Ipcam — Telegram

import requests import cv2 import numpy as np from time import sleep CAMERA_URL = "http://192.168.1.100/photo.jpg" # Your snapshot URL BOT_TOKEN = "7236456789:AAHdqTcvCH1vGWJxfSeofSAs0K5PALDsaw" CHAT_ID = "123456789" MOTION_THRESHOLD = 500 # Lower = more sensitive CHECK_INTERVAL = 2 # Seconds between checks ========================= def send_photo(image_path): url = f"https://api.telegram.org/bot{BOT_TOKEN}/sendPhoto" with open(image_path, 'rb') as img: files = {'photo': img} data = {'chat_id': CHAT_ID, 'caption': '🚨 Motion Detected!'} requests.post(url, files=files, data=data)

We all have an old smartphone or a dusty IP camera sitting in a drawer. Instead of buying a expensive cloud subscription (like Ring or Nest), you can turn that camera into a real-time security alert system using a free bot on Telegram .

pip install python-telegram-bot requests opencv-python Save this as security_cam.py . Replace the variables (URL, TOKEN, CHAT_ID).

if motion_score > MOTION_THRESHOLD: print(f"[!] Motion detected! Score: {motion_score}") cv2.imwrite("alert.jpg", frame2) send_photo("alert.jpg") sleep(10) # Cooldown to avoid spam ipcam telegram

def get_frame(): response = requests.get(CAMERA_URL, auth=('username', 'password')) # Remove auth if none return cv2.imdecode(np.frombuffer(response.content, np.uint8), -1) print("[+] Security camera active. Watching via Telegram...") ret, frame1 = get_frame(), None sleep(1)

frame1 = frame2 sleep(CHECK_INTERVAL)

Happy building! 📸🔒 Disclaimer: Use this for monitoring your own property only. Be aware of local privacy laws regarding recording. import requests import cv2 import numpy as np

Install "IP Webcam" from the Play Store, point it at your front door, and use the same script. No new hardware needed.

Run the script:

while True: frame2 = get_frame() if frame2 is None: continue Replace the variables (URL, TOKEN, CHAT_ID)

# Motion detection logic diff = cv2.absdiff(frame1, frame2) gray = cv2.cvtColor(diff, cv2.COLOR_BGR2GRAY) blur = cv2.GaussianBlur(gray, (5,5), 0) _, thresh = cv2.threshold(blur, 20, 255, cv2.THRESH_BINARY) motion_score = cv2.countNonZero(thresh)

python3 security_cam.py Want to check your home manually? Add this command handler to the same script so you can text your bot /snap and get an instant photo.

from telegram.ext import Application, CommandHandler async def snap(update, context): img = get_frame() cv2.imwrite("manual.jpg", img) await update.message.reply_photo(photo=open('manual.jpg', 'rb'))