Eufy Paid Users $2 Per Video of Staged Thefts to Train AI Security Cameras
The Chinese company Anker, maker of Eufy security cameras, launched an unusual campaign in late 2024: it offered users cash in exchange for video recordings of package thefts and attempted car break-ins. As reported by TechCrunch, the initiative was designed to enhance algorithms for detecting suspicious activity.
From December 2024 through February 2025, the company paid $2 per submitted video. On Eufy’s official campaign page, it was specified that both genuine and staged scenes were acceptable. Users were even encouraged to “act out thefts” for profit. For instance, filming a simulated attempt to open a car door could yield up to $80.
Eufy emphasized that all collected footage would be used exclusively to train artificial intelligence algorithms and would not be shared with third parties. The company further argued that staged scenarios helped its systems learn to distinguish authentic incidents from fabricated ones.
Participants were required to upload their clips via Google Forms and provide a PayPal account to receive payment. According to TechCrunch, more than 120 people reported joining the program through the campaign page. The goal was to gather 20,000 videos in two categories: package thefts and “car door jiggling.”
When pressed by journalists on how many submissions were ultimately collected, how much was paid out, and whether the data had been deleted after training, the company declined to answer.
Nevertheless, Eufy continues to pursue similar initiatives. Within its app, the Video Donation Program allows users to contribute recordings in exchange for rewards ranging from virtual “medals” and placement on a “wall of honor” to gifts such as cameras and vouchers. According to the app’s leaderboard, the top contributor has already submitted over 201,000 videos.
In a separate campaign, the company has also invited users to share footage captured by baby monitors. Unlike the earlier initiative, this program is framed as a voluntary “donation” without monetary incentives, according to instructions on Anker’s website.
Yet doubts remain over the company’s privacy practices. In 2023, The Verge revealed that Eufy’s supposedly end-to-end encrypted video streams could, in fact, be accessed unencrypted via a web portal. After the report, Anker admitted the flaw and pledged to correct it.
The broader context suggests that companies are actively experimenting with new methods of “buying” user data to train AI models. But experts warn that alongside potential benefits, such schemes carry significant risks for both security and privacy — as underscored by the recent case of the Neon app, which paid users for recorded phone calls but suffered a severe leak that left sensitive data publicly exposed.
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