Is there an open source solution that lets you record from your phone to an offsite location? Preferably something self hosted, but not crucial I guess.
Just thinking about scenarios where people in the US are stopped by cops and need to record their interactions, but want to make sure that the local info isn’t destroyed. I’ve tried the Mobile Justice app for my state but it’s not very reliable and I have no insight into the data after it’s left my device.
FYI, the ACLU mobile justice app shut down at the end of February.
https://www.aclu.org/mobilejustice
To ensure compliance with a growing number of consumer privacy laws and the ACLU’s own privacy policies and to minimize risk with surveillance technologies currently used by law enforcement, the national office has made the decision not to renew our contract with Quadrant 2, the vendor behind Mobile Justice, and shut down the app on February 28, 2025.
Bruh
Stream live to YouTube?
Not open source but it lets you record from your phone to an offsite location.
If I had to bet, this is probably going to be the best answer. Dependable uploading, no vpn or homelabing, and replicated storage.
VLC over a VPN?
That can record from your phone’s camera and immediately stream it back home over vpn? If so perfect
You could use something like DroidCam to make your phone available as a web cam on your pc, then capture it with OBS or similar. Use a vpn to keep the devices on the same network.
You’d either have to leave the pc recording all the time or use remote desktop to start the recording.
Another option is to look at software to turn your pc into an NVR and find an app that essentially lets you use your phone like an IP Security Camera. Again, using a VPN to keep them in the same network.
I have the nvr setup with Synology and the vpn is there too, automated to connect when my phone leaves the wifi. This might be an option, but I’m on iOS so there’s limitations there.
Not the best answer because it’s not open source, but both Google Photos and Apple iCloud support automatic cloud backups of photos and videos over data. That media can also be accessed separately from a browser or another device after logging in.
Those are the only immediate solutions for the problem you describe that I can think of off the top of my head, I’m afraid, but hopefully other options are out there, too.
Neither of those can stream video in real time AFAIK. They will back up the video file on some unpredictable schedule after you’re done recording. So not ideal for a situation where your phone might be seized or destroyed.
But if that works for you, there are lots of open-source options that work similarly. SyncThing can sync to any server, and all you’d need to do is make sure your sync destination is network-accessible somehow (VPN, internet-facing server, whatever). Lots of cloud drive apps can auto-upload photos and videos, and some of those are open-source.
A better off-the-shelf proprietary workflow might be a Zoom call with cloud recording enabled. Then you’d be protected against a sudden (and perhaps permanent) loss of network connectivity.
Good recommendations, I hadn’t even considered Zoom and we use it all the time for work.
Pretty sure both of those are not instant unloads and have to be actively opened to force uploads outside of some normal schedule. If that’s true, that won’t work here.
