[Tutorial] Integrating TP-Link Tapo C220 Camera with Synology NAS (DS920+) for Recording and Remote Access

Preface: Setting Up Tapo C220 with Synology NAS for Recording

To keep an eye on my home and for future childcare needs, I recently picked up TP-Link’s popular network camera, the Tapo C220. My goal was to save the camera’s footage to my existing Synology DS920+ NAS for 24/7 recording and be able to access it anytime through a mobile app.

This article will share my experience integrating the Tapo C220 with Synology Surveillance Station, a crucial tip for the setup process, and an unexpected discovery about the Tapo app’s remote access capabilities, along with some thoughts on privacy.

A Critical Setup Reminder: You MUST Install Surveillance Station

During the setup process, it took me a while to successfully stream the C220’s video feed to my DS920+. The key is that you first have to install the official Surveillance Station package from the Synology DSM Package Center.

If you haven’t installed this package and try to log in directly using the “DS cam” mobile app, the system will throw a vague error message about insufficient permissions or a disabled account. This can easily mislead you into thinking the problem is with your username, password, or permission settings, sending you down the wrong troubleshooting rabbit hole. So, please, make sure you have Surveillance Station installed and enabled on your NAS.

An Unexpected Discovery: Tapo App’s Remote Access and Privacy Concerns

After getting the NAS recording set up, I used my self-hosted Cloudflare Tunnel reverse proxy to allow the DS cam app to connect to my home network from the outside, letting me view the surveillance feed and recordings. This was all working as expected.

However, what really surprised me was that the official “Tapo” app from TP-Link could also directly view the C220’s live feed from an external network, without any VPN or special network configuration. In theory, since I only configured the camera with its internal IP address in the app, it shouldn’t be able to connect directly from the outside.

This leads me to believe that the Tapo camera, much like Synology’s QuickConnect feature, proactively establishes a connection with TP-Link’s cloud servers. This way, no matter where the user is, as long as their phone app has an internet connection, it can view the camera’s live feed by routing through TP-Link’s servers.

This design offers incredible convenience, but it also raises potential privacy concerns. It means that your home video data might be passing through TP-Link’s servers.

When you’re telling jokes with your family, Winnie the Pooh is laughing along…

While this is just a joke, for users who are serious about information security, it’s definitely something to consider carefully. In reality, this is a common practice for many IoT (Internet of Things) devices, aimed at simplifying the user setup process.

Conclusion

The TP-Link Tapo C220 is undoubtedly a fantastic value-for-money network camera, and its integration with a Synology NAS is quite smooth (as long as you remember to install Surveillance Station).

However, its convenient “zero-configuration” remote access feature is made possible by connecting to the manufacturer’s cloud servers. For users who prioritize ultimate convenience, this is a major plus. But for those who value privacy and want to keep all their data within their own local network, this could be a significant drawback. When choosing products like this, it’s wise to weigh the trade-offs between “convenience” and “privacy” based on your own needs.