Webcam privacy and ethics -- why only public, owner-published cams
Only cameras their owners publish for public viewing; never unsecured or private cameras.
Ocean
The rule this app follows for cameras: we only list cameras that their owner deliberately publishes for anyone to watch -- a venue's own YouTube stream, a tourism webcam portal, a hotel's page, a government agency (NOAA, JMA, the Bangkok city traffic portal) or the Windy webcam directory where owners submit their own cams.
Limits.
We check a camera's public status when it is added (see backend/docs/WEBCAMS.md); if you spot a camera that looks private, tell us and it is removed.
An owner can stop publishing any time; the cam then shows as offline.
How to read it
Never included: "unsecured camera" directories (Insecam and similar), cameras found through device search engines (e.g. Shodan), default-password IP cameras, or anything reached by getting around a login or a block. Being reachable on the internet is not the same as being published.
Provider rules are followed: if a provider forbids copying frames (SkylineWebcams) or locks its player to its own site, we only link to its page. Still images are shown directly only for open-licence sources (NOAA public domain, JMA open data licence), with credit.
Our availability check is light (one small request per camera per 30-60 min) and identifies itself; we do not record or store any video.
Street cams show public places and people passing by. Watch conditions, not people.
Why it matters for Koh Samui
You get the "see it with your own eyes" check you need before a ferry or during heavy rain, without taking part in anyone's loss of privacy.