Tuesday Tip: Upcycle Your Old Smartphone into a Wireless Security Camera

If you are like me, you probably have a few old smartphones collecting dust in a drawer. From time to time, you may consider whether to recycle it or if there is another purpose it can serve. How’s this? Use it as a wireless security camera.

The most secure and highly rate app I discovered for this purpose is AlfredCamera, available for both iPhone and Android. To use it, you must download the app onto your current smartphone which will serve as your viewer phone. Next, download the app onto your old phone so it can act as the security camera. Open the newly installed app and create a login with your email or your Google/Apple account. Using the drop down menu, designate which device will be the viewer phone and which one will be the camera.

If you’re concerned about hackers and unauthorized viewers (and you should be!), rest assured that Alfred has strict measures in place to prevent hacking, including video encryption and randomized URLs.

The free version has several cool features, like a two-way talk feature, a record button, and motion detection feature that creates a short recording when it senses movement so you can watch it later. You can also remotely rotate the image on the camera phone, switch between front and rear camera, turn on the flashlight if needed for a dark room, and use a siren feature to scare an intruder. You can also use a computer as your viewer by logging  into AlfredCamera’s website. The paid version is $30 per year and gives you all of these features of the free version plus better video quality, longer recordings, no ads and more.

In addition to home security, I can think of a variety of ways to use this, including as a travel baby monitor, a pet cam, a washer/dryer/oven monitor, and more. How would you use it?

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Courtney Rose: As Sales Operations Specialist, Courtney puts her detail-oriented personality to work by providing support to the sales group. With a background in customer service, she is adept at looking at opportunities for improvement from different angles and offering solutions that increase productivity.

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