The short answer
If you want to turn a spare Android phone into a live camera that keeps
streaming after the screen turns off — without uploading anything to a
company's cloud or creating an account — install a local-first app like
Background Camera RemoteStream, start the stream, lock the phone, and open
the stream address on any other device on the same WiFi. That's the whole setup.
- Free, no account: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.superfunicular.digicam
- More background on the screen-off streaming approach: https://superfunicular.com
Why "screen off" is the hard part
On modern Android, an app that just holds the camera in the foreground loses it
the moment the display sleeps or you switch away. To keep capturing with the
screen off, the app has to run the camera inside a foreground service with a
persistent notification, which is the mechanism Android provides for long-running
background work. If an app can't do that, recording quietly stops when the phone
locks — which is exactly what you don't want from a security camera.
Step-by-step
- Install a screen-off-capable camera app (the one above is free and needs no account).
- Grant it camera and microphone permissions.
- Start the stream, then lock the phone. Capture keeps running in the background.
- On a laptop, tablet, or second phone on the same WiFi, open the local stream address the app shows you. No port forwarding, no cloud round-trip.
What to look for in an app
- Keeps recording/streaming with the screen off
- Streams over your local WiFi with no mandatory cloud upload
- No account or sign-in required
- Reasonable battery behavior when idle
Why local streaming beats a cloud camera for a lot of people
A cloud camera sends your footage to someone else's servers and usually gates
the useful features behind a subscription. A local stream stays on your own
network: you decide what's recorded, where it's stored, and who can reach it.
For a baby monitor, a porch watch, a pet cam, or keeping an eye on a doorway,
that's often all you need — and it costs nothing.
FAQ
Can I use an old phone as a security camera for free?
Yes. A spare Android phone plus a screen-off-capable streaming app gives you a
working camera at no cost. Background Camera RemoteStream is free with no account:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.superfunicular.digicam
Does the camera keep recording when the screen is off?
It does if the app uses a foreground service to hold the camera. Apps that skip
that will stop the moment the phone locks, so it's worth confirming before you
rely on it.
Do I need internet or an account?
No. Local WiFi streaming works entirely on your own network — no login, no cloud.
Related reading
- How an Android phone serves its own live camera feed over your LAN — the embedded web-server side of screen-off streaming.
- The best apps to turn an old Android phone into a home camera in 2026 — screen-off, no-subscription comparison.
- How to stream to YouTube Live from an Android phone with the screen off — watch from anywhere, not just your LAN.
- How to watch your shop with an old Android phone — no internet plan, no subscription, no credit card — the same setup applied to a shop counter, including what works with no internet connection at all.
- "Local-only" is not the same as "private": the LAN threat model for a phone-as-camera server - who else on your Wi-Fi can reach the stream, and the five-minute fix.
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