BT launches app-connected security camera for a nation of worriers

If you’re a Daily Mail or Express reader worried that your shadow might be a home invader, the new BT Smart Home Cam 100 could calm your fears.

The WiFi-enabled high definition video camera has a 93-degree field of vision, and sports night-vision and motion detection, communicating to a free app on Android or iOS devices when it spots movement.

The £100 networked CCTV camera lets users take snapshots of the live video, and with a premium subscription you can automatically store clips online when motion is detected. 

Erik Raphael, director of WiFi and devices at BT said: “Innovative technology like the BT Smart Home Cam can offer a second pair of eyes to those that would otherwise waste time travelling home, or sending the neighbours in – giving peace of mind and saving valuable time.”

The Smart Home Cam 100 can also be set up to allow someone else to keep an eye on a user’s house and receive the notifications while they’re away, and the app can be connected to several cameras at the same time.

The premium storage plan costs £9.99/month and stores video clips online for 30 days – so even if you keep paying they’ll be lost unless you’ve downloaded them for safe keeping – maybe to a free service like Dropbox, Flickr or Google Drive.

In an effort to convince the fearful-at-heart to part with their money, BT also published research claiming Britons spend an average of one hour and 53 minutes each day worrying about their homes.

Almost a quarter of our working day is allegedly consumed with worries about what’s happening at home, from whether we’ve locked the door to whether we’ve shut the windows or left the iron on.

BT said that almost half of us (48 per cent) worry about burglars and over a quarter (26 per cent) agonise over whether or not they locked the door. Other concerns included leaving pets at home alone (29 per cent) and worrying about the oven being left on (17 per cent). 

Around one quarter of people admitted they had forgotten to close a window, lock the door or left a light on accidentally at least once in their life.