ADT’s Facial Recognition Home Security Review

Tom's Guide

Is facial recognition the future of home security? With ADT’s Trusted Neighbor feature, you can provide controlled, hands-free access, to your friends, family, or helpers to help you check on your home while you’re away.  #smartlock #homesecurity #smarthomegadgets   ADT’s Trusted Neighbor feature offers a futuristic way to secure your home, using facial recognition to unlock your door and smart home integration through Google Nest. No more keys or keypads—now your home recognizes you and trusted individuals like dog walkers or neighbors can securely enter in case of emergencies. Here’s how this hands-free, smart security system combines safety and convenience, allowing you to monitor, control, and automate your home from anywhere in the world. Is facial recognition the future of home security?

Transcript

00:00Check this out. You walk up to your front door hands-free, phone still in your

00:05pocket, your doorbell recognizes your face and determines that your phone is

00:09within range. And without lifting a finger, the door automatically unlocks.

00:13While this may sound futuristic, you can actually do this right now with ADT's

00:17new ADT Plus home security system, which combines traditional security with the

00:22best smart home devices from Google and Yale. However, its standout feature is

00:27the new trusted neighbor service. Your network of neighbors, family or friends

00:32can help you take care of your home while you're away, even while you're

00:35completely offline. With their new trusted neighbor feature, ADT is aiming to do more

00:39than just traditional home security like protecting your home from theft, fires or

00:43leaks. With the new system, they're creating a smarter, more connected home

00:47that helps you automate routines or address smaller issues that don't

00:51necessarily require emergency services. ADT Plus combines Google Nest doorbells,

00:56cameras and smart displays like this one with its safety and monitoring sensors.

01:00The system provides real time alerts for video monitoring and automation

01:04through Google smart devices, along with ADT's own suite of sensors for motion

01:09detection, door and window movement, water leaks and smoke and CO2 alerts.

01:13Beyond its security features, integration with Google Home allows you to

01:16control a wide range of other compatible smart devices like lights, locks and room and

01:21temperature, all from the same app. This integration with Google Home has

01:24existed for several years now, but new for this year. ADT is introducing its

01:28trusted neighbor feature, which lets you assign specific roles to people that you

01:31trust, giving them access to your home in predefined situations. The idea is you

01:37want or need someone to enter your house, but only at certain times under certain

01:41circumstances. But how does it all work? The trusted neighbor feature uses Google

01:45Nest's doorbell facial recognition to offer hands-free entry, automatically

01:49unlocking its paired Yale smart lock. For example, you might want to grant access to

01:54your dog walker for an hour every Monday morning or allow your neighbor to enter

01:57your home to put away a package once it's recognized on the doorbell. This access

02:02can be time restricted in increments of one hour up to 24 hours with the option to

02:05set notifications for both you and the trusted contact. It'd be great though, in my

02:10opinion, if ADT added shorter time increments, say, for example, five minutes or 30

02:14minutes for simpler tasks like bringing the package through or watering your plants. They don't need that much

02:19time. Now, one of the key benefits with this system is that it eliminates the need for

02:23physical keys or shared passcodes, which can be easily duplicated or misused.

02:27Speaking from past experiences, I've had packages pile up while I've been out of town and the ability

02:32to just let a trusted neighbor in to quickly handle it would have been great. Testing this out,

02:37I received an alert when a package was sighted by the doorbell and thanks to the flexibility of the

02:41system, my trusted neighbor could safely enter and bring everything inside. ADT's total safety

02:47package is modular. So if you want to add more devices or features later, it's easy to do so

02:51without a complete overhaul. Right away. And its integration with devices like the Google Nest

03:03Hub allows you to monitor your system through voice commands or touch controls. You can ask

03:07Google to show you the front door camera, lock the back door. But of course, if you're already using

03:12Alexa or Apple HomeKit and you're heavily invested in those systems, the Google-centric nature of ADT Plus

03:16may not be for you as it lacks compatibility with those ecosystems. Now, let me show you the hardware

03:20I've got set up. Front and center is the Google Nest doorbell. It's the first line of monitoring,

03:26detecting strangers, packages, deliveries, and even recognizing those familiar faces. Inside, there's a

03:31door sensor that detects when the front door opens or closes. And on the left side of that door is the

03:36ADT touchscreen. This display gives me a quick view of the system status and lets me arm or disarm it in

03:42seconds. It's clean, modern, and it blends in with the rest of the setup. Above the door,

03:47there's a motion detector that covers the living room and kitchen area. On my living room bookshelf

03:52is the Nest indoor camera. It's small and discreet, but gives me full visibility of the key areas in

03:57my home, even in low light. Underneath that, we've got the massive Google Nest Max display,

04:02which ties everything together. It lets me check on my cameras, control my smart devices,

04:06and see and respond to alerts. And in the kitchen, I've added another Nest Max, mostly for music and

04:11following along with the recipes while I cook. And while it's not directly tied in with the

04:15security system, extras like the Google Nest thermostat can be bundled together with your

04:19ADT package since it's so well integrated with that Google ecosystem.

