diff --git a/server/detector.py b/server/detector.py
index bd4b291..9d52685 100644
--- a/server/detector.py
+++ b/server/detector.py
@@ -40,10 +40,12 @@ class ObjectDetector:
         model_path: str,
         labels_path: str,
         confidence_threshold: float = 0.5,
+        label_whitelist: Optional[set[str]] = None,
     ):
         self.model_path = Path(model_path)
         self.labels_path = Path(labels_path)
         self.confidence_threshold = confidence_threshold
+        self.label_whitelist = label_whitelist
 
         self._interpreter = None
         self._input_details = None
@@ -159,6 +161,10 @@ class ObjectDetector:
             class_id = int(class_ids[i])
             label = self._labels[class_id] if class_id < len(self._labels) else f"class_{class_id}"
 
+            # Skip labels not in whitelist (if set)
+            if self.label_whitelist and label not in self.label_whitelist:
+                continue
+
             # Convert from (y_min, x_min, y_max, x_max) to (x_min, y_min, x_max, y_max)
             y_min, x_min, y_max, x_max = boxes[i]
             bbox = (
diff --git a/server/env.example b/server/env.example
index 27ed369..9e4d06e 100644
--- a/server/env.example
+++ b/server/env.example
@@ -60,6 +60,9 @@ DETECTION_CONFIDENCE=0.5
 # Set to false to keep reporting all motion events
 DETECTION_SUPPRESS_EMPTY=true
 
+# Only report these object types (comma-separated, empty = all)
+DETECTION_LABELS=person,cat,dog
+
 # ============ Event Collector ============
 
 # URL to POST motion events to (collector on Mac mini)
diff --git a/server/main.py b/server/main.py
index 0a83639..94e338c 100644
--- a/server/main.py
+++ b/server/main.py
@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ DETECTION_MODEL_PATH = os.getenv("DETECTION_MODEL_PATH", "models/ssd_mobilenet_v
 DETECTION_LABELS_PATH = os.getenv("DETECTION_LABELS_PATH", "models/coco_labels.txt")
 DETECTION_CONFIDENCE = float(os.getenv("DETECTION_CONFIDENCE", "0.5"))
 DETECTION_SUPPRESS_EMPTY = os.getenv("DETECTION_SUPPRESS_EMPTY", "true").lower() == "true"
+DETECTION_LABELS = os.getenv("DETECTION_LABELS", "")  # Comma-separated whitelist (empty = all)
 
 if not API_KEY:
     raise ValueError("API_KEY not set in .env file")
@@ -153,6 +154,7 @@ if MOTION_ENABLED:
         detection_labels_path=DETECTION_LABELS_PATH,
         detection_confidence=DETECTION_CONFIDENCE,
         detection_suppress_empty=DETECTION_SUPPRESS_EMPTY,
+        detection_labels=DETECTION_LABELS if DETECTION_LABELS else None,
     )
 
 
@@ -241,6 +243,7 @@ def enable_motion(api_key: str = Security(verify_api_key)):
             detection_labels_path=DETECTION_LABELS_PATH,
             detection_confidence=DETECTION_CONFIDENCE,
             detection_suppress_empty=DETECTION_SUPPRESS_EMPTY,
+        detection_labels=DETECTION_LABELS if DETECTION_LABELS else None,
         )
 
     motion_detector.start(camera_manager.get_raw_frame)
diff --git a/server/motion.py b/server/motion.py
index e97f770..2f9f687 100644
--- a/server/motion.py
+++ b/server/motion.py
@@ -61,6 +61,7 @@ class MotionDetector:
         detection_labels_path: Optional[str] = None,
         detection_confidence: float = 0.5,
         detection_suppress_empty: bool = True,
+        detection_labels: Optional[str] = None,
     ):
         self.camera_id = camera_id
         self.collector_url = collector_url
@@ -82,10 +83,14 @@ class MotionDetector:
         if detection_enabled and detection_model_path:
             try:
                 from detector import ObjectDetector
+                label_whitelist = None
+                if detection_labels:
+                    label_whitelist = set(l.strip() for l in detection_labels.split(","))
                 self._detector = ObjectDetector(
                     model_path=detection_model_path,
                     labels_path=detection_labels_path or "",
                     confidence_threshold=detection_confidence,
+                    label_whitelist=label_whitelist,
                 )
                 logger.info(f"Object detection enabled (model: {detection_model_path})")
             except ImportError as e: