Smart Locks With a Camera: Two Devices in One Shell, With Two Records to Check

We have not tested any of these locks. What follows compares the published record for each half of the product: the BHMA Certified Products Directory and the A156 standards for the lock, the Matter specification and the makers’ own pages for the electronics, and the CPSC recall database for both. We name only models we could find by model number in one of those sources on October 1, 2026.

The reason to separate the halves is that they age differently. A deadbolt is a mechanical object with a published cycle rating. A camera is a networked computer with an account behind it, a storage decision and a support window. Buying them fused into one unit means the shorter of the two clocks governs the whole thing, and that clock is almost never printed on the box.

Trend Signal

70/100 Strong momentum

1. Emerging
2. Rising
3. Mainstream
4. Peaking
5. Cooling

The lock half is certified by one program and the camera half by nobody in particular

The BHMA Certified Products Directory lists the myQ Video Smart Lock at Grade 2 under ANSI/BHMA A156.36-2020, which grades the lock. Nothing in that program covers the camera, the recording path or the account behind it.

Our editorial reading of the cited data, not a forecast. How it is scored

By the numbers

• Grade 2Grade listed for the myQ Video Smart Lock under ANSI/BHMA A156.36-2020BHMA
• 1.6.1Matter specification version published on the CSA download page on October 1, 2026Connectivity Standards Alliance
• 0 recallsSmart lock or camera lock recalls in the CPSC database on October 1, 2026CPSC
• 100Fingerprints TP-Link publishes as the storage limit for the Tapo DL110 lockTP-Link

The lock half and the camera half answer to different programs

Take the lock first, because it is the half with a public record. BHMA runs a certification program whose directory lists every model certified to an ANSI/BHMA standard, with the standard number, the edition year, the function code and the grade. We queried it brand by brand on October 1, 2026. The myQ Video Smart Lock, models MYQL90AXXB and MYQL90ACXB, is listed as function E0152, Grade 2, under ANSI/BHMA A156.36-2020, and again under ANSI/BHMA A156.25-2023 for electrified locking devices.

Now take the camera. There is no equivalent directory, and no consumer certification tells you the sensor size, the frame rate under a porch light, how long clips are kept or who can see them. The closest thing to a public record is what the maker publishes on the product page.

That asymmetry is the practical point. Pin down the lock with the directory, then judge the camera on what the maker is willing to commit to in writing.

Verify the lock in the directory; the camera you can only read about.

What biometrics on the door are, and where they are kept

Most locks sold as having a camera also carry a biometric reader, and storage is the question that matters. TP-Link states on the Tapo DL110 page that the lock saves up to 100 fingerprints, and describes the reader only as ultra-fast without publishing a time. On the Tapo DL130, which reads a palm as well, the company states that palm and fingerprint data are encrypted and stored on the device and never uploaded to the cloud.

That is a specific, falsifiable claim about where a template lives, and it is the kind of sentence to look for. A lock that verifies against a server behaves differently when the network drops, and it puts the template somewhere you do not control.

The reader also changes the lockout behavior. TP-Link publishes that both the DL110 and the DL130 disable themselves and send an alert after too many failed attempts, which is also what happens when a wet thumb fails five times in a row.

• Where fingerprint, palm or face templates are stored, in the maker’s own words
• What the lock does after repeated failed attempts, and how long the lockout lasts
• Whether the camera records to a card, a base station or only to an account
• Whether the doorbell function needs the same account as the lock function

Matter added camera clusters, which is not the same as your lock streaming

Until a couple of releases ago the Matter specification had nothing to say about video. The current version, Matter 1.6.1, does: the application cluster specification dated September 16, 2026 defines a Camera AV Stream Management cluster, WebRTC transport clusters, a Push AV Stream Transport cluster, a Chime cluster and a Zone Management cluster, alongside the door lock cluster at ID 0x0101.

What that means for a buyer is narrower than it sounds. A specification defining a cluster does not oblige any product to implement it, and a camera lock can be Matter certified as a door lock while exposing no video at all. The video then stays in the maker’s own app. We walked through the same gap for window coverings in what Matter changed for motorized shades.

So read a Matter badge on a camera lock as a claim about the lock, unless the maker says the camera is exposed too. If you are picking a platform, our look at what the assistant tiers now cost covers that half.

Subscriptions, storage and the support clock

Amazon’s own autocomplete shows where buyers have landed: on October 1, 2026 the phrase smart door lock with camera no subscription is a completed suggestion, so the recurring charge is now a shopping filter. The three storage models are a card in the device, a base station in the house, and clips held in an account, and only the first two survive a company dropping plans.

The support clock is harder and almost nobody checks it. Aqara, which publishes statements of compliance per model, declares a defined support period of at least three years from launch for the Smart Lock U400 and a period running to December 31, 2026 for the Smart Lock U200, in documents dated August 15, 2025 and June 12, 2024. A camera adds a second firmware stack to that commitment, which is a reason to want the number in writing.

For services retired under working hardware we keep a running account in smart home gear switched off by its maker, and the cost of running two devices on one set of cells sits in AA battery prices in 2026.

Two devices, two services, and the shorter support window governs both.

What the recall record covers, and what it does not

We searched the Consumer Product Safety Commission recall database by product name on October 1, 2026. Smart lock, deadbolt, keyless entry, electronic lock and padlock each returned nothing. Door lock returned seven records, lockset three overlapping ones, and door handle and door knob one each. None is a camera lock or a residential smart lock.

The hazards that do appear are worth reading before you put electronics in a door. Four records are locksets recalled because the latch could fail and the door could not be unlocked from inside. One, about 8,000 Best Lock electronic door locks recalled in May 2002, was a fire hazard in which wires and mounting holes could become exposed, and the notice states there was no danger of latch failure. The newest entry naming a door locking device, from April 30, 2026, is an elevator component.

An empty file is not a safety rating. CPSC records a recall when a firm agrees to one or the agency compels one, and this category is full of importers whose brand names change faster than any database. What the file does establish is that the acted-on failure mode for US door hardware is people unable to get out, which is the question to put to any lock that adds a camera and a second circuit board to the inside of a door.

What to watch next

• Whether more camera locks appear in the BHMA Certified Products Directory, which currently lists very few by model number
• Whether makers start exposing the camera through Matter rather than only the lock, now that Matter 1.6.1 defines camera clusters
• New entries under door lock in the CPSC recall database, which anyone can search by product name before ordering

Where to start

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More: Smart Home trends and how the Trend Signal is scored.

Questions readers ask

Is a smart lock with a camera certified like a regular deadbolt?

The lock part can be. On October 1, 2026 the BHMA Certified Products Directory lists the myQ Video Smart Lock, models MYQL90AXXB and MYQL90ACXB, as Grade 2 under ANSI/BHMA A156.36-2020. There is no comparable consumer certification covering the camera.

Can I use a camera lock without paying a subscription?

Some, depending on where recordings go. A lock that writes to a card or a base station in the house keeps recording without a plan; one that stores clips in an account does not. Live remote viewing is often treated separately from recording, so check both on the product page.

Does Matter let my hub see video from the lock?

Only if the maker implements it. The Matter 1.6.1 application cluster specification, dated September 16, 2026, defines camera stream management, WebRTC transport, chime and zone management clusters, but a product may expose only the door lock cluster.

Where are fingerprints stored on these locks?

It varies, and the maker has to tell you. TP-Link states that palm and fingerprint data on the Tapo DL130 are encrypted and stored on the device and never uploaded to the cloud. Not every maker makes an equivalent statement.