- [Adam] Who makes the best indoor wireless security camera
for privacy protection?
Here’s a look at the Eve Cam
with HomeKit Secure Video
and some new iOS 14 enabled features.
We’ve all seen the stories
of home security cameras getting hacked.
Most wireless cameras need you download an app,
make an account, harvest your email address,
need your WiFi password,
can stream your footage to third-party servers,
and often want you to pay for a subscription
to access full features such as recording.
I don’t like any of that!
So, I bought this.
The Eve cam.
Eve cam addresses all of those privacy concerns
that put me off buying other popular indoor cameras.
Eve were first to offer an indoor security camera
created exclusively for Apple HomeKit Secure Video.
I’ve lived with the Eve Cam for a few weeks
so I can give informed feedback.
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The black plastic attracts speckled dust
which my studio lighting exaggerates on camera.
Eve Cam has a built-in microphone
and speaker for two-way communication.
It ships with a universal adaptor
compatible for the US, Europe, UK, and Australia.
There’s a metal fixing plate for the magnetic base
of the security camera.
You don’t have to use this.
The camera stands upright by itself,
or can stick to other metal surfaces.
The camera pivots on two axis
with a good range of adjustment, and feels sturdy.
I measured the Micro USB power cord
at a generous two meters,
so you’re not that restricted
when choosing a location for your security camera.
You can also mount the camera upside down
and flip the display if needed.
So here’s some headline features.
Eve cam’s biggest USP is privacy.
One, there’s no registration.
So, it doesn’t collect personal data
by forcing you to set up an account.
Two, Eve Cam doesn’t stream footage
through a server.
When viewing the live video feed,
you’re getting direct, encrypted access
to your Eve Cam in your home.
Three, your motion-triggered recordings
are analyzed securely in your home,
and only your personal devices can unlock
and view the recordings.
You access the camera, recording and settings
via the Home app that’s already pre-installed
on your Apple device.
There’s also the Eve app,
again there’s no registration,
and you don’t really need this
other than to activate the device,
or maybe to adjust motion detection sensitivity.
You do need to be part of the Apple ecosystem.
Your HomePod, Apple TV, or HomePod Mini
will act as a home hub
which allows you to view and record footage
even when you’re away from home.
Eve cam can work without a home hub,
but only to view live footage,
and only when you’re at home.
The 1080p HD camera gives an impressive
150 degree field of view.
So, positioned in the right spot of your home
you can capture multiple rooms.
Here, the field of view captures my reception room,
kitchen entrance, living room, adjoining room, stairs, even upstairs!
Intelligent motion detection
allows you to specify recording and notifications,
either for all movement, people, pets, or cars.
Which I found 100% accurate,
even when using the infrared night vision mode.
Clever!
During the day, I clip my Eve Cam
to the kitchen window,
pointing in front of my front door.
With more of us at home nowadays,
door-to-door unwanted sales callers
are really causing a problem.
I use my Eve cam to quickly see who’s there
and choose whether to ignore them or not.
This is not the camera’s intended use,
but an outside camera would require
professional wiring, and a doorbell camera
would point directly forwards capturing images
outside of the boundary of your home,
which means you’d have to be GDPR compliant
in UK or Europe, and any affected person
can legally demand access to their data.
Mounting my camera high, pointing downwards,
means I only capture images within the boundary
of my own private domestic property,
so data protection laws don’t apply.
Not the best view with my blinds in the way,
and motion detection,
and therefore recording won’t work through glass.
But I can see who’s at my door
by checking the live feed, exactly as I wanted.
That’s already saved me a lot of aggravation.
Recordings are kept for 10 days before deleted.
Or you can save or share them for safekeeping.
This uses your existing 200GB or greater
iCloud storage plan.
But don’t count against your iCloud storage limit.
Bonus!
Okay, if you don’t have an iCloud storage plan
then you’re presented with a very small cost here,
less than $3 per month currently.
Use your Eve cam to trigger automation
of other HomeKit devices such as lights and heating.
New in iOS 14 is face recognition,
I can’t find a practical use for that myself,
but also new with this update is a really cool feature
in your Home app.
You can draw activity zones to define areas
within your camera’s field of view
to capture video or receive notifications
only when motion is detected in those areas.
And again, you can choose to capture people,
pets, or cars, or combination of those
within your activity zone.
See the description for more information
on the Eve Cam.