Good Dog

A Raspberry Pi, a Pi-compatible camera, and a mesh VPN are all you need to watch your pets from afar

- Bruce Hopkins

You have a pet, but you need to be away from home for a day. Is it really worth paying for a kennel when all you want is to keep an eye on your pet while you’re away? Of course, you could use a video door bell service (like Ring or Arlo) and simply locate the camera device inside your home, but it seems like overkill to pay for a monthly service for something that you only need occasionally. Also, for privacy reasons, some people might not want to invite a streaming video service into their home when they don’t have control over how the video is processed and stored.

On the other hand, if you have a Raspberry Pi, an Internet connection, and a Pi-compatible camera, it is actually pretty simple to set up your own remote access pet cam with a mesh VPN. Years ago, in order to get something like this to work, you’d need to open a port on your home router/ firewall and enable port forwarding in order to allow incoming connections. That’s a risky undertaking, because you’re opening the door for anyone who port scans your router to find an entrance to your home network. Thankfully, there are free services available that allow you to host your own VPN using your Internet connection at home.

Setting Up a Camera on Your Raspberry Pi