I am in the process of purchasing a home, and the house that it’s looking like I am likely to buy has a Ring alarm system and camera installed. I like the idea of having burglar alarms on the windows and doors, but I do not want to use Ring. Between their ownership from Amazon and sharing data with the cops, I don’t trust them.
Are there privacy-friendly home security systems out there that don’t require an ongoing subscription? Bonus points if the devices are HomeAssistant compatible.
Many home camera companies use subscriptions as an excuse to store your recordings in the cloud and allow you to view or access them remotely on a phone app. I havent put up any that do that, but a shitload of other people have.
Frigate is a custom OS for NVRs. The NVR stores the recordings, and the OS ideally puts you in complete control of the cameras and associated data. I am working on getting hardware that will let me install it, so I am only saying its worth taking a look at but am not endorsing it since I have not successfully uses it yet.
The reason I say to use wired cameras is because they are more secure and can get continuous power instead of worrying about rechargung batteries. You can run them with no internet connection and control your local recordings that way. The drawback is that its only accessible by direct physical means. If someone breaks in and steals that hard drive then the whole system is worthless.