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?
#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?
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TechTranscript
00:01Check 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 a new system, they're creating a smarter, more connected home that helps
00:48you automate routines or address smaller issues that don't necessarily require
00:52emergency services. ADT Plus combines Google Nest doorbells, cameras and
00:57smart displays like this one with its safety and monitoring sensors. The system
01:01provides real-time alerts for video monitoring and automation through
01:04Google's smart devices, along with ADT's own suite of sensors for motion
01:08detection, door and window movement, water leaks and smoke and CO2 alerts. Beyond its
01:14security features, integration with Google Home allows you to control a wide
01:17range 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 trusted
01:28neighbor feature, which lets you assign specific roles to people that you trust,
01:32giving them access to your home in predefined situations. The idea is you want or
01:37need 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
01:53to your dog walker for an hour every Monday morning, or allow your neighbor to
01:57enter your home to put away a package once it's recognized on the doorbell. This
02:01access can be time-restricted in increments of one hour up to 24 hours, with the
02:05option to set notifications for both you and the trusted contact. It'd be great
02:09though, in my opinion, if ADT added shorter time increments, say for example, five
02:13minutes or 30 minutes, for simpler tasks like bringing the package through or
02:17watering your plants. They don't need that much time. Now, one of the key
02:20benefits with this system is that it eliminates the need for physical keys or
02:24shared passcodes, which can be easily duplicated or misused. Speaking from past
02:28experiences, I've had packages pile up while I've been out of town, and the
02:32ability to just let a trusted neighbor in to quickly handle it would have been
02:36great. Testing this out, I received an alert when a package was sighted by the
02:39doorbell, and thanks to the flexibility of the system, my trusted neighbor could
02:43safely enter and bring everything inside. ADT's total safety package is modular, so
02:48if you want to add more devices or features later, it's easy to do so
02:51without a complete overhaul.
02:57Right away.
03:01And its integration with devices like the Google Nest Hub allows you to monitor
03:04your system through voice commands or touch controls. You can ask Google to show
03:08you the front door camera, lock the back door, but of course, if you're already using
03:11Alexa or Apple HomeKit and you're heavily invested in those systems, the Google
03:15centric nature of ADT Plus may not be for you as it lacks compatibility with those
03:18ecosystems. Now, let me show you the hardware I've got set up. Front and center
03:23is the Google Nest doorbell. It's the first line of monitoring, detecting strangers,
03:27packages, 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
03:35of that door is the ADT touch screen. This display gives me a quick view of the
03:40system status and lets me arm or disarm it in seconds. It's clean, modern, and it
03:45blends in with the rest of the setup. Above the door, there's a motion detector
03:48that covers the living room and kitchen area. On my living room bookshelf is the
03:52Nest indoor camera. It's small and discreet, but gives me full visibility of the key
03:56areas in my home, even in low light. Underneath that, we've got the massive
04:01Google Nest Max display, which ties everything together. It lets me check on my
04:04cameras, control my smart devices, and see and respond to alerts. And in the kitchen, I've
04:09added another Nest Max, mostly for music and following along with the recipes
04:12while I cook. And while it's not directly tied in with the security system, extras
04:16like the Google Nest thermostat can be bundled together with your ADT package
04:20since it's so well integrated with that Google ecosystem. In the hallway is the
04:24main ADT plus hub. This acts as the brain for the whole system, and it's got a
04:28couple 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
04:37paramedics, the idea with this is that it can be moved to any central location in
04:41your home, so it can reach and communicate with your other ADT sensors
04:44without having dead spots. The hub's other main function, which you'll never
04:48really notice unless you're checking your notifications in the app, is that it's
04:52responsible for updating the other hardware remotely. Now here's one of my
04:56favorite parts. Everything communicates wirelessly. And aside from the ADT
04:59display, which just needs a few screws to install, the whole system is very
05:03renter friendly and modular. For someone like me who likes to move around a lot,
05:07having a security system that is this flexible is a huge plus. Finally, there's
05:12the ADT smoke and carbon monoxide detector, which will automatically notify
05:15emergency services if triggered, and the water and temperature sensors to warn you
05:19about frozen pipes and leaks before they turn into disasters. One thing to keep in
05:24mind is that ADT plus isn't the cheapest home security option out there, but you're
05:28paying for a full service package that's deeply integrated with Google's
05:32ecosystem. For most people, the front door protection package can be a great entry
05:36point. It's usually priced at $718, but it's currently available for $359. This
05:40covers the basics and includes the ADC base, motion detector, door and window
05:44sensors, the Yale smart lock, and of course the Google Nest doorbell. The total
05:48safety package bumps things up with additional sensors and indoor and two
05:52outdoor cameras. That one is currently listed for about $823, which is a decent
05:57deal considering all the additional hardware getting. Beyond the upfront cost for
06:00hardware though, you'll need to factor in the price for professional monitoring,
06:03which starts at $44.99 per month with a minimum one month commitment. This plan
06:08also includes access to Google Nest to wear, which would typically cost $8 a month
06:12on its own. So if you already use Google Nest products, this might feel like a
06:16win-win. That said, before deciding if ADT plus is right for securing your home,
06:21there are a couple of things you should keep in mind. First, just like with a lot of
06:24other home security companies, ADT's hardware is proprietary and so with their
06:28sensors, their base, you won't be able to move it to a new service if you decide to
06:31switch. That said, if you do want to switch, you can continue to use all the
06:35Nest hardware, including the cameras, the displays, and the doorbell. And if you want,
06:39you can subscribe to Nest Aware if you want to have that extended video playback. But
06:44maybe even a bigger point than that is even though the system can be completely
06:47hands-free to re-enter your home, you might not want to keep it that way. By default and
06:51recommended by ADT, the system will actually send a notification to your phone
06:55asking for confirmation before unlocking the door. And while that does kind of take
06:59away from some of the magic of this system, it does give me extra peace of
07:02mind knowing that it's not going to misidentify someone or get spoofed. And
07:06because this feature is still in beta, there's of course going to be room to
07:09improve, but also I'd imagine over time potential vulnerabilities that could be
07:13found. So keeping that extra layer of security is probably the way to go, at least
07:17for right now. On a positive note though, the core functionality of your ADT plus
07:23trusted neighbor system continues to work just as well, even without facial
07:27recognition. You'll still be able to grant control and secure access to your home.
07:31Your neighbors will just have to use the app in order to auto unlock your door when
07:34they're ready to enter, which again, I think is a smarter choice.
07:39But let's ask the real question here. Is a system that depends on other people,
07:42no matter how much you trust them, worth potential risks? You're essentially handing over
07:47control, albeit selectively and securely, to others. If you have a solid network of people
07:52that you can rely on, ADT plus offers incredible convenience and peace of mind,
07:55which could justify the additional costs. But it's also important to ask yourself if
07:59you're comfortable with the idea of external help having access to your home. The balance
08:03between convenience and security is delicate. And in the end, it's all about how much trust
08:09you're willing to invest both in your neighbors and your technology. But let me know what you think
08:13about the brand new ADT plus trusted neighbor home security system with facial recognition being such a
08:18core feature. Is this something you'd add to your home today? Thanks for watching. Till the next one. Catch you
08:24later.
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