Smart Home & Tech · Smart devices
How to audit smart home permissions after Halloween season
Remove holiday shares, sitter codes, and seasonal devices. Change passwords that were exposed. Do not factory-reset the router or the lock.
After Halloween, remove the access you added for the season and leave the accounts you still use. Revoke holiday shares and sitter codes, disable seasonal schedules, and physically unplug seasonal devices. Change a password or code that may have been exposed outside the trusted household. Do not factory-reset the router, and do not delete the only login that still controls the lock.
Step 1: Open each app and look for shares
- Camera and doorbell apps: remove people you added for the holiday. Confirm a public or neighborhood feed is off.
- Lock app: delete sitter codes. Keep your own code. Test that your code still locks the door.
- Plug and bulb apps: disable schedules and automations you do not want in November. Remove app entries only for devices you are retiring or deliberately resetting.
Camera shares may have an end time if the app supports it; otherwise remove them manually: temporary camera access. The same model-dependent rule applies to lock codes: guest codes. Privacy defaults stay: doorbell privacy.
Step 2: Change what was shared, and write nothing new on the porch
If a password or code entered a group chat or paper that left the trusted household, change or revoke it. Revoke a shared camera link using the app; a password change may also be needed if the account was exposed. Do not send the replacement in the same thread. Turn on the extra sign-in check where the app has one. Router admin and Wi-Fi passwords change only if you actually gave them out. If you created a guest password only for Halloween, turn it off or rotate that password; leave a year-round guest network as your household normally uses it: guest Wi-Fi.
Do not forward a port while you are “cleaning up remote access.” If you added one for a camera or a stream, remove it. Firewall stays on: the home Wi-Fi security checklist.
Step 3: Unplug seasonal hardware and disable schedules
Unplug the décor plugs first so deleting them cannot leave a live cord you forgot. App removal is optional if you plan to reuse them: phantom load. Labels you keep are the outlet names, not passwords: labeling devices.
Voice routines that existed for the rail string get paused: voice routines. Do not leave a phrase that unlocks a door. If a routine ever did that, remove the lock from it now.
New devices you added should already have lost their default passwords: securing IoT devices. If one still uses the sticker password, change it or unplug it.
Step 4: Stop before you lock yourself out
Do not delete the owner account. Do not factory-reset the lock, the router, or the camera because the share list looks messy. Remove the extra people and the extra devices. If you do not recognize a device, identify it in daylight before you delete it. It might be the doorbell you still want.
The porch lamp stays on its switch through this cleanup: front door lighting. None of these apps should be required to see the step.
What you should be able to point at
- Holiday camera shares removed. Public posting off.
- Sitter codes deleted. Your own code tested.
- Seasonal plugs unplugged and unneeded schedules disabled.
- Passwords changed only where they were exposed. Guest network off or changed.
- No factory reset. Owner login still works. Firewall still on.
Example: the sitter code and the camera invite were both gone
The morning after they travel home, they open the lock app and delete the sitter code, then lock the door with their own code. The camera app shows one invite. They remove it and leave the lens on the top step. The rail plug is already unplugged. They leave its app entry for next year but disable the October schedule. The temporary guest network they had enabled is switched off. They do not reset the router. They do not change the Wi-Fi password, because they never gave out the main one. A paper card that had the sitter code goes in the trash, not into a photo. The porch lamp still works from the switch.
Related guides
Last updated: October 28, 2026
Last reviewed October 22, 2026. Suggest a correction
Questions readers ask
Should we factory-reset everything so no guest access remains?
No. Remove the shares, codes, and seasonal devices. A reset can lock you out of the door or the router. Keep the owner login and test it.
We do not remember who has the camera. What do we remove?
Review every named user, invite, shared link and integration in the camera app. Revoke access you do not recognize, keep the owner account, and check with the maker if the list is unclear.
A plug is still in the app but we already packed it. Is that a problem?
If it is physically unplugged, a schedule cannot energize a cord in storage. Disable the seasonal schedule. Removing the app entry is optional unless you are retiring or resetting the device.
Should we change the Wi-Fi password every November just in case?
Rotate a password if it was exposed or shared beyond the intended people. For a temporary guest network, turn it off or rotate its password after the event; a year-round guest network can remain if configured securely.
The lock app will not delete a code. What then?
Do not take the lock apart from this page. Use the maker’s steps in the app, or the support they publish. Until the code is gone, do not treat it as expired. Stay with a method you already trust.
Sources and methodology
Claims that depend on an outside authority are tied to the references below. Product details change. Confirm the current specification sheet before you buy or install anything.
- FTC: Securing Internet-Connected Devices at Home — Federal Trade Commission (government), accessed October 28, 2026. Review device account access, change compromised credentials and disable unused connected-device features.
Information on this site is for general educational purposes and is not professional advice.
Parent topic: Smart Home & Tech