‎Disable Recording when arming/disarming | SimpliSafe Support Home
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T
tregeta

3 Messages

Thursday, February 27th, 2020 4:19 PM

Submitted

3

Disable Recording when arming/disarming

I don't care if this has been posted before, I want to express frustration about the camera settings. I have a simplicam but I don't use it specifically because of the MANDATORY recording of me arming or disarming my alarm. The fact I can't disable this feature is absolutely ridiculous. It feels like SS deciding my home security and not me.

Please add this most basic feature.

Suggestion

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Updated 

5 years ago

 • Edited

570

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arthursteakhouse

1 Message

5 years ago

I have the same complaint. I want the camera to record only in the case of an actual alarm condition. The only way to do this is by pulling the plug and tossing the camera in the trash. I'm very close to doing this.

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sevensiamesecats

2.2K Messages

5 years ago

It's not basic and not important.  There is no REAL difference to you whether it records arm/disarm or not.  Doesn't cost you any more, doesn't fill up your available memory.  I understand your frustration that SS thinks their design is perfect and your opinion isn't worth the bits used to send it. but there are more basic and more important features to be mad at them for not implementing.

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tregeta

3 Messages

5 years ago

Its not about cost or space. It's about not giving the customer control over what an INDOOR camera records. Virtually every other camera device/service gives you this control, so yes it's basic.

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sevensiamesecats

2.2K Messages

5 years ago

Customer control means less SECURITY for a SECURITY camera.  I don't think anyone really thinks the SS cameras are much use for casual viewing.  They are designed to monitor SECURITY events.

All those other cameras?  They are just cameras so you can see what is going on (or in some cases, what went on).  Perhaps an ADJUNCT to a security system, but not security themselves.

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tregeta

3 Messages

5 years ago

Right, an alarm is a security event. Me walking into my house with the right code should be my choice if it records that. Some people may want that some don't. Im not saying it should be removed just be able to be toggled. Not hard to program that at all.

I never argued that I wanted it for casual viewing, I know what a security camera is, so not sure where that came from. Other SECURITY cameras DO let you customize when they record. Being that the camera is INSIDE your private home, you'd think that would be important....

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undeleted

1.2K Messages

5 years ago

I can see your point, and maybe it should be optional, but lets play devils advocate for a minute.  What if a bad guy got lucky and guessed your code on the first try?  Would be nice to have some video of that no?  I know it's a stretch, but a guy was born on leap year 40 years ago and just had a baby who was also born on leap year, so strange things can and do happen.

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sevensiamesecats

2.2K Messages

5 years ago

Of course there is no reason to record a VALID disarm.  But how is the system going to tell between the person who is supposed to have a particular PIN, and someone who is not supposed to be able to disarm your system?

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captain11

Captain

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6.1K Messages

5 years ago

@dp, you know better than most the lengths a nefarious programmer will go to trick a target to clicking on an email link etc.  Reports of specific social engineering designs are on the rise and going through someone's facebook and other social media accounts to make an "educated guess" for someone's pin is not beyond reason.  Video of all system events is not a bad thing.

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undeleted

1.2K Messages

5 years ago

If all these cyber criminals would put their skills to use in a positive way just imagine how amazing life could be.  But alas, it doesn't seem to work that way very often.

And to add to the conversation, recording arms and disarms can be advantageous.  Our alarm went off in the middle of the night one time and woke us all up in a panic.  Our son was leaving the house and claimed it malfunctioned when he shut the door.  So I checked the cameras and they showed that opened the door, pressed home and then closed the door, but he didn't quite shut the door all the way so you could see him re-open it slightly and close it again which set the alarm off.  

Without that recorded event, I would still think to this day that we had a malfunction and probably wouldn't trust the system.

