitor.

If you still use an indoor camera because it is already on the wall, the practical losses are the ones Which? measured: no clip-on parent unit, no sound lights, no built-in nursery thermometer, and a lens designed for a room, not a cot. Pair that with the NHS / Lullaby Trust rule that the baby sleeps in your room for the first six months — a camera in another room does not replace that.

In shortIn short: Which? priced the shortcut at about £20 for an indoor-camera Best Buy versus over £100 for its cheapest Best Buy smart monitor, and listed the missing kit — parent unit, temperature sensor, sound lights. That is a features gap. It is not a product-safety or recall verdict. Dedicated audio Best Buys under about £30 still include a parent unit if the only job is hearing a cry.