Great work google! My 2 month old and 3 year old need an LED shining in their face at night when they try to sleep. Burglers need to know when a security camera is recording their activities. AND Users need to have functionality removed from their hardware without their consent!
Recently, we shared our commitment to privacy to outline how our products work in your home. As part of that commitment, we explained that you will always see a clear visual indicator when your Nest cameras are on and sending video and audio to Nest.
So we’re changing how the status lights function on Nest cameras, Dropcam, and Nest Hello. You will be able to dim the light on your camera, but it will always be on when the camera is on. We’re doing this to make sure you, and those around your camera, are aware when the camera is on and recording.
Starting today, we’re rolling out the following changes:
• In Settings for all Nest cameras and Nest Hello, the ability to turn off the status light will be removed. Instead, you’ll be able to dim the status light. When the camera is on, the status light will glow green.
• For Dropcam, the setting to turn off the status light will be removed. When the camera is on, the status light will glow blue.
• On Nest Cam, Dropcam, and Nest Hello, the status light will blink when the camera’s live video is streamed from the Nest app. The setting to turn this off will be removed.
We’re making these changes for greater transparency and privacy in your home. You can learn more about the status light updates here.
If you have questions or need additional details, please contact support.
- The Google Nest team
The bottom line is more of a consumer protection issue. When you buy hardware with a feature set advertised. A company should not have the right to remove features from something you paid for without consent. It's basically vandalism of private property. It doesn't really matter whether you like that they are doing it or not. It really comes down to alteration without consent or permission. If you purchased a video card with the expectation that you could overclock it and 2 months later the manufacturer released a bit of firmware that locked it to 5% below your stock purchase clock because it increased the longevity of your card would you approve? Or a more apt example if a phone manufacturer was found to be under-clocking phones to "preserve battery life" without the consent of the users? I think we have a real problem in the USA and somewhat less so the rest of the world when it comes to consumer rights protections. You can argue "why are people whining" but when something that is a feature in a device you care about and paid for is taken away without your consent would you be fine with it?