Thoughts on security of personal data, battery life and connectivity. I’ve encountered issues with battery but concerned about privacy !!
The Wyze Battery Cam Pro is a compelling outdoor cam option, thanks to its battery-powered design, 2K resolution with HDR support, and integrated spotlight. It’s only $90, too, and connects to both 2.4GHz and 5GHz network bands. But according to CR, you’re putting your personal data and property at risk if you purchase the Battery Cam Pro. The camera took in lousy ratings for both data security and data privacy, and no one wants sensitive video information falling into the wrong hands.
On Amazon, the Cam Pro ended up scoring a 4.1 out of 5 stars, based on over 1,700 reviews, but users also complained about poor battery life, finicky motion detection, and unreliable Wi-Fi connectivity. We read similar reports on Home Depot’s site, so it’s probably best to stay away from this Wyze product, which is particularly unfortunate when you consider how cheap Wyze cams are, along with the fact that you don’t need a subscription.
I only have Wyze Cam v3 cameras. In 4 years I have not had a camera, cord, power brick or SD card fail yet. I am sure something will at some point. I have encountered flakey camera firmware over the 4 years, but I have learned to be slow on updating firmware.
As for security, all of my v3 cameras are on my IoT network separate from my main network.
As for privacy, all of my cameras are inside looking out.
This was a BGR article summarizing another old article that is no longer applicable either. It looks like AI generated content that didn’t pay attention to newer information.
For what it’s worth, several tech sites now consider Wyze an innovation champion related to smart camera security after recently implementing an innovative multi-layered security architecture that nobody else does which prevents unauthorized access to video feeds and strengthens user authentication through cryptographic Binding where when a camera is set up, a hashed version of the user’s ID is embedded directly into the device’s firmware. The camera stamps this identifier into the metadata of every video, image, or livestream it captures. Before any content can be viewed, the Wyze app cross-checks the user ID of the person trying to access it against the ID stamped in the metadata, ensuring that even if there is a cloud-level error or unauthorized access to storage, only the rightful owner can view the footage.
They’ve gone beyond industry standards:
Mandatory Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Two-factor authentication (2FA) is now automatically enabled for all users.
OAuth Integration: Users can now use trusted identity providers like Apple, Google, Amazon, or Facebook for more secure login processes.
Advanced Threat Detection: The company has implemented reCAPTCHA on login endpoints, mobile trust device security, and device fingerprint blocking to detect and prevent suspicious login attempts.
They have a dedicated cyber security team now since the consumer reports article this AI relied on to look for a worst cameras write up. They added 10 to 12 new engineering positions dedicated to stress-testing code and reducing reliance on third-party libraries.
Wyze now conducts regular rigorous third party penetration testing with reputable firms like Bitdefender, NCC Group, Google MASA, ioXT, and ReFirm Labs.
They have integrated advanced Amazon Web Services (AWS) security tools, including AWS Security Hub, GuardDuty, and Amazon Q CLI, to monitor and protect their cloud infrastructure.
They also have a policy of not selling our data.
The biggest downside of Wyze is the same downside of 99% of their competitors: they are still cloud dependent. People love cloud as a feature to be ABLE to securely view our cameras remotely, but they should still work locally even during an AWS outage, and currently they don’t. They’re also a closed system so it’s difficult to integrate them into other platforms like blue iris, home assistant, home kit, etc… Though they are working on adding RTSP support which will be a game changer for many people.
Wyze has been listening. I think for over a year now they are probably actually one of the best for privacy and security. It’s a shame it took a couple of PR disasters to get to that point, but articles saying they aren’t good for privacy or security are being selectively disingenuous to recent consensus of the facts, especially by comparison to every other company that doesn’t do all the same extra things Wyze does now. It usually means they’re publishing clickbait or using an AI which is only paying attention to specific information related to the prompt which by default can cause it to look at old negatives and ignore recent positives, making the claims outdated and inaccurate. IMO, this BGR article publisher needs some AI prompting courses to make sure their articles aren’t missing key details in their future publications.
But the truth is, any cloud camera will always be a risk. Don’t put them in critical privacy areas (bedroom, bathrooms), and take reasonable precautions like 2FA and a unique Password and don’t give them to your openclaw molt-bot
I didn’t do the deep dive but also got the AI-generated content vibe from the OP, like the bulk of it was a quote from a non-human-generated article or something.
Thank you for you clarification, the reason I posted here to get the facts . Love and hate AI. This just came in my Google news today as if new findings .
I have been a long time Wyze user since the beginning and have 2 of these cameras. I have some issues with battery life but no issues with connectivity . For a current work around I don’t turn on until evening and then don’t continuously record. Just too hard in the winter to constantly change/charge battery.
My Solar Cam Pans don’t give me the option to record continuously, but I sometimes use Schedule Automations to turn them on and off and certain times when they’re not seeing adequate sunlight to recharge and the batteries start to fall behind.
Oh totally. My analysis was about the article publisher. I don’t expect most users to be Wyze experts like some of us volunteers. many people like you come here posting things specifically to see what other perspectives and insights might be added. I regularly get DMs from other readers coming to threads even months later thanking me for taking the time to share my insights, so I often respond for people in general, knowing there are lots of users who enjoy reading other perspectives even when they aren’t directly engaging. You were just posting something that was also probably read by many other people and curious about it. Such things are totally welcome.
I do a similar thing with one of my battery cameras outdoors… It does really great in the summertime when there is lots of sun to keep it charged, but in the winter time, I usually change the settings to have a shorter recording time with a longer cool down time so the battery lasts longer. I also have some extra batteries, so if necessary I can actually swap it out with a fresh battery sometimes. At different periods of time I have even experimented with setting schedules or location-based recording in the winter time, so that maybe the backyard one turns off during the daytime when I’m at home, but turns on at night and while I’m away from home (though I also have other wired cameras to catch other important things in general). What’s best definitely depends on an individual’s needs and use case.
many people like you come here posting things specifically to see what other perspectives and insights might be added. I regularly get DMs from other readers coming to threads even months later thanking me for taking the time to share my insights, so I often respond for people in general, knowing there are lots of users who enjoy reading other perspectives even when they aren’t directly engaging. You were just posting something that was also probably read by many other people and curious about it. Such things are totally welcome.