This Is How People Have Been Using AlfredCamera

By AlfredCamera

February 15, 2023

The team at AlfredCamera love getting to know our users. Since launching in 2014, users have continued to surprise us with the varied and interesting ways they’ve used Alfred to improve their lives.

With the year coming to a close, we recently reached out to users, who graciously shared their stories about how they’ve been using AlfredCamera and AlfredCam, the first dedicated hardware camera released earlier this year.

Check out the testimonials below to gain some insight as to how Alfred can be used in daily life.

Table of Contents

Untrustworthy Housemates

With soaring house prices, tight rent, and a lack of housing in many urban areas around the world, students and young professionals are more-or-less guaranteed to have to live with strangers at some point in their lives.

While that’s usually an exciting and fun time, there’s no denying that it poses some initial security concerns. That’s why a subtle and inexpensive means of monitoring belongings has been a super handy way for users to stay on top of their things in house shares.

‘At the time of purchase I was living in a men’s home I had noticed things missing so I found this app had a couple extra phone and decided to give it a try shortly there after I caught another person living in the house going through my things with intent so it was brought to the house manager and proper actions were taken.’ [SIC]

In shared homes, thefts aren’t always going to be of expensive valuables, but that doesn’t make them any less annoying. This user noticed food stopped going missing when Alfred got involved.

‘I live in a rooming house with up to 5 other guys. I have used my Alfred camera to give the guys a peace of mind knowing their things are being looked after when no one is home. I also keep another Alfed camera in my room for added protection for my things. When I put up my Alfred cameras in the house, guys stopped reported missing food or other items. Before I had Alfred camera theft was somehow common.’

Small Businesses

Around the world, Alfred has largely been used inside the home—but many users have thought outside the box and found even more ways to get even more out of the app.

One such way is in small stores and other small businesses environments. Small businesses don’t usually have the funding behind them that larger scale operations have, sometimes forcing business owners to put certain aspects of day-to-day operations on the backburner.

Security should never be forgotten about, and Alfred has helped small business owners find an affordable way to stay more secure.

‘The area I live in is a mostly safe rural area. However, we send and receive a lot of packages. And store lots of items related to our business. We are close to a main hwy and at times, we see lots of people visiting the area. Recently purchased the new hardware cam. It’s the best part.’

‘I own a small business that just started recently. I needed something affordable and discreet for my shop.’

Moving Homes

Moving houses can be a pretty stressful endeavor, and poses a rather unique security risk: the entire contents of a home has to somehow be moved safely to a new location without getting lost, broken, or stolen.

Since Alfred can be set up in literally minutes on an old device, it makes for a super reliable watchdog during the transition. As one user shared, they quickly set up old cell phones to monitor the space before purchasing AlfredCam for further security.

‘Just moved in to our new house and started using old cell phones with the Alfred software. When Alfred Camera was announced we ordered right away.’ [SIC]

Pet Watch

Keeping pets of any kind, big or small, is a commitment. Busy lives may mean many people don’t get to spend as much time with their pets as they’d like, but that doesn’t mean they have to be totally isolated or distressed.

AlfredCamera makes it easy to keep an eye on pets, whether the user is busy with work or stuck somewhere unexpectedly. Two-way audio can be used to calm them, and monitoring means that if something happens, a neighbor can be notified accordingly.

‘We live in a rural area and don’t have many security concerns,’ one user said. ‘We wanted a camera to keep watch of our rabbits while we were gone. The cameras are worth the upgrade from a phone!’

Another user initially started using Alfred solely for pet monitoring, but expanded use into security following the death of their spouse.

‘I live in northern Louisiana and being a recent widow, I now live alone. I have a fairly large number of dogs and I also foster for a local rescue, so I use my Alfred Cameras for both dog surveillance and home security.’

Similarly, another user described their first use of Alfred being to monitor pet food.

‘My first use of the Alfred cam system was to set up a monitor of the cat’s food bowl while I was gone for a few days. In the events that they needed food, I would have been able to ask a friend to stop by.’ [SIC]

Long-term Home Security

With the release of AlfredCam, the first hardware security device from the team, long-term security using Alfred has become a much more reasonable prospect for many users.

Ultimately, expensive security devices are completely out of reach for many people around the world. Alfred is a valuable means of long-term monitoring of homes and other spaces.

‘I had inquired with the local company for home security cameras. They wanted to run wires throughout my house and the cost was over 40 a month. I have used the Alfred camera system for a couple years now starting with the cell phones. When the camera came available I was quick to purchase 3 of them. I have one pointed at each entry way of my home. This gives me the peace of mind I was looking for. So far I haven’t had any incidents but the cameras would catch it if it did happen.’

Some users feel that they live in particularly safe areas. Users living in quiet neighborhoods are less concerned about security and safety than those in busy urban meccas. Many commented that Alfred is sufficient monitoring for their long-term needs.

‘I live in a great area that does not have much crime. I am being cautious.’

‘I live in a safe neighborhood. I do have a sidewalk with frequent people passing and package deliveries.’

One user described a situation in which, despite living in a safe area, Alfred was able to help catch an incident in the driveway.

‘We live in a quiet cul de sac so nothing much happens. However sometimes people turn into our road thinking it’s a drive through and once a car turned into our driveway to u-turn and drove over our mail box. They knew this had happened because the driver got out to look, but then just drove off. Our camera recorded the incident and car tag. The rest is obvious!’

Recommended reading: How to Hide AlfredCamera: 10 Clever Tips

Nanny Cam

As kids age, parents will be inclined to slowly push them into a life of greater independence, one step at a time. Surveillance can help bridge the gap, and is particularly useful when it has two-way audio.

It’s also often not logistically possible for parents to be around 24/7, with hectic work schedules pulling them away from the home.

AlfredCamera has been used as a nanny cam since its conception, allowing busy parents to monitor and chat with the kids when they can’t be in the home. One user shared how it has helped with the transition to a more independent part of their child’s life.

‘With my child now old enough to travel to/from school without an adult, I wanted to know when they got home, and whether they were doing their homework. I was also keen to have it when we were traveling to ensure no one was entering our apartment (our building superintendent has a key).’

Recommended reading: Watching Over Your Kids with AlfredCamera

Elderly Monitoring

In our series on elderly care, we highlight some of the essential aspects of establishing meaningful care for the elderly. Like many things, elderly care can be expensive and difficult to facilitate.

Surveillance is integral to many forms of elderly care, particularly useful for folks that retain general capacity and are capable of living independently or semi-independently. Unsurprisingly, users have made great use of Alfred in helping ease the sometimes difficult work posed by caring for someone in need.

‘Hi to all! I live with my Mom & Mother-in-law (really they live with me) . I’m in between Austin and San Marcos TX. I’m in a pretty good neighborhood, neighbors keep an eye for one another. Crime is fairly low in this neighborhood. I use the cameras to record The Moms. Cameras are in rooms that they go into and help us monitor their movements and the two-way system is great in being able to correspond with them. Going to put up one more camera to be able to have coverage of the entire front yard. Enjoy that you are able to really customize the detection zones for each camera! Cameras are an EASY setup. Get them and you’ll be very pleased.’

Conclusion

We love to hear what users are doing with Alfred, and in sharing their stories, they provide everyone with ideas about how Alfred can be used to make life just that bit easier—whether that’s checking the dog’s food bowl or catching a thief red-handed, its versatility is its greatest asset.