Camera Privacy

With the CM32 and CM22, Samsara brings the ability to monitor both what is happening in front of the vehicle and inside the cab. This ability presents some questions about how the driver facing camera works and the privacy around footage captured from it.

Who has access to the footage?

Full Admins or Read-only Admins with Dash Cam Access can view or retrieve footage. Footage can be downloaded and shared with police or insurance companies as evidence, at the company’s discretion.

In addition, users with a custom role with Live Streaming permissions can initiate a live stream that includes driver facing video, inward-facing video, and in-cab audio.

When can the driver facing footage be seen?

In-cab footage will be uploaded and saved to the Samsara Cloud Dashboard in the following scenarios: 

1. Safety Inbox events - The camera uploads and saves video footage of incidents of unsafe driving. 
   • Harsh events - Harsh events are cases of harsh braking, harsh acceleration, harsh turns, and crashes. The camera records the 5 seconds before and after the harsh event happens and automatically starts uploading to the cloud after the event occurs. 
   • AI events - Artificial intelligence based safety events are cases of unsafe Following Distance, Forward Collision Warning (beta), Distracted Driving, or Policy Violations (beta). The camera records the 5 seconds before and after a Following Distance  or Forward Collision Warning event, 2.5 seconds before and after a Distracted Driving event, or 0.5 seconds before and after a Policy Violation event and automatically starts uploading to the cloud after the event occurs. 
2. Video requests - Users with Video Retrieval permissions can manually request video be uploaded and saved to the cloud. The cloud will receive up to a minute-long video that includes both the inward and outward-facing camera. By default on CM31 cameras, the past 40 hours of driving time is available for a video request. By default on CM32 cameras, the past 60 hours of driving time is available for a video request. Fleet managers can adjust their settings to further extend total storage capacity in exchange for a decrease in video quality.  CM31 cameras can store up to 75 hours of driving time, and CM32 cameras can store up to 100 hours of driving time. 
3. Hyperlapse Request - Users with Video Retrieval permissions can manually request video be uploaded and saved to the cloud. The cloud will upload the hyperlapse video that includes both the inward and outward-facing camera. By default on CM31 cameras, the past 40 hours of driving time is available for a video request. By default on CM32 cameras, the past 60 hours of driving time is available for a video request. Fleet managers can adjust their settings to further extend total storage capacity in exchange for a decrease in video quality.  CM31 cameras can store up to 75 hours of driving time, and CM32 cameras can store up to 100 hours of driving time. 
4. Live Streaming - Users with explicit live streaming permissions can initiate live streams of driver-facing video, outward-facing video, and in-cab audio. Drivers will be alerted via an in-cab alert when a live stream is started and when it’s ended. We only upload and save footage to the cloud if you specifically ask for a snippet via the Video Retrieval page.