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One in five homeowners say they can’t fully relax on vacation because they’re too worried about their home, according to new research.
A recent survey polling 2,000 homeowners found that the anxiety starts within moments of leaving the house. Nearly two in three (65%) admit they question whether or not they locked the door or closed the garage within just 30 minutes of leaving.
Thirty-nine percent said the worry starts before they’ve left the driveway.
The research found that this worry follows homeowners well after they’ve left the house. Respondents say they check in on their home, mentally or via an app, four times a day on average, a sign that checking in doesn’t necessarily put the worry to rest.
What’s behind this worry that stays with them all day? Physical safety of family and pets is the number one home-safety concern for 28% of respondents. A quarter of respondents cited break-ins or burglary as the top concern on their minds.
Commissioned by SimpliSafe and conducted by Talker Research, the survey found that almost one in five (18%) said they have experienced an attempted or successful break-in within the past year.
Of respondents who admit to worrying about unlocked doors or appliances left on, 59% said the unknown has caused them to turn around to go back home and check.
So how are homeowners coping with anxious thoughts about their unattended home? Most homeowners surveyed (63%) have some type of security system installed. Of those, 73% monitor it themselves.
Of those who don’t have a home security system in place, most (36%) cited monitoring fees or hardware costs as a barrier while 30% said they simply don’t need one, that their neighborhood is safe.
Fifty-nine percent of those with a home monitoring system have a video doorbell installed. Homeowners lean on that device heavily, with 32% claiming it’s the single piece of the system they rely on most.
Half (50%) believe a doorbell camera alone provides enough protection against a break-in.
However, that confidence may be misplaced. Nearly half (48%) of homeowners who experienced a security incident while away only found out after they returned home.
“Video doorbells have changed how people keep an eye on their homes, but visibility isn’t the same as protection,” said Rebecca Zavin, chief product and technology officer at SimpliSafe. “When real trouble arises, whether it’s package theft or an intruder, most traditional video doorbells simply record the event and notify the homeowner, who may miss the alert or be unable to respond. A more proactive approach is to choose a video doorbell backed by professional monitoring, enabling trained agents to intervene through the camera in real time and request police dispatch if necessary.”
However, that confidence may be misplaced. SWNS
As it turns out, thirty-five percent of those with a doorbell camera agree, saying their device only passively records the situation, rather than actively responding to one.
Even for those who are self-monitoring their devices, nearly four in 10 (38%) of those with a security system have actually missed an alert simply because they were not available. And, another 39% admit to missing a security alert because it got lost in a stream of other notifications.
Most homeowners want a person involved where it counts. If a real threat were identified, 52% said they would want a human agent involved. Just 36% would trust AI to act alone.
Forty-six percent of homeowners say a system monitored by trained professionals gives them the most peace of mind, followed by self-monitored systems at 37%, and just 17% for a system monitored by AI.
“AI can be incredibly valuable in security because it can detect and surface activity quickly. But when a potential threat becomes a real emergency, human judgment is irreplaceable,” said Zavin. “The data from this survey reinforces what we hear from customers every day: people are open to AI playing an important role in identifying potential threats, but when something is actually happening at their home, they want a trained professional involved in making the call.”
Research methodology:
Talker Research surveyed 2,000 US respondents aged 18-75 who own a home and who have access to the internet; the survey was commissioned by SimpliSafe and administered and conducted online by Talker Research between August 17 – August 24, 2026.