Amazon has notified users via email that its Cloud Cam smart home camera and related apps will be discontinued. The nearly five-year-old Cloud Cam was one of Amazon’s first forays into the Alexa-enabled home security space, debuting just before the retailer’s acquisitions of connected camera and doorbell company Blink and smart doorbell maker Ring. Amazon claims that it will no longer support Cloud Cam because it is focusing its efforts on Ring and Blink.
“With your help over the last five years, Cloud Cam has served as a trustworthy indoor security camera and a hub for Amazon Key-compatible smart locks that interact with Alexa,” the email terminating existing customers adds. “As the number of Alexa smart home devices increases, we are focusing our efforts on Ring, Blink, and other technologies that make your home smarter and your daily routines easier.”
According to the email, customers will no longer be able to use Cloud Cam or its associated apps as of December 2, 2022. Users can still download their video recordings until then. However, all video history will be erased as of the shutdown date, and the service will cease to exist.
Customers who paid more than $100 for their Cloud Cam smart camera will not be left with useless hardware as a result of the shutdown. Instead, Amazon is doing the right thing in this situation by providing a free replacement device. According to the company, Cloud Cam users will receive a free Blink Mini and a one-year Blink Subscription Plus Plan. The Blink Mini is an indoor security camera with 1080p HD video, 2.4 GHz Wifi connectivity, night vision, motion detection, two-way audio, and Alexa compatibility, similar to the Cloud Cam.
These functions are similar to Cloud Cam’s, which included 1080p HD video, night vision, and two-way audio. Cloud Cam, on the other hand, has a different pricing structure than Blink. Cloud Cam users can now choose between three monthly pricing tiers: $6.99, $9.99, or $19.99, depending on the number of cameras they have (three, five, or ten) and how long they want to keep video footage – a week, two weeks, or a month. Meanwhile, Blink offers a free tier with no video history, as well as a premium plan — Basic or Plus — for $3/mo or $10/mo with a 60-day unlimited video history. Only the Plus membership, however, allows for the use of multiple cameras.
Customers will receive instructions on how to claim their free replacement device in an email from Amazon prior to the deactivation of Cloud Cam.
In the meantime, Cloud Cam users can back up their movies by going to the “Recorded Clips” section of the app’s top-right menu. To save a video, they must first select it and then click the Download icon. They can also remove recordings from this page or Amazon’s “Manage Your Content and Devices” online hub.
