Beware of the action you take because you might be getting watched.
A new setting has been installed in Amazon Echo to show smart displays that act as a security camera. Here, you will get to know how to utilize it.
Alexa with a compassionate AI system has a setting that is installed in the Amazon Echo Show device, which is silently waiting for the call. The setting is known by the name of Home monitoring, which converts a smart display into a security camera. You have to agree that it is a quite exciting and modest transformation of feature, except for those who do not need it.
You must be getting a lot of questions in your head about why someone would need to use Alexa as a security camera when the same thing can be done by the Drop-In feature. It is because the Drop-In feature is actually a video call, which indicates that the device will display the video of you as well, and I do not think anyone wants that. For privacy reasons, you would rather choose the incognito approach for whatever the reason may be like checking on your pets, kids, or anything else.
In addition, in case you have a brand new Echo Show 10, then you can view the camera feed, and most important of all, you can pan the room from left to right, but unfortunately, you cannot pan up and down. Speaking of which, you know that you cannot do that with Drop-In. Until the latest upgrade of the smart display of Amazon’ flagship, the feature was not available, and then it featured in the Alexa app. In starting, only the new Echo Show 10 was able to process it, but with the help of a recent upgrade, Echo Show 5 and Echo Show 8 have access to the Home Monitoring setting.
Now setting up the smart display of the Amazon Echo show to act as a security camera in the Alexa app is a bit difficult task if compared to other features. For security matters, you need to fix it up within the device instead of an app, which means it should only require a couple of minutes and absolutely worth your time. Here are few steps to do it, such as:
Get started with the device you want to set up as a security camera.
For your Echo Show device to act as a security camera, you need to acquire settings of the device (keep in mind- not device settings in the Alexa app). The first step will be heading over to the real Echo Show smart display, now you have to scroll down from the top of the screen, which will allow you to access the main menu, and then tap on the Settings. You also have the choice to say “Alexa, go to the settings,” and then you need to follow the steps onward:
- Tap on the “toggle,” available to the right side of the Home Monitoring.
- You need to tap on the “continue” when your screen pops up with “Echo Show can help you monitoring your home.”
- Now the screen will ask to verify your account, then tap Continue.
- Enter your Amazon account password, and then click on “done.”
- Now the screen will notify you with “all set”, and then you need to tap done immediately. Do not delay the screen timing, as the Home Monitoring setting will remain the same, and then you will need to process from the start.
What is the need for audio alert and video delay?
Before closing down the settings, there are few more steps to attend regarding privacy. At the time, turning on the first toggle called Video Delay will obscure the first few seconds of the video, which is pretty similar to the Drop-In call. This will indicate the other party about getting watched and react to that fact. Now you must be wondering about how would they know about being watched?
They will surely get to know if you choose to turn on the toggle on the screen called Audio Alert. By authorizing this setting, your device will make a sound at the time of camera streaming, which will allow the other party to know that the camera feed is about to go live.
What are the procedures to check the new security camera?
This is where the fun starts about how you can check on your cameras. If you decided to check cameras in the same place you are logged in, then you should mute your device to avoid audio notifications. Follow the given steps to do so, such as:
- Open your Alexa application and then click on the Devices given on the bottom side of the menu.
- Now swipe the top menu horizontally and then click on the cameras.
- Click on the Echo Show Device to view the camera of your choice.
The next step will allow the app to open the camera feed. In case you are of Echo Show 10 user, you have access to swipe left to the right side to set the camera, and also, you can zoom in and out,” and double-tap.
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