Dash cams run anywhere from $100–$300, and that’s before you factor in monthly cloud storage fees. I kept putting off the purchase, even after a close call with an aggressive driver last year left me wishing I had footage. Then I remembered my old iPod Touch 7th generation sitting in a drawer. I could have just as easily used an old smartphone if I had one. With one free app and a $25 phone mount, I transformed it into a fully functional dash cam that’s been recording my daily commute for a few months now.
Why I didn’t want to buy a traditional dash cam
I wasn’t paying $150 for features I’d never use
Cheap dash cams start around $100. Want 4K? GPS tracking? Parking mode? Now you’re at $150–$250 easily. I browsed through pages of Garmin and Nextbase models that all landed in that price range. Some of the fancy ones with every feature pushed past $300.
Then there’s the installation hassle. Some models need hard-wiring into your car’s electrical system. Others push cloud storage subscriptions at $10–$15 every month. I just wanted something to record my drive in case someone hit me or an accident happened. Professional-grade footage with every possible feature seemed like overkill.
My old iPod Touch 7th generation—Apple’s final iPod before they discontinued the whole line—was buried in my desk drawer. It still worked great, I just hadn’t touched it in a few years. I like the novelty of owning one still, plus I was keeping it out of a landfill.
What you need to turn your old phone into a dash cam
You need three things, maybe four
You just need an old smartphone (or iPod Touch), a windshield or dash mount, and a car charger. I’m using my iPod Touch 7th gen with 256GB. An iPhone 6 or newer works and pretty much any Android from the last 5–7 years, too. You don’t need cell service—it just needs to boot up and run the app.
The mount I grabbed is the iOttie Easy One Touch Signature Dashboard & Windshield Universal Car Mount, $24.95 on Amazon. It uses a one-touch system that actually works—squeeze the sides and your phone clicks in; hit the button, and it pops right out. The arm extends anywhere from five to eight inches, giving you room to position it wherever. It sticks on the windshield or dashboard. The head tilts and rotates so you can get the angle right. I used to own one of these back before I had a car with Apple CarPlay, so you might have one lying around already.
Then, you just need a charger or USB cable—if you’re like me, you probably have one already somewhere, or you can use an adapter kit.
The free app that makes it all work
DashCam Recorder does everything without subscriptions
The DashCam Recorder app costs nothing. No ads popping up, no in-app purchases, and no monthly fees. This was huge for me since my iPod Touch runs an older iOS. Over half of the dash cam apps I tried to download demanded iOS 16 or greater.
DashCam Recorder handles loop recording—when storage fills up, it erases your oldest clips automatically. You never have to think about it.
The app can record up to 4k resolution (if your device has the hardware capability to do so). It integrates GPS coordinates, speed, date, and time into each file/recording. There’s a Driver Focus Mode that turns off the display during recording, which saves battery and keeps the screen from glowing at you. Video segments can be one minute, three, five, 10, or 15—I picked five. Want to save particular clips forever? It’ll sync straight to iCloud. It has a crash sensor built in, so any impact gets flagged and protected from being overwritten.
There’s also a free macOS app called DashCam Player that shows your GPS route next to the video. I haven’t touched it yet, but it’s available if I need to review something later. The whole thing’s pretty straightforward—tap to start recording.
Setting up your DIY dash cam takes minutes
Getting it running takes about 10 minutes
Download the DashCam Recorder first. When you launch it for the first time, it asks for camera, location, and storage access. Just say yes to those.
Mount the holder next. I put mine in the left corner of my windshield. It doesn’t block anything but gets the full road ahead. The suction cup stuck on the first try. Angle it so you catch a bit of your hood in frame—helps with perspective if you’re watching footage later. Check your state’s rules about windshield mounts. Usually, the corners or behind your mirror are legal spots.
Plug your device into your USB port or 12V outlet. It will need power to record all day. I ran the cable over my steering wheel to the power outlet in my center console.
Now, fire up the app and adjust settings. Turn on auto-start so it records when you open the app. Flip the crash sensor on. Pick your loop length—five minutes is what I use. You can throw it in airplane mode too if you want to kill background apps and maybe get slightly better battery life.
The whole setup process took me about 10–15 minutes from start to finish.
How it performs in real-world driving
Two months of daily use proved its reliability
I’ve been using this setup since early fall. The video quality is solid for an older device—I can read license plates clearly up to two or three car lengths ahead in daylight. Night performance is adequate—not as crisp as a $300 dedicated dash cam with night vision, but usable for documentation purposes. Street lights and headlights from other cars provide enough illumination.
Storage management happens automatically. With 256GB, I can keep a good amount of footage before the loop starts overwriting. I’ve never had to manually delete anything.
I haven’t needed the footage for an incident yet, but the peace of mind is worth it. I did review clips a few times out of curiosity, and everything was there—date stamps, GPS coordinates, speed data embedded in each file.
The app has been reliable—it opens every time and starts recording. One benefit I didn’t anticipate: the 256GB storage means I essentially have a rolling archive of several weeks. If something happened, and I didn’t notice immediately, I’d still have the footage.
The limitations you should know about
It’s not perfect, but works for my needs
Your phone or iPod Touch sitting there on the windshield is way more noticeable than those tiny dedicated dash cams. Someone could see it from outside and decide it’s worth breaking a window for. I pull my iPod Touch out every time I park and put it in my center console. It’s an extra step, but it takes less than 10 seconds.
Another big downside is the field of view. My iPod Touch has a pretty basic, single camera. It can’t film with a wide-angle view like my iPhone 16 Pro Max. So, my footage only shows what’s directly in front of my car and not much else. The better phone camera you use, the better footage you’ll have.
There’s no parking mode. Real dash cams can hard-wire into your car and record even when it’s off. Mine only works when the car’s running and the device is getting power. Someone backs into you in a parking lot? You’re not catching it—especially if you disconnect it from the mount.
Old device batteries and extreme heat or cold don’t always play nice in the long term. I haven’t seen issues yet, but I’m watching for them. There’s no option for a rear camera either, like some dual-cam setups have—you’d need an entirely other smartphone or iPod Touch.
Getting footage off the device means using AirDrop or plugging in a cable. It’s not instant and doesn’t bother me since I’ll probably never actually need the footage in a hurry, and I saved $200 by going this route instead.
For basic dash cam stuff—having proof if there’s a crash, catching aggressive drivers, and backing up your story for insurance—this handles it fine.
Old tech finds new purpose on the road
My old iPod Touch became a working dash cam, and I’m not feeling guilty anymore about it sitting unused. I got the security I wanted while driving. My total cost was around $25 for the phone windshield mount (the DashCam Recorder app was free). It took me less time to set up than I spent researching which actual dash cam to buy.
Two months later, I am still using it every day. You’ve probably got an old phone somewhere. This might be the best use for it. And if you’re up for it, find other ways to make use of your other old tech.