Wyze has announced an unorthodox approach to outdoor security cameras with its new Window Cam, which monitors your yard and property from inside your home. This “Rear Window” approach to security means the camera doesn’t need batteries, Wi-Fi range extenders, access to an outdoor outlet, or weatherproofing. The company already offers window mounts for its indoor security cameras, but the Window Cam is specifically designed for this job, with the infrared and LED lighting completely removed to reduce glare. It’s available now from Wyze’s online store for $34.98.
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The Window Cam features a 1080P HD sensor paired with a lens that offers a 101-degree horizontal field of view, which is limited to 53.9 degrees vertically. It also features “enhanced color night vision,” according to Wyze, which takes advantage of the wide f/1.0 aperture to capture color footage with minimal ambient light.
The included mount uses a large black frame to minimize glare from interior lighting. While the camera attaches using a generic hook-and-loop closure, the mount itself attaches to a window using a sticker. The sticker isn't designed to be reusable (you'll actually need a hair dryer and a scraper to remove it), but the camera includes two of them if you later decide to reattach the mount.
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A 10-foot microUSB cable is included to connect the Window Cam to power, but you'll need to provide your own microSD card, up to 512GB in capacity, if you opt for secure 24/7 local recording. The camera has a built-in microphone and speaker, but its two-way communication capabilities and ability to record audio from outside events will be less effective behind a window than with a security camera mounted outside your home.
Window Cam offers motion detection alerts that can include AI-generated descriptions of what it sees if you subscribe to the company's Cam Unlimited Pro service for $19.99/month or $199.99/year.
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You can also use the Window Cam with Wyze's cloud storage, which is available through subscription plans ranging from $2.99/month to $19.99/month, if you're comfortable with the company's recent efforts to improve its security practices. The company suffered a serious security breach last year that allowed thousands of customers to briefly see inside other homes, and before that, it failed to disclose vulnerabilities in now-discontinued products that could theoretically have allowed hackers to access video streams over the internet.
