Arlo takes privacy seriously by shielding its new Essential Indoor Camera

By Patrick Hearn January 13, 2021

Home security is a field of contradictions. On one hand, it offers you a 24/7 view into your home and provides you with peace of mind. You can keep an eye on things while you’re away. On the other hand, there are potential security implications. A lens pointed at your home’s interior at all times, on or not, can be unsettling. CES 2021 has focused heavily on consumer privacy, and Arlo’s new Essential Indoor Camera demonstrates this in a big way.

The standout feature of the Essential Indoor Camera is that it has an easy-to-control, automated privacy shield. The camera gives users the ability to control everything about its recording. You choose when the camera monitors and records. When in disarm mode, the Essential Indoor Camera does not record or detect motion or audio, and will remain in this mode until the user deactivates the mode from within the Arlo App. You can also deactivate the privacy shield by starting a livestream.

The privacy shield is a physical mechanism. This means users do not have to rely on trust that the camera is not recording — a barrier will block the camera from seeing anything unless the user wants it to.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Arlo has also introduced a new Touchless Video Doorbell that eliminates the need for a visitor to actually touch the doorbell in order to activate it, reducing the potential for bacteria to spread. The Arlo Touchless Doorbell uses Proximity Sensing Technology to measure a person’s approach. When the doorbell detects a visitor, that person will hear an audible chime and see a light on the doorbell itself. This is the signal that the doorbell has been “rung” and that the owner knows someone has arrived.

The Arlo Touchless Video Doorbell protects not only the homeowner, but also the visitor. By reducing contact and distance, the risk for transmission of COVID-19 and other bacteria and germs dramatically decreases.

With the focus on touchless technology and health-focused ways of utilizing existing technology, CES 2021 has demonstrated multiple ways that our modern world can be put to use in the fight against disease and in the fight against privacy violations.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Patrick Hearn writes about smart home technology like Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, smart light bulbs, and more. If it's a…

Smart Home

Nanoleaf upgrades its music-syncing skills, launches new lighting products at CES 2024

The Nanoleaf Skylight lighting up a room various shades of purple.

Nanoleaf lit up the stage at CES 2024, pulling back the curtain on a variety of new lighting products arriving later this year. Along with the Essentials Matter Smart Multicolor Lightstrip, Outdoor String Lights, and Permanent Outdoor Lights, the company gave fans a closer look at the upcoming Skylight Modular Ceiling Light and the Orchestrator software -- with the latter bringing massive improvements to Nanoleaf's music syncing abilities.

Orchestrator is arguably the most exciting innovation of the bunch, as it connects directly to your computer's sound source to create a highly accurate lighting performance. This allows your Nanoleaf products to create a light show that's more robust than most other products on the market, which rely on sound alone.

Smart Home

Eufy shows off four security cameras and an upcoming robot vacuum

The Eufy X10 Pro Omni in a living room.

Eufy is a big name in the smart home space, and it had plenty of cool gadgets to show off at CES 2024. Along with giving consumers a closer look at four recently launched security cameras, Eufy revealed the X10 Pro Omni robot vacuum and mop, which looks to be an affordable alternative to flagships from Roborock and Ecovacs.

The X10 Pro Omni doesn't make any huge innovations in the world of robot vacuums. Most of its features we've already seen on other robots, such as its ability to empty its dustbin, clean its mop, then dry it to prevent the accumulation of mildew. It also boasts an avoidance system to ensure it's not bumping into any shoes, toys, or other items that have accidentally been left in its path. And while its 8,000 Pa of suction is impressive, it's a number a handful of other robots have already hit.

Smart Home

Samsung SmartThings learns a bunch of useful new tricks at CES 2024

A person sitting on a couch with SmartThings products in the foreground.

Samsung SmartThings -- an application designed to connect and control your smart home devices -- doesn't quite get the same attention as platforms like Google Home or Apple HomeKit. However, it made some big announcements at CES 2024, and it's shaping up to be a big year for Samsung's first-party platform. Along with enhanced support for TVs and new uses for QR codes, SmartThings is rolling out a brilliant Map View feature, which creates a digital map of your home and shows you exactly where all your connected devices are located.

Here's how it works. Instead of scrolling through a list of all your devices or jumping between groups in your smartphone app, Map View lets you see a 3D representation of your home on your smartphone. Inside this map, you'll find icons for all your smart home gadgets corresponding to their actual physical location. That means you can quickly find exactly which device you want to control without needing to scroll through a long list.