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jeben1977

5 Messages

3 years ago

When disarming the system using your pin number at the keypad to turn OFF the cameras all start recording you in your home for a short while. They should shutoff upon entry once you have entered your pin and shut the system OFF. There is no need for recording you once the proper procedure of turning it OFF. This is especially concerning when you turn ON the system in HOME mode for the night and Disarm it entering your code turning it OFF in the morning and all the cameras start recording everyone's morning routine in the house. Could not get his corrected for privacy. Anyone  have a solution ?
Note: This comment was created from a merged conversation originally titled Stop Camera Recordings with System is Disarmed

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hondaman88

113 Messages

They do list on the website that the camera records when disarming the alarm (I'm not sure for how long).  It may be a security issue so you can see who turned the alarm off.  Maybe you have a couple teenagers in the house and someone turned the alarm off during the night to sneak out, but neither wants to confess.  I'm assuming you could view the recording to see who it was.  Not sure about a solution, but I do see where the privacy shutter can be set open/closed depending on system status of home/away.  See if the shutter is even open when you disarm in Home mode.  It may not be a concern if the shutter is closed.

Disclaimer: I do not have the cameras and do not speak from experience.  I have cameras from a different company that operate independently.  

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The SimpliCam camera records during the following events:

Alarms
Disarming your SimpliSafe system
Camera Detected Motion
User Triggered Recording
Secret Alerts (When Enabled)
User Initiated Test of the SimpliSafe system
Duress Alarm
Silent Panic button
Entry Delay (After entering your home while the system is alarmed)
Power Restored

https://support.simplisafe.com/hc/en-us/articles/360029594152-When-does-the-camera-record-

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3 years ago

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davey_d

Community Admin

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5.7K Messages

Hi jeben1977,

Thanks for your suggestion. Currently, the trigger is a little simpler than that. If you triggered an Entry Sensor on the way in, your cameras will keep recording for 185 seconds - regardless of whether or not you've disarmed the system already.
If you're just disarming (without an alarm trigger), that time is shortened to 20 seconds.

One thing we should make clear though is that all of your videos are fully encrypted, so that no one, not even our own engineers, can access them without your permission. So those videos of your morning routine are just for you!

- Johnny M.
SimpliSafe Home Security

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3 years ago

0

jeben1977

5 Messages

When turning the system OFF when in Home mode  all the cameras shutters are open and recording close to 1 minute. This does not make anyone comfortable. All recordings stay in the Timeline for 30 days I believe and are visible to tech support when you have to call them when you have problems. Any recording after turning off doesn't seem right.

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3 years ago

0

davey_d

Community Admin

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5.7K Messages

jeben1977,

Of course, we're grateful for the feedback and we're passing it on to our engineers.

But with regards to the second part - yes, recordings stay on your account for 30 days. But they are never accessible to our Support team. They can check the connection and look at event logs, but the videos themselves are strictly off limits.

You might also be thinking of the Video Verification feature, which is an opt-in service. What that does is, if you have an actual alarm event, our server will send the first minute of video to the operator handling your emergency call.
Then that operator will call you, and can tell you if they see someone on the premises. If you're not able to answer, they'll call the police, and can act as a witness for an actual crime in progress.
But again, you would have to opt into that feature, and the operator is only able to see footage from that single event - not any other recordings.

- Johnny M.
SimpliSafe Home Security

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3 years ago

0

DougEveland

2 Messages

2 years ago

Please give users the ability to configure cameras such that they only capture video when the alarm system is On.  I should not have to hide for a minute or two after disarming.   Give your users full control!

Note: This comment was created from a merged conversation originally titled Option to disable recording after disarm

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davey_d

Community Admin

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5.7K Messages

Hi @DougEveland  ,

Right now, this behavior is intentional, so you have record of who disarmed your system. Please don't worry, only you (or someone with your username and password) can access your videos. So in this scenario, you would really just be hiding from yourself!

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2 years ago

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ckirby

4 Messages

@davey_d​ I think the point I’ve seen with this problem is two fold- 1- we don’t want notifications buzzing when we’re say hanging out in the back yard. 2- it wastes battery (then 3 from SimpliSafe’s standpoint it’s more data on the servers/cloud space that they need to pay for the capacity to house) 

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2 years ago

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