04:23In the hallway is the main ADT plus hub. This acts as the brain for the whole system,

04:28and it's got a couple of unique features. Aside from having the keypad and function buttons for

04:32arming and disarming the system or calling emergency services like the police, fire or paramedics,

04:37the idea with this is that it can be moved to any central location in your home. So it can reach and

04:43communicate with your other ADT sensors without having dead spots. The hub's other main function,

04:47which you'll never really notice unless you're checking your notifications in the app,

04:51is that it's responsible for updating the other hardware remotely. Now, here's one of my favorite

04:56parts. Everything communicates wirelessly. And aside from the ADT display, which just needs a few

05:01screws to install, the whole system is very renter friendly and modular. For someone like me who

05:06likes to move around a lot, having a security system that is this flexible is a huge plus.

05:11Finally, there's the ADT smoke and carbon monoxide detector, which will automatically notify emergency

05:16services if triggered, and the water and temperature sensors to warn you about frozen pipes and leaks

05:21before they turn into disasters. One thing to keep in mind is that ADT plus isn't the cheapest home

05:26security option out there, but you're paying for a full service package that's deeply integrated with

05:31Google's ecosystem. For most people, the front door protection package can be a great entry point.

05:36It's usually priced at $718, but it's currently available for $359. This covers the basics and

05:41includes the ADC base, motion detector, door and window sensors, the Yale smart lock, and of course,

05:46the Google Nest doorbell. The total safety package bumps things up with additional sensors,

05:51an indoor and two outdoor cameras. That one is currently listed for about $823, which is a decent

05:57deal considering all the additional hardware you're getting. Beyond the upfront cost for hardware,

06:00though, you'll need to factor in the price for professional monitoring, which starts at $44.99 per

06:05month with a minimum one month commitment. This plan also includes access to Google Nest to wear,

06:10which would typically cost $8 a month on its own. So if you already use Google Nest products,

06:15this might feel like a win-win. That said, before deciding if ADT plus is right for securing your home,

06:20there are a couple of things you should keep in mind. First, just like with a lot of other home

06:24security companies, ADT's hardware is proprietary. And so with their sensors, their base, you won't

06:29be able to move it to a new service if you decide to switch. That said, if you do want to switch,

06:33you can continue to use all the Nest hardware, including the cameras, the displays, and the

06:38doorbell. And if you want, you can subscribe to Nest Aware if you want to have that extended video

06:42playback. But maybe even a bigger point than that is even though the system can be completely hands-free

06:47to reenter your home, you might not want to keep it that way. By default and recommended by ADT,

06:53the system will actually send a notification to your phone asking for confirmation before unlocking

06:57the door. And while that does kind of take away from some of the magic of this system,

07:01it does give me extra peace of mind knowing that it's not going to misidentify someone or get spoofed.

07:06And because this feature is still in beta, there's of course going to be room to improve,

07:09but also I'd imagine over time, potential vulnerabilities that could be found.

07:14So keeping that extra layer of security is probably the way to go, at least for right now.

07:19On a positive note though, the core functionality of your ADT Plus trusted neighbor system continues

07:24to work just as well, even without facial recognition. You'll still be able to grant control

07:29and secure access to your home. Your neighbors will just have to use the app in order to auto

07:33unlock your door when they're ready to enter, which again, I think is a smarter choice.

07:38But let's ask the real question here, is a system that depends on other people, no matter how much

07:43you trust them, worth potential risks. You're essentially handing over control, albeit selectively

07:49and securely to others. If you have a solid network of people that you can rely on, ADT Plus offers

07:53incredible convenience and peace of mind, which could justify the additional costs. But it's also

07:58important to ask yourself if you're comfortable with the idea of external help having access to your

08:02home. The balance between convenience and security is delicate, and in the end, it's all about how much

08:08trust you're willing to invest both in your neighbors and your technology. But let me know

08:13what you think about the brand new ADT Plus trusted neighbor home security system with facial

08:17recognition being such a core feature. Is this something you'd add to your home today?

08:22Thanks for watching. Till the next one. Catch you later.

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