AITA for asking my cousin to shut off his cameras?

A Reddit user recently visited their cousin’s home and felt uncomfortable due to the extensive surveillance technology in place, including 360 cameras and smart devices like Echoes that respond to voice commands.

After a neighbor experienced a home invasion, the cousin’s wife installed these devices, but the user felt under constant surveillance. During the visit, the user asked their cousin to turn off the cameras, expressing anxiety about being recorded, but the cousin refused and implied that only criminals would feel uncomfortable in such an environment.

The user’s concerns led to a confrontation, resulting in their early departure. Following the visit, the user’s family discussed the situation and criticized them for being paranoid, leaving the user feeling isolated and embarrassed. They are now questioning whether their request was unreasonable and if they overreacted. Read the original story below…

‘ AITA for asking my cousin to shut off his cameras?’

Hello all. I went to visit my cousin this weekend and I felt very uncomfortable with their use of in home tech. It makes me feel like I’m under surveillance the whole time. I guess their neighbor’s house had a home i**asion and my cousin wife took things too far.

I asked them about it and they have 360 cameras outside but also the these those echo’s that turn on lights and stuff. Even the young children would vocally ask lights to be tuned on in a room instead of flipping a switch.

I’m a simple person and when his wife asked if we needed anything from a camera it freaked me out and I asked my cousin if he could turn them off while I was there. He said no. I felt really uncomfortable when I found out it’s possible people could be listening to our conversation and brought it up to my dad and grandpa about it.

I tried saying something about it again to my cousin about me being uncomfortable and he told me that only criminals feel uncomfortable and if someone asks for cameras to be shut off there’s a reason. I told him I have an anxiety about these things.

My cousin told me he has anxiety about his wife and kids and I wouldn’t understand since I live with my parents. I left after that and my dad called me later say the whole family thought I was a paranoid weirdo after I left and trashed talked about me. My dad said he hopes I’m happy because I will probably never be invited over again.

When my dad got home we had a fight over my embarrassing behavior. He asked me to try to act like a normal person in other people’s houses and then he yelled at my mom for enabling me.

Here’s how people reacted to the post:

sour_lemons −  NAH. You’re not an a**hole for asking and they’re not an a**hole for rejecting your request. You don’t feel comfortable from the cameras and they don’t feel comfortable without them. Ultimately it’s their home so they’re allowed to do what they want with it, and since you’re uncomfortable with the cameras simply do not go over to their house anymore.

Derwin0 −  You can ask, but since it’s their home they can say no. A home i**asion next door is a valid reason to have cameras, especially when they have young children, so I wouldn’t say they took it too far.

WlLDHAWG −  You gotta get over it. As bad as it is you’re already video recorded everywhere you go and gps pinpoint tracked on top of that. If you carry a phone your paranoia is unwarranted.

Good-Statement-9658 −  So is it the outdoor security cameras you have an issue with, or is it the home automation you take issue with? Because they are 2 pretty distinctly different things. An echo dot isn’t watching you. And security cameras outside only see you as you approach the house.

And I’m sorry to tell you, but you’re on camera pretty much everywhere you go in 2024. Facial recognition software is being used in more and more places and decades before that, CCTV could generally track someone’s trip around an entire town or city, without much interruption.

Either you say, YTA. It’s their house and they’ve got security so that they feel comfortable in it. If you don’t like it, go sleep in a hotel (but beware, they also have cameras on you in all public areas 😂)

Strange-Ask-739 −  YTA. We’re at the point where any time you’re in public, you’re being video’d. It sounds like your cousin is video-ing outside, in public. So, you’re upset at the world, and taking it out on your cousin. You’re ignorant of ALL THE OTHER TIMES you’re recorded, and feeling “under surveillance” because it’s someone you know instead of “strangers”.

100%, you are in the wrong here. Your dad probably went a bit overboard, but yes you’re being weird. Like, tinfoil hat weird. Chemtrails weird. Lives-in-the-woods-alone weird. Everyone has a camera on their phone, and if Facebook isn’t using your mic to record you, Google and apple are, or the NSA is. The list is endless, but good news we’re all very boring and no one wants to watch us.

Frequent-Spell8907 −  They have the right to have cameras and you have the right not to visit them. You don’t have the right to ask them to change the things that make them feel safer in their home.

hexadecimal- −  For asking once? No. For trying to get others on board with making him turn something off in his own house, and when that failed going at him again, YTA. He is not wrong.

Generally, when someone is that anxious about home security, there’s a reason I don’t agree that it’s always criminal. It’s not your house, and it’s his right to protect his house and family in a way that makes him feel safe(within the boundaries of the law).

One-Pudding9667 −  YTA. don’t go there if it bothers you.

keesouth −  Not an AH for your feelings. It sounds like you don’t really know how all that tech works because asking for lights to be turned on doesn’t involve cameras. YTA for asking your cousin to turn them off. That’s just presumptuous. You have no right to ask someone to turn off their security measures for your comfort.

Was the user justified in asking their cousin to turn off the cameras, or did they overstep by trying to impose their comfort level on others? How would you navigate such a situation? Share your thoughts below!