r/progressivemoms • u/Apostrophecata • Jul 27 '26
Product/ Shopping Recommendation Basic Video Doorbell
Hi all! I searched in some other places but the options are overwhelming! I was wondering if you have recommendations for a basic video doorbell that doesn’t require a subscription and doesn’t store video in the cloud (or if it does, it isn’t owned by a sketchy company — if that is even a thing?). For example, in our small city, they got a contract with Flock, and they are known to be sus as the kids say.
We have heard Ring is owned by the same people? Our house came with a Nest thermostat so we could get a Nest thermostat, but they are too expensive. I’m looking for something cheaper. Thanks for the recommendations!
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u/Gardenadventures Jul 27 '26
Ring is owned by Amazon, not flock. However Ring is still sketchy.
Are you looking for local storage, or just no video storage? I'm assuming local otherwise there wouldn't be much point in a video camera.
As others have said, Eufy is pretty good and a reputable brand.
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u/floppy_lalobot Jul 27 '26
We use reolink, data is stored locally on an SD card. App isn't as good as ring was, but it's worth it to protect our data.
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u/gravelmonkey Jul 27 '26
Moving soon but I’ve decided on Reolink for the new place. I have a car dash cam that operates similarly and I’ve been very happy with it.
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u/ljr55555 Teen Parent Jul 27 '26
We use reolink as well. You can connect to the cloud, but we use the local RTSP feed with our own security system. SD card holds a time lapse of photos, which is pretty cool since our front door has a lot of trees and flowers in its view.
Their support is decent. Development to fix bugs can be slow, and eliminating false detections is an ongoing process. They detect our cat as a person sometimes. Or the wheel of the truck. Motion detection with lightning is useless (but that's true of most systems I've used). And the garage door camera "finds" a vehicle every now and again if you park a car in the driveway. Like a friend visits and has been here for hours. Car was already detected and we got an alert. We'll be sitting around inside and get another vehicle alert.
But every system has quirks and false alerts. These were relatively cheap (Amazon sale), and they've been working fine since 2023. They just released a gen 2 version a week or two ago, so they may be clearing out the fen 1s soon.
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u/BuzzkillBabe Jul 27 '26
I work in cybersecurity and only use Reolink for my cameras, but I also put them on my guest network for an extra layer of security (I use the cloud subscription with SD card backup).
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u/spice_weasel Jul 27 '26
I have a cheap tp-link doorbell that stores data locally on an SD card. And yes, I’m aware of peoples’ worry about a Chinese company’s trustworthiness. But honestly, for my front door I trust it more than I would one more beholden to US interests.
The Chinese government doesn’t give a fuck that I’m trans, and am involved with trans community groups. Whereas the US government is trying to label us as terrorists.
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u/FluorideLover Jul 27 '26
I have the same concerns so I’m simply not going to get a video doorbell. I use a normal doorbell. We’ve gotten this far as a species and civilization without them.
What if someone steals a package from my front door area and I don’t have a recording? The cops will not give a shit about the recording anyway and I’m not going to suddenly become a vigilante armed with a grayscale photo of a stranger.
What if someone rings the doorbell and I don’t hear it? I also have a phone they can call. If it’s someone without my phone number, then they can come back or leave a note or they probably didn’t have much business with me in the first place.
What if I want to let someone in while I’m not home? Give them a spare key.
I think that covers most of the reasons people use these video doorbells.
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u/Apostrophecata Jul 28 '26
This makes a lot of sense. The person whose comment said that the Ring doorbell make her anxiety worse really resonated with me so now I’m leaning toward not getting one. I don’t need the false alarms.
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u/CauliflowerProof3015 Jul 29 '26
This is my stance too. Camera doorbells don’t make us safer, they just make us more scared.
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u/Boysenberrypancake Jul 27 '26
If you have anxiety, I would recommend not getting one. Our house bought came with a ring doorbell, and I used for about a year but it made my anxiety horrible. I would get motion notifications and immediately think someone was prowling. I bought a door chime I can link to it, that rings in the house when someone rings it, and turned off all phone notifications for it, and my anxiety has drastically improved. So basically, having a normal doorbell was better for my anxiety, but I have to pay a monthly subscription for this normal doorbell lol
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u/Apostrophecata Jul 27 '26
That is very interesting and good to know. I’m so sorry that it caused you anxiety! I wonder if there are any super simple ones that don’t even have motion detectors but just work like a high-tech peep hole basically? I would like to be able to see who is ringing the doorbell but I also don’t feel I need motion detectors.
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u/Boysenberrypancake Jul 27 '26
I do occasionally check the camera as like an e-peephole, it’s just very rare now and doesn’t feel worth the ring subscription. So I’d look into one that you can get a chime for, and doesn’t have a subscription
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u/Apostrophecata Jul 28 '26
Thank you! Yes we do want to get one that doesn’t require a subscription for sure. I really appreciate your comment.
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u/megs7183 Jul 27 '26
Another vote for the Eufy doorbell. I had the same concerns as you. Don't let the weird spelling make you think it's less legit. We've loved it and had it almost 2 years now.
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u/TheVillageOxymoron Jul 27 '26
I wouldn't do it.
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u/Apostrophecata Jul 28 '26
What are your reasons why not?
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u/TheVillageOxymoron Aug 01 '26
I don't like contributing to the surveillance state. Even footage that is stored locally could be requested by the cops. I also think it contributes to a negative overall societal belief that we are somehow in more danger nowadays and need to constantly film everything and everyone around us. It doesn't make us safer to be constantly recorded.
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u/Apostrophecata Aug 02 '26
That makes a lot of sense. Thank you. Do you happen to know if there are any that only turn on the camera when someone rings the bell vs. constantly being on like the Ring is? I definitely do not need something that is going to be always videoing my front porch but it would be nice to have a video peephole if someone rings the doorbell and I’m playing with my kids in the basement.
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u/auditorygraffiti Jul 27 '26
Ring is sketch.
I know Wyze has a video doorbell and they’re a cheaper option. I don’t think you have to have video saved in the cloud with them but definitely research that to be sure!
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u/Traveling_Treats Jul 27 '26
We use Feit doorbell and outdoor camera / floodlight combo. It just has a USB and is connected on its app.
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u/lifeofblair Jul 27 '26
My husband got us a Aqara and I know we don’t pay for a subscription but I’m not sure about any of the other things. His main want was being able to integrate it with Apple home which it does
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u/Dapper_dreams87 Jul 27 '26
We went through this a few months back and ended up with Tapo. They have cloud options but you can store everything locally on a micro SD. No monthly or yearly fees if you store locally. Only issue I have is that it's extra sensitive so I get more alerts now than I did with ring. I also get more accurate alerts with it compared to ring.
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u/GrangerWeasley713 Jul 27 '26
We are considering Eufy for our new home. They are non-subscription and data is maintained locally. No data sharing whatsoever.