Now booking home installs in Middlesbrough
Security cameras you own. Footage that stays home.
Professional CCTV that records to a box in your own house, not to someone else's cloud. No subscriptions, nobody else watching, and you own every part of it.
- £0 a month, ever
- 12-month workmanship guarantee
- Based in Middlesbrough
Meet the founder
Hi, I'm Frankie.
I'm 17, I live in Middlesbrough, and I started OwnIt Systems because something about home security didn't sit right with me.
Most people buying cameras end up paying a company every month to watch footage of their own home, stored on servers they'll never see. I think that's backwards. So I fit systems the other way round: proper wired cameras, recording to a hub in your house, with everything handed over to you.
Being young means I've got something to prove, so I do things carefully. You get a fixed quote, tidy cable runs and everything labelled, and I don't leave until you know exactly how it all works. When you book OwnIt, you deal with me from the first message to the handover.
Frankie Founder, OwnIt Systems
- 17years old
- LocalMiddlesbrough based
- 1person, quote to handover
- £0a month, ever. No subscriptions
- 0clips sent to the cloud
- 12month workmanship guarantee
- 100%of the system is yours to keep
The catch with most smart cameras
You buy the camera. They keep your footage.
Most popular home cameras send every clip to a company's servers, then charge you a monthly fee to watch your own recordings.
Your life on their servers
Video of your family, your visitors and your front door, stored in a data centre you'll never see.
A bill that never ends
A small monthly subscription adds up to hundreds over the years, and the price can rise whenever they choose.
Stop paying, lose features
Cancel the subscription and recordings or features can disappear from cameras you've already paid for.
Where your footage goes
Follow the footage.
Every dot is a clip from your camera. Watch where it ends up.
Why OwnIt
Built the other way round.
An OwnIt system records to a small hub inside your home. Nothing is uploaded and nothing is rented. Once it's fitted, it's yours.
| Feature | Typical cloud cameras | OwnIt |
|---|---|---|
| Where your footage is kept | A company's servers | A hub in your home |
| Monthly fee | Usually, to see recordings | £0, ever |
| If the internet goes down | Often stops recording | Keeps recording |
| Power and connection | Batteries or Wi-Fi | Wired: no charging, no dropouts |
| Who can access it | You, and the company | Only you |
| Who owns it | You rent the service | You own all of it |
| Relies on outside servers | Yes, the company's | None. It runs on its own |
Runs on its own
Your system doesn't depend on our servers, an account with us or anything we run. It keeps working for as long as you have it.
No lock-in
It's built on widely used open-source software and standard cameras, so any competent installer can work on it. You're never tied to us.
Every password is yours
You get the admin logins for everything at handover, with nothing held back. We only connect for support if you let us, and you can switch that off at any time.
Subscription calculator
What's that monthly fee really costing you?
Move the slider to what you pay, or would pay, each month for camera recordings. Use the figure from your own plan.
Subscription prices can also go up over time. This calculator assumes they never do.
That's money spent just to watch your own footage.
What you get
Business-grade security, made simple.
Private by design
Recordings never leave your house. When you watch from your phone, it streams straight from your hub over an encrypted connection, not through our servers or anyone's cloud.
Smart alerts that matter
Built-in AI can tell a person or car from a cat, a tree or the rain, so your phone only pings when it's worth looking.
Recording 24/7
Every camera records around the clock, with full-detail clips whenever something moves. Weeks of history, ready to scroll back through.
Sharp, wired cameras
Sharp 5MP cameras with 4K available, plus clear night vision. One cable carries power and video, so there are no batteries to charge and no Wi-Fi dropouts.
On your phone, anywhere
Live view, alerts and recordings on your phone, at home or away. You can add a video doorbell to answer the door from anywhere.
A tidy, careful install
Neat cable runs, labelled connections and a clean setup indoors. You get a walkthrough and a printed guide, so you know exactly how it all works.
How it works
From first message to fully set up.
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Send a message
WhatsApp, call or email with roughly what you'd like covered. A few photos of the house help, but a rough idea is plenty.
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Free home visit
We look at your home together, find the best camera spots and give you a fixed quote with no obligation and no pressure.
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Fitted in a day
Most homes are done in a single day. Cables are kept neat, the mess is cleared up and every camera is set up and tested.
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It's yours
We set up the app on your phone and show you how it all works. After that there are no contracts and nothing more to pay.
Our promises
Things we'll always do.
12-month workmanship guarantee
If anything we fitted fails because of how it was installed within 12 months, we'll come back and fix it free.
A fixed quote before we start
You'll know the full price in writing before any work begins. No surprises on the day.
No hard sell
Honest advice, even if it means fewer cameras. If we're not right for you, we'll say so. We won't chase you with follow-up calls.
Every password, handed over
You get the admin login for everything you've paid for. It's your system, not ours.
We leave it tidy
Neat cable runs, everything labelled, and we clean up after ourselves before we leave.
Your privacy, respected
We never keep copies of your footage, and we only connect to your system with your permission.
Founding customer offer
Be one of our first five homes.
We're launching in Middlesbrough and looking for our first five customers. You get a reduced founding price on a full system. In return we ask for an honest review and permission to photograph the finished install.
- Reduced founding price
- Same full system and install
- Limited to 5 homes
Questions
Good questions to ask.
Is there really nothing to pay each month?
Really. You pay once for the system and the install, and it's yours. If you ever want help later, support is pay-as-you-go, or you can choose an optional one-off cover plan. There's never a subscription.
Do I need to stay with you for it to keep working?
No. Once it's fitted, the whole system is yours, including the hardware, the recordings and the passwords. It doesn't rely on us or our servers to run, so it keeps working whether or not you ever need us again. If you'd like someone else to look after it in future, it's built on standard, open-source technology that any good installer can work with.
Can I watch my cameras when I'm away from home?
Yes. You get live view, recordings and alerts on your phone wherever you are. It connects straight to the hub in your home over an encrypted, private connection, so your video doesn't sit on anyone's servers on the way.
Who can see my footage?
Only you and anyone you choose to share it with. Recordings are stored on the hub in your home. We don't have a cloud, so there's no copy of your footage anywhere else.
What happens if my internet goes down?
The cameras keep recording to your hub as normal. You just can't view them remotely until the internet is back.
What about a power cut?
The system starts back up on its own when the power returns. If you want it to keep recording through a power cut, we can add a backup battery.
How long are recordings kept?
A standard system keeps around four weeks of recordings, after which the oldest footage is replaced automatically. Need longer? We can fit more storage.
Can my cameras see the street or my neighbour's garden?
We position cameras to cover your property and avoid other people's homes and gardens wherever possible. That keeps you on the right side of the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) guidance on home CCTV, and keeps your neighbours happy.
Which areas do you cover?
Middlesbrough and the surrounding area, out as far as Yarm. If you're not sure whether we reach you, just ask.
Free, no-obligation quote
Let's make your home yours again.
Message with roughly what you'd like covered. You'll get a quick reply from Frankie, not a call centre, and a free visit at a time that suits you.