Dana Whitfield

Staff Writer

Dana Whitfield rented for eleven years before buying a 1920s duplex in Northeast Minneapolis, and both halves of that experience shape what she writes. As a renter she could not drill a single hole without risking her deposit, so she learned the no-drill, no-wiring, landlord-proof version of home security the hard way, one failed adhesive mount at a time. As a homeowner she finally got to run wire, and promptly discovered that a hundred-year-old door frame is not square anywhere. She covers renter-friendly security setups, battery-powered cameras, video doorbells and smart lighting for BeSafe Home Security. Her specialty, by geography, is cold. Minnesota winters drop to twenty below, and that is where manufacturer battery claims fall apart: a doorbell rated for six months goes three weeks, lithium cells sag, touchscreens stop registering gloved fingers and adhesive gives up entirely. Dana reports the numbers she actually gets in January, not the ones on the box. She is also the person on the team who reads the privacy policy. If a camera company is vague about where footage is stored or who can request it, she says so.