You could always invest in IP cameras, and manage where the data goes yourself. No reason a 24/7 video stream of your home needs to be sent to a big tech company's data centers, anyway, or any data center for that matter.

This is the approach I take. It’s not for everyone, but it can range from simple to complex depending on what you want to do.

I have a variety of WiFi cameras, all of which are on a dedicated WiFi network that cannot access the internet. I use Zoneminder to handle the recording, motion detection, etc. Zoneminder is pretty versatile, but it’s ultimately up to the camera to provide a compatible method of access - RTSP works well for cameras that support it, but if you have a URL on the camera that will return a JPEG that will work too.

Most of my cameras are low-end D-Link models, they work fine with Zoneminder. I recently got an Amcrest camera which, after some cajoling, works very well with Zoneminder. Using a JPEG URL that Zoneminder polls never worked for some reason, but RTSP worked perfectly.

If you want to go this route, look for evidence that other people have gotten the model you’re interested in to work with software like Zoneminder, Blue Iris, or iSpy. Generally this means that the camera supports open standards that you can use in your system.

If you don’t want to go the Zoneminder route, some cameras can do a lot of the work internally. All of my cameras, for example, have some degree of motion detection and the ability to upload files to an FTP server or send an email. The biggest challenge here is that none of these cameras can be configured to do this without either a Java Applet or a vendor-provided browser plugin to view the live video and define the detection zones and parameters.

I ended up using Synology to manage my IP cameras but came to similar conclusions. It certainly isn't for the faint of heart, though satisfying at the end of the day knowing who has access to your data. I've given up on viewing them from my phone (Synology's DSCam mobile app has been more trouble than it's worth), but I can access them from my laptop over VPN as long as I have a decent Internet connection.

For my wife, who's less tech saavy, I keep a couple nest cams handy :)

>I have a variety of WiFi cameras, all of which are on a dedicated WiFi network that cannot access the internet.

> All of my cameras, for example, have some degree of motion detection and the ability to upload files to an FTP server or send an email.

Am I missing something?

The email and FTP features are available on my cameras, but I don’t personally use them. I only included it as an option to use a camera without relying on the vendor’s cloud service and without setting up something like Zoneminder.

Upon rereading my comment, it could have been structured differently to make that clearer.

Amazon is typically a good steward in their acquisitions though. Twitch.tv, Zappos, imdb, audible as some examples of how they really do keep these purchases as pretty close to the original/successful idea of the company and sometimes even better. I'd say Amazon are maybe the best at not destroying what they buy. Amazon usually buys because the company is a success and not just for tech or to shut down / acquihire etc.

That's comforting from one angle, but I'm still concerned about the privacy implications. I feel like a giant megacorp like Amazon is in a much better position to both mine the data and also be more resistant to criticism.

True but as Ring progressed and the metrics guys come in, they would have been selling that data anyways. At least now you know what it will be used for, Amazon home delivery systems and to sell you products on Amazon.

Amazon is in that stage of power where they are still beneficial and innovating, kinda like Microsoft with the desktop/internet in the 90s and AT&T with their labs that made C++ and the modern application/software in the 80s, even Apple in the 00s with the smart phone and their power. I think when Amazon stops innovating or get to the state where they aren't fully research and development focused, that is where you have to worry when revenues get tight and they have to start selling your private data. Right now ONLY Amazon wants that from this acquisition, they don't want anyone else to have it, Ring probably would have had to let others have it earlier.

the main reason I bought Ring (avoided upcoming nest hello), now I am SOL. Should look closer at their privacy agreements. With Amazon a the helm, they can mine data much more effectively.

I'm using UniFi Video cameras. The server is in my house. No cloud necessary.