Open Babyphone turns Android devices into a local audio baby monitor. One device stays near the child and sends microphone audio directly to a paired parent device over a local network.
The project is open source and local by design. Normal use requires no account, cloud service, or project-operated server.
- Local by design: audio travels directly between devices on a local network.
- Private by default: pairing and authenticated encrypted transport protect the supported connection flow.
- No account required: setup and operation do not depend on a hosted backend.
- Open and auditable: the app, its protocol, and its development process are available for public review.
- Start child mode on the device placed near the child.
- Pair a parent device over the same Wi-Fi or another trusted local connection.
- Keep the parent device nearby to listen to the direct audio stream.
The app guides first-time pairing and can remember trusted child devices for later sessions. Connection alternatives and detailed setup instructions are in the user guide.
Open Babyphone is intended for local audio monitoring at home. It is not a medical or safety-certified device and is not a replacement for responsible supervision.
Internet-based remote monitoring, hosted relays, user accounts, and recurring service dependencies are outside the product scope.
- Android 11 or newer
- Two Android devices with a local network path between them
- The permissions requested by the app for the selected child or parent role
Internet access is not required for the audio connection itself.
Read the release notes for the current maturity, compatibility, installation, and upgrade information of each published build.
Open Babyphone sends audio directly between paired devices and does not include advertising, analytics, or project-operated account infrastructure. The supported pairing flow requires mutual authentication and authenticated encryption.
See the security policy for the technical security model and the privacy policy for data handling and retention details.
| Topic | Documentation |
|---|---|
| Setup, connection options, and everyday use | User guide |
| Privacy | Privacy policy |
| Security model and reporting | Security policy |
| Development and release signing | Contributing guide |
| Automated and real-device testing | Testing guide |
| Strategic and operational roadmap | Open Babyphone Roadmap |
| Published changes | GitHub releases and NEWS |
Build or preview the documentation locally with MkDocs Material:
python -m pip install --requirement requirements-docs.txt
mkdocs serveContributions are welcome. Please keep changes aligned with the local-network product direction and read CONTRIBUTING.md before opening a pull request.
Do not open a public issue for an exploitable vulnerability. Follow the private reporting process in SECURITY.md.
Open Babyphone is an independent fork of Child Monitor, which itself is a fork of Protect Baby Monitor. The original projects remain credited and licensed under GPLv3.
The shipped alert is an OGG conversion of Freesound sound 263655, "Upward Beep, chromatic fifths" by Mossy4, licensed under CC BY 4.0. Complete notices are in NOTICE, and the reviewed direct-dependency license inventory is in docs/release/dependency-licenses.md.
Open Babyphone is licensed under the GPLv3. See LICENSE.
The G.711 u-law codec code is derived from the Android Open Source Project and is licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0.