Tools / Everyday
Your second phone as a camera
An old phone in the drawer? Make it a camera: watch the baby sleeping, the door, the shop, or the cat. The old phone opens this page and shows a QR code, your current phone scans it and shows a reply code that the old one scans — done: video and audio flow directly phone to phone (WebRTC) without passing through any server. No app, no account, no subscription.
Your file never leaves your device — everything runs in your browser
How to use it
- On the old phone: open the page, press «I'm the camera» and allow camera and mic — a QR code appears.
- On your phone: press «I'm the screen» and scan the code — a reply code appears; scan it with the old phone.
- Streaming starts. Keep the old phone on the charger with the screen on (the page prevents sleep).
Questions
Does the video pass through you?
No. The page sets up a direct WebRTC connection between the two phones; the only outside piece is a public STUN server from Google so each phone learns its address. The QR codes carry connection details only, and there's no server of ours in the middle.
Does it work remotely?
On the same Wi-Fi always. Across networks (say you're on mobile data and the camera is on home Wi-Fi) it works in most cases, but some networks block direct connections without a relay server — then it says «couldn't connect».
Battery and screen?
Put the old phone on the charger; the page asks the device to keep the screen on (Wake Lock). Lower the brightness in settings.
Three phones?
Each link is between two phones. For two screens, pair again from the camera for each screen (the camera phone can serve two to three screens depending on its power).
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