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Comment by gnicholas | Hacker News Reader

So is the $34 fee a one-time fee, and it works across all devices linked to your iCloud account? If so, that makes this tip much more useful for folks with several old devices.

How does the night vision work? I assume it's not nearly as good as IR-enhanced night vision on other security cams?

Can you use Alfred in combination with HomeKit or IFTTT to trigger lights to turn on?

EDIT: I'm seeing pricing of $30/yr, not $34 as a one-time fee. Am I looking in the wrong place? https://apps.apple.com/us/app/alfred-home-security-camera/id...

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$34 is for the physical camera you can buy from them now; you are correct the yearly unlocked subscription is $30, my bad I should have noted the pricing above.

Wait, so how does this use an old iPad? I assumed that this app turned my old iPad into a security camera. Is that not the case?

I can buy a Wyze camera for $30 and get notifications with no monthly fee (or pay a fee and get more cloud storage).

I honestly don't understand how this app is a good use of my old iPad. How is an iPad even involved? Wouldn't I view the video from my phone?

Have a read of the Alfred website and your questions will be answered.

I did. It says stuff like

> Everyone deserves peace of mind, so we made security easy and free for everyone.

which lets me know that it's not a useful source of accurate information. A quick look at the App Store page shows that there are many IAPs, including fairly expensive subscriptions. If I have a choice of paying $30/yr to enable my iPad to be a security camera, or $30 one time to buy a Wyze (which has IR sensors/lights), then I'm going to go with the latter every time.

They started with repurposing old phones and iPads and recently started selling their own low cost camera.

Ah ok. But you have to pay a monthly fee regardless? What about the claim on their website that they make this easy and free for everyone? What is available for free?

Also interested in homekit. wondering about homekit secure video compatibility and whether this could be set up in an E2EE way.

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