Home security cameras and video doorbells come with options for video storage. And while many let you choose between local video storage and online cloud storage, you typically have to pay for it either way -- whether it's buying a microSD card or paying a monthly subscription. While it may be tempting to save money and skip this feature, I think that's a big mistake.
Saving video isn't just an extra feature; it helps security cams perform their most important function. And that matters when you're trying to get the details of captured action or when the police are looking for more information, such as in the tragic case of Nancy Guthrie's abduction, when the FBI released footage of the presumed abductor to the public, caught on a Nest camera.
At CNET, we embrace a variety of video storage options. I pay for Google's Home Premium subscription when I'm not testing out other security cam models, which starts at $10 a month. My colleague David Watsky's Roku doorbell, meanwhile, costs him only $4 a month, well below the average monthly fee. Here are the biggest reasons we need this storage.
1. Security video storage helps in a crisis
Security cameras offer either local video storage with a chip, cloud storage or both.
The case of Nancy Guthrie isn't the only time when police have been able to use footage to handle an emergency. Live views from security apps are a start, but if videos aren't saved, they can't help anyone when something serious occurs.Â
Those events aren't always as time-pressing as an abduction (which often means police can get a warrant for footage or make a life-or-death request). Sometimes you may want to save a recording of a porch pirate and share it with the neighborhood on an app like Ring Neighbors or Nextdoor as a warning. And if someone does try to break into your home, you can share the footage when you file a police report, which can be very helpful to the investigation.
Or, as Ring has shown with its new Search Party feature, video storage can also be useful for tracking lost pets. Saved video can help with local or cloud storage, but keep in mind it's usually much easier to download and transfer video when you choose a cloud storage option. Again, with brands like Blink, cloud storage costs only around $3 to $4 per month, and brands like Google Nest give you several hours of storage for free, enough time to view and download important videos.
Read more: 3 Ways Police Can Legally Seize Your Home Security Video
2. Saving video enables seriously cool AI features
Nest cams and other new options offer serious AI smarts if you use cloud video.
There's another, newer reason I pay for video storage -- testing out the latest security AI features enabled by services like Gemini for Home, and other brands with AI, including Ring, Arlo, and Blink.
This isn't the same kind of generative AI you see in chatbots, but rather a more targeted version that "reads" saved videos and provides information about them. You can get video descriptions in your alerts (the AI can recognize colors, shapes, UPS vans, bicycles, and so much more), so you don't have to view the video yourself to find out what's going on, a big boost for peace of mind. Some versions even give you daily summaries or can answer questions like, "Where did the red ball go?"
I found Gemini's daily summaries and descriptive alerts particularly handy -- for a price.
If you're worried about privacy implications, that's a valid concern, but 1) these features are opt-in and generally available only on certain tiers of subscription, and 2) while companies will use your videos to train their AI, I haven't come across any security breaches or privacy snafus regarding this kind of AI yet.
3. You'll want video storage when you're on a trip
Live views are nice when you're away, but saved video is much better.
When we're distracted, away or generally busy, we don't have time to investigate live feeds right away. That's especially apparent on vacations and longer trips when everyone is away from home for a few days or more. In times like these, I greatly appreciate having a way to review security videos and event history from apps, no matter where I am.
That type of review isn't possible without video storage, leaving you at the mercy of motion-detection video alerts -- something I'd really rather turn off during vacations. Also, when videos are saved, it's a lot easier to send them to a neighbor or friend with something like, "Hey, can you pick up this package for me?" or "Do you know what this person was doing knocking on my door?"
Now you know why getting video storage in any shape is worth it, whether as a one-time payment or a few bucks a month. Next, take a look at how to get low-cost home monitoring and how to get home AI features for free.