I've been using Wyze to keep tabs on a new pet while I'm not at home. It is very convenient, but I was pretty worried about privacy, even before that came out.

At $25 to replace, it's probably worth risking bricking it to try out alternative firmware: https://github.com/openipcamera/openipc-firmware

This repo seems unmaintained. This project is more active: https://github.com/EliasKotlyar/Xiaomi-Dafang-Hacks