Is mobile app security software safer than traditional camera equipment?
Geeni Glimpse Wireless Smart Camera vs AlfredCamera
Writer’s note as of Sept. 14, 2022: I can no longer recommend Geeni Glimpse 1080p HD Wireless Smart Camera — Indoor Home Security Camera. Approximately three months after I paid the $19.99 annual fee starting on June 12, the screenshots and live video footage stopped working on both cameras — after multiple connection warnings for the past week. Customer Service will only tell you to clear your cache and/or uninstall and reinstall the app. Meanwhile AlfredCamera has yet to fail me.
With recent news about menstrual cycle apps being linked to Roe vs. Wade, I keep thinking of a comment from Dr. Lynae Brayboy, the first Chief Medical Officer of the Femtech app CLUE.
“You should be careful about apps that are free and don’t tell you what they do with your data,” Dr. Brayboy said, during an interview with Desi Lydic from “The Daily Show.” “There have been some apps that violated the trust of their users by selling their data.”
Although the episode was about period tracking software, another guest on the show made me start looking at all of the apps I use — including security software.
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“If you don’t pay for the product you’re using, you most likely are the product yourselves,” said Ida Tin, the co-founder of CLUE.
Just like that, I pulled out all three of my smartphones and started dissecting the privacy policies for each of my apps, uninstalling at lightning speed. But some of them, primarily home devices, are the ones I paused over. In order for them to work, they need to be able to access a mobile app user’s activities.
Recommended Read: “Can your device keep a secret? ~ Playing Devil’s Advocate with consumer privacy”
When I first decided to use AlfredCamera, I was a bit startled that so many of the mobile app’s security options were free of charge. I didn’t even have to buy equipment; I could use my own old smartphones. When I needed a device that could handle moodier weather conditions and night vision better, I bought a Geeni Glimpse Indoor Home Security Camera. And like AlfredCamera, some perks were free. But are they really? And which one is the better buy?
Recommended Read: “Old phone, new home surveillance system ~ AlfredCamera review: Taking advantage of free mobile surveillance apps”