How To Delete Security Camera Footage: 5 Different Ways

How To Delete Security Camera Footage: 5 Different Ways

Most people may think it’s hard to delete security camera footage and would worry about continuous storage of videos when the DVR is full.

But if you know how to delete security camera footage, you can keep using your existing storage without the need to buy more space. This also ensures that your security system will work with high efficiency.

Additionally, deleting CCTV footage that you no longer need as an individual or one that no longer serves any business purpose, is ideal to ensure that good cybersecurity hygiene is maintained. In Singapore, organizations that fail to prevent the unauthorized disclosure of CCTV footage could face regulatory financial penalties. 

Is it possible to erase CCTV footage?

Absolutely! If you own the security system, you can do it regularly. Another option is to select ‘Set Automatic Option’ if you’re too busy to do the task by yourself. This option is available in No Subscription Cameras that let you record on free cloud storage or SD.

Bear in mind that you can’t get rid of an incriminating video that’s not taken from your own camera. The reason? The footage was captured on multiple devices and you can’t possibly get copies of every camera.

In deleting footage, regardless of storage type, you need access to the admin password found in the camera settings.

Can hacking delete surveillance recordings?

If you should have a break-in and the criminals take your camera, can they delete all the videos of their crime? Can anyone wipe sections of CCTV footage without you knowing?

Not a chance!

These days, the quality IP cameras from top CCTV camera brands are secured with SSL encryption to encrypt the video feed and surveillance footage, WPA2-AES encryption to secure users’ WiFi network, and SSL-TLS to provide data encryption and authentication when video feeds are sent across insecure networks.

Also Read: 7 Key Principles of Privacy by Design that Businesses should adopt

How to delete security camera footage?

There are 5 ways to delete security camera footage.

Method 1, SD card: How to delete security camera footage from SD card

If you’re using an external SD card to record videos of a security camera, you can easily delete camera footage. But first, you need to check the timestamp and length of recording.

If you want to delete only selected clips, take out the SD card from the camera and delete those unwanted recordings via a card reader on your computer.

Take Reolink cameras as an example. To format and delete CCTV history, you only need to:

• Find the Micro SD card info and click the Format button to delete all the recording files from SD card.
• You need to delete specific videos on SD card, just bring out the SD card from the camera, then bring card reader to see recorded videos on computer and delete what you want.

Method 2, DVR/NVR: How to delete security camera footage from DVR/NVR

Step 1. Connect your DVR/NVR to a monitor.

Step 2. Log in to the DVR/NVR and go to its Device Settings.

Step 3. Find the disk management option, and then you can format the hard disk drive to delete all your camera’s video history and snapshots.

Method 3, PC: How to delete security camera footage from PC

Some may prefer to record IP cameras straight from their computer or laptop than a dedicated DVR/NVR. If this is true for you, follow the steps below to clear CCTV footage:

Step 1. Connect security cameras to PC.

Step 2. Find the file on PC according to its storage path.

Step 3. Select and delete specific recordings.

Method 4, individual clips: How to delete individual clips

Unfortunately, there is no way to delete or manage individual files within a certain time range stored in the NVR, DVR or PC HDD.

Method 5, cloud storage: How to delete security camera footage from cloud storage

Using cloud storage for recorded files keeps your data secure and easy to find. This also makes it easier for you to see, fast forward, rewind, delete or download the recorded videos of your IP camera easily.

Once you login to your account and access the cloud storage, you can delete the videos you want.

1. Open the cloud storage app.
2. Go to the recording page to see recorded videos of your IP security camera.
3. Choose the videos you want to delete, then click on the delete icon.

Different types of Cloud storage have different systems and apps. The good news is that you can easily contact the system support to help you.

How long does footage stay on security cameras?

The answer depends on the storage space, camera’s resolution, compression, bit rate and the number of cameras, as the formula requires:

Recording Days = Storage Space (GB) * 10242 * 8/ Bitrate (kb/s) * 3600 * 24 * Cameras

Can you recover CCTV footage?

Yes, you can! Even if any video is deleted, it does not get erased permanently and the video data still remains on the hard drive unless overwritten. There are companies who can recover formatted, deleted and overwritten data on hard drives. You may search online for hard drive recovery services. The cost for recovering your files depends on the data loss situation, the damage of your CCTV/DVR footage, and the CCTV/DVR storage drive’s data storage capacity and condition.

Also Read: 3 Easy Ways for Hard Disk Recycling Protecting Businesses

Speaking of data

At Privacy Ninja, we take data privacy seriously. It is our mission to empower both individuals and organizations with accurate knowledge of their rights and obligations concerning data privacy laws. If your organization manages CCTV footage from your business premises, make sure to work with your trusted Data Protection Officer to review guidelines on your CCT footage management.

You see, there’s more to data privacy than meets the eye. Check out our service offerings and let us know how we can help you find the perfect service for your objectives.

Watch this to learn more: Outsourced Data Protection Officer Service (DPO-As-A-Service)