How To Easily Set Up Camera Security With A Low Budget [Quick Guide]

If your can’t afford a professional security system at this time but still need a motion detection camera to