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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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
01:00sensors. The system provides real-time alerts for video monitoring and
01:04automation through Google's smart devices, along with ADT's own suite of
01:08sensors for motion detection, door and window movement, water leaks, and smoke and
01:12CO2 alerts. Beyond 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 existed for
01:24several years now, but new for this year, ADT is introducing its trusted neighbor
01:28feature, which lets you assign specific roles to people that you trust, giving
01:32them access to your home in predefined situations. The idea is you want or need
01:38someone to enter your house, but only at certain times under certain circumstances.
01:42But how does it all work? The trusted neighbor feature uses Google Nest's
01:46doorbell facial recognition to offer hands-free entry, automatically unlocking its
01:50paired Yale smart lock. For example, you might want to grant access to your dog
01:54walker for an hour every Monday morning or allow your neighbor to enter your home to
01:58put away a package once it's recognized on the doorbell. This access can be time
02:02restricted in increments of one hour up to 24 hours with the option to set
02:06notifications 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
02:1430 minutes for simpler tasks like bringing the package through or watering your
02:18plants. They don't need that much time. Now, one of the key benefits with this
02:21system is that it eliminates the need for physical keys or shared passcodes,
02:24which can be easily duplicated or misused. Speaking from past experiences, I've
02:29had packages pile up while I've been out of town and the ability to just let a
02:33trusted 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
02:40flexibility of the system, my trusted neighbor could safely enter and bring
02:44everything inside. ADT's total safety package is modular, so if you want to add
02:49more devices or features later, it's easy to do so without a complete overhaul.
02:53Right away.
02:58And 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.
03:22Front 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.
03:30Inside, there's a door 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 system's status and lets me arm
03:41or disarm it in seconds. It's clean, modern, and it blends in with the rest of the setup.
03:46Above the door, there's a motion detector that covers the living room and kitchen area.
03:51On my living room bookshelf is the Nest indoor camera. It's small and discreet,
03:55but gives me full visibility of the key areas in my home, even in low light. Underneath that,
03:59we've got the massive Google 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,
04:08I've added another Nest Max, mostly for music and following along with the recipes while I cook.
04:13And while it's not directly tied in with the security system, extras like the Google Nest
04:17thermostat can be bundled together with your ADT package since it's so well integrated with that
04:21Google ecosystem. In the hallway is the main ADT Plus hub. This acts as the brain for the whole system
04:27and it's got a couple of unique features. Aside from having the keypad and function buttons for arming
04:33and 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,
04:42so it can reach and communicate with your other ADT sensors without having dead spots.
04:46The hub's other main function, which you'll never really notice unless you're checking your
04:49notifications in the app, is that it's responsible for updating the other hardware remotely.
04:55Now, here's one of my favorite parts. Everything communicates wirelessly. And aside from the ADT
04:59display, which just needs a few screws to install, the whole system is very renter friendly and modular.
05:05For someone like me who likes to move around a lot, having a security system that is this flexible
05:10is a huge plus. Finally, there's the ADT smoke and carbon monoxide detector, which will automatically
05:15notify emergency services if triggered, and the water and temperature sensors to warn you about
05:20frozen pipes and leaks before they turn into disasters. One thing to keep in mind is that ADT
05:25Plus isn't the cheapest home security option out there, but you're paying for a full service package
05:30that's deeply integrated with Google's ecosystem. For most people, the front door protection package
05:34can be a great entry point. It's usually priced at $718, but is currently available for $359.
05:40This covers the basics and includes the ADC base, motion detector, door and window sensors,
05:45the Yale smart lock, and of course, the Google Nest doorbell. The total safety package bumps things up
05:49with additional sensors, an indoor and two outdoor cameras. That one is currently listed for about $823,
05:56which is a decent deal considering all the additional hardware you're getting. Beyond the upfront cost for
06:00hardware though, you'll need to factor in the price for professional monitoring, which starts at $44.99
06:05per month 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 things you should keep in mind. First, just like with a lot of other home security
06:25companies, ADT's hardware is proprietary. And so with their sensors, their base, you won't be able
06:30to 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 re-enter 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. So keeping
07:14that 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 you
07:43trust them worth potential risks. You're essentially handing over control, albeit selectively and
07:49securely 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.