It depends on how you feel about tracking: M=Camera declares data used to track you. None of it falls in Apple's most sensitive categories (health, financial, location, contacts or your own content). In total the label lists 2 data types; 40% of security camera apps we checked declare tracking.
M=Camera privacy in one look
- 1Collects nothing
- 2Not linked
- 3Linked
- 4Tracks you
Built only from the developer's App Store label. It describes disclosure, not tested behaviour.
M=Camera's developer reports using identifiers to track you across other companies' apps and websites.
Did M=Camera ask for something?
Pick the permission prompt you saw. We compare it with what M=Camera's developer declared.
Location is not on M=Camera's label. That can be fine: data used only on your iPhone does not have to be declared. If the data would need to leave the phone for the feature to work, ask why it is missing.
User Content is not on M=Camera's label. That can be fine: data used only on your iPhone does not have to be declared. If the data would need to leave the phone for the feature to work, ask why it is missing.
Contacts is not on M=Camera's label. That can be fine: data used only on your iPhone does not have to be declared. If the data would need to leave the phone for the feature to work, ask why it is missing.
M=Camera declares data used to track you, so expect the “Allow to track?” prompt. Tap Ask App Not to Track; the app must keep working without it.
Health & Fitness is not on M=Camera's label. That can be fine: data used only on your iPhone does not have to be declared. If the data would need to leave the phone for the feature to work, ask why it is missing.
A permission is what the app can reach on your iPhone; the label is what the developer says leaves it. They answer different questions.
What M=Camera collects, explained
| Data type | What it covers | Where to limit it |
|---|---|---|
| IdentifiersUsed to track youLinked to you | An account ID, screen name, customer number or a device-level ID such as the advertising identifier. | Settings › Privacy & Security › Tracking: turn off Allow Apps to Request to Track, or tap Ask App Not to Track when prompted. |
| Usage DataNot linked to you | What you tap, open and view inside the app, plus which ads you have seen. | There is no single iOS switch. Look for an analytics or personalised-ads toggle in the app's own settings. |
What M=Camera's label means for you
M=Camera's label has 1 type under “Data Used to Track You”, 1 type under “Data Linked to You”, 1 type under “Data Not Linked to You”. A data type can appear in more than one section when it is used for different purposes — for example, identifiers used for both analytics and advertising.
Tracking is the declaration that most separates apps. It means identifiers from M=Camera can be combined with data from other companies to target or measure ads, or shared with data brokers. On iOS 14.5 and later, the app must ask your permission before tracking you through the advertising identifier; answering “Ask App Not to Track” blocks that identifier and tells the developer you have declined.
None of the data types fall into the categories most people consider sensitive: health, financial information, precise location, contacts, browsing history or the content you create.
Security camera apps stream video from inside and around your home. Cloud recording, sharing with household members and law-enforcement request policies all matter. Turn on two-factor authentication for the camera account and review who has shared access.
Among the 164 security camera apps in our snapshot with a label, 40% declare tracking, 66% collect data linked to you and 17% say they collect nothing. M=Camera lists 2 data types, fewer than the average of 3.1 for this group.
Photo and video apps usually request access to your photo library. iOS lets you share only selected photos, which keeps the rest of the library — and its location metadata — away from the app.
Settings to check for M=Camera
- 1
Tracking
Settings › Privacy & Security › Tracking. If “Allow Apps to Request to Track” is off, apps cannot ask, and they are told to treat you as having declined. You can also turn it off for this app alone.
- 2
Photos
Settings › Privacy & Security › Photos. Limited Access lets you pick exactly which pictures the app can see; Add Photos Only lets it save without reading your library.
- 3
Microphone & camera
Settings › Privacy & Security › Microphone and Camera. The orange and green dots in the status bar show when either is in use.
- 4
Lock the app
On iOS 18 and later, touch and hold the icon and choose Require Face ID. Anyone who picks up your unlocked phone then needs your face, fingerprint or passcode to open it.
- 5
Notifications
Settings › Notifications › M=Camera › Show Previews: When Unlocked keeps message and account details off the Lock Screen.
Does M=Camera track you?
Identifiers. Apple defines tracking as linking data from this app with data from other companies' apps, websites or offline sources for targeted advertising or ad measurement, or sharing it with a data broker.
Lock M=Camera behind Face ID
- Find M=Camera on your Home Screen or in App Library.
- Touch and hold the icon until the quick-actions menu opens.
- Tap Require Face ID (or Require Touch ID / Require Passcode, depending on your iPhone).
- Tap Require Face ID again to confirm. M=Camera now asks for authentication every time it opens.
The lock is an iPhone feature, so it works whether or not M=Camera has a passcode of its own. It does not change what the app sends to its developer.
About M=Camera
| Developer | KANAME OHARA |
| App Store category | Photo & Video (also Utilities) |
| Latest version | 2.1.0, released October 2026 |
| First released | October 2019 |
| Requires | iOS 17.0 or later |
| Size | 27 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ |
| Languages | 2 (EN, JA) |
| Bundle ID | com.kaname.surya.ios.manualcamera |
The current version shipped in October 2026, so the app is actively maintained and its label is likely current. Labels are updated by developers when practices change.
Also by KANAME OHARA: The Simple Camera.
What the label cannot tell you
- A label is self-reported. Apple publishes the developer's answers and can reject apps that misrepresent them, but it does not independently verify what M=Camera sends.
- It does not say where data is stored, how long it is kept, whether it is encrypted, or which companies receive it. The privacy policy covers those points.
- Optional data counts: if a feature lets you add something (a profile photo, a phone number), the type is listed even if you never use the feature.
- Data handled only on your iPhone is not 'collected', so a no-collection label is compatible with an app that reads your files locally.
- Third-party sign-in, payment processors and SDKs are supposed to be included, but a label can lag behind a new version.
The question to ask M=Camera's developer: Who can view my camera footage, and is it end-to-end encrypted?
M=Camera vs similar security camera apps
- ehome link
- M=Camera (this app)
- CamHubs
- Kassa Security
- 1 Hidden Camera Detector
- Local Cam
- Phonitor
- My Watchman Cam
Fewer types is not automatically safer: a cloud backup app has to collect your files to work. Compare like with like.
Look up any of our apps in seconds, or put two labels side by side.
Apps similar to M=Camera
All security camera apps → Who tracks you? A–Z → Apps that collect identifiers → Privacy label decoder →
Your M=Camera privacy checklist
Done. You have applied every control the label points to.
True or false?
- Right.Not quite.
True: it lists identifiers under Data Used to Track You.
- Right.Not quite.
Labels are self-reported by developers. Apple can reject or remove apps that misrepresent practices, but it does not audit each label.
- Right.Not quite.
True: Identifiers appears on its label.
- Right.Not quite.
It is collected and sent; the developer says it is de-identified rather than tied to your account or device.
- Right.Not quite.
Apple's rules require apps to work the same whether or not you allow tracking.