A user on TikTok recently came out to warn people about Ring doorbell cameras. Doorbell technology has grown in popularity among homeowners since its introduction in 2014. Its camera activates once a person is near your door and connects to your phone to show and inform you of their presence.
Ring doorbells can make a big difference in safety, but it seems the technology can also cause some trouble.
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The doorbell captured a worrying image
User @tidymoose on TikTok, Ivanka, came onto the platform to share her experience with her Ring doorbell, “If you’re someone who owns a Ring doorbell camera, you might want to pay attention.”
“Heck, if you’ve ever stood in front of a Ring doorbell camera, you’re gonna want to pay attention,” She added.
She came across the issue unexpectedly
The woman shared that she had just come home from a football match and accidentally triggered her doorbell camera as she was standing on the porch.
The Ring doorbell app automatically sends images of whoever is outside your door, so when she opened her phone to see the image, it was an unexpected one.
Ivanka was shocked by the captured image
“Oh, my god, I almost passed out. I was standing there half naked. If you’re thinking, ‘Why would you be out half naked?’ I was not. I was wearing pants […] but on the ring doorbell camera, these were completely see-through, and I looked like I was standing there completely nude,” she shared.
The woman also shared the image
After explaining the horror, Ivanka shared a screenshot showing her with bare legs. She also claimed that she had tested the device further and found that the same thing had happened again.
She was wearing leggings made of polyester during the experiment.
Ivanka guessed that polyester might be the problem
The TikTok user shared that she was wearing leggings made of 100% polyester and speculated it might be the fabric material being somehow see-through for the camera.
She made this guess based on the fact that only her bottom half seemed bare, and she was grateful to have been wearing a long shirt that day.
People in the comments were now worried
The idea that popular doorbell cameras could see through clothes was a worrying one. One person in the comments said, “I’m a courier and all I wear are activewear pants. Dear God.”
Another shared that they always go for runs in leggings and wondered how often they accidentally got caught on neighboring cameras.
Others looked for an explanation
Most comments under the video claimed that the camera was infrared and thus could see through some clothing materials. One commenter claimed, “Some infrared cameras can see through certain plastics.”
Another user claimed, “That’s just how infrared works.”
But this isn’t entirely true
The idea is horrifying, but Ring doorbell cameras are infrared and do not see through clothes.
Polyester is opaque for infrared cameras because the fabric molecules are light absorbent, according to MIT Technology Review. So polyester is not necessarily see-through for infrared cameras.
Polyester fibers aren’t entirely see-through
Not only are the polyester fabric molecules light absorbent, but the fibers are almost the same size as the wavelength of infrared light; this means polyester scatters and reflects infrared light instead of letting it through.
So essentially, it’s most likely not the polyester.
But infrared can see through other things
According to InfiRay, isolated and thick clothes like jeans and sweaters are not see-through for infrared cameras. However, they can sometimes see beyond thin materials and semi-transparent fabrics like silk.
So, at least infrared light doesn’t pass through most fabrics we wear.
