Google Is Pulling The Plug On Dropcam And Nest Secure
Google is sunsetting the Works With Nest program, and is also ending support for Dropcam security cameras and the Nest Secure service next year. In an email sent to customers, the company notifies that Works With Nest will be shut down on September 29, 2024, which means all device connections will stop working. The move has been in the making for a while, and also serves to consolidate a majority of Google's smart home hardware under the Home umbrella.
Google announced a replacement called Works With Home back in 2019, and ever since, its predecessor Nest program has been on an extended lifeline. In the meanwhile, affected users will get access to a new script editor for creating custom automation routines if they so choose. It will also add new features and will be released in "the coming months," says the company.
Next, Nest Secure — Google's alarm system, which includes Nest Guard, Nest Detect, Nest Tag, and the Nest app — will also lose official support on April 8, 2024. Google discontinued the alarm system back in September 2020. It will be succeeded by the ADT Self Setup, which was announced just over a week ago, following a partnership between Google and ADT worth $450 million which was announced all the way back in 2020.
The wavy Dropcam saga ends
There is, however, some good news for existing Nest Secure customers. Google will cover a free installation of the Self Setup System from ADT (worth $485) to existing customers — details of which will be shared to customers. Alternatively, users can choose to get $200 in store credit towards the purchase of other hardware from the Google Store.
Aside from its in-house Nest products and services, Google is also getting rid of the Dropcam security camera lineup. Support for Dropcam hardware ends on April 8 next year, which means the standard and Pro models of the Dropcam security camera will no longer connect to the Nest app. Customers with an active Nest Aware subscription will get the wired Nest Cam for free, while non-subscribers get a 50% price cut toward the purchase of a Nest-branded camera.
Google acquired Dropcam for over half a billion dollars in 2014, a move that raised eyebrows regarding the security and privacy implications of the move. Just two years later, Dropcam founder Greg Duffy wrote in a blistering Medium post that selling the company to Google was a mistake — which happened at a time when Dropcam was doing quite well on its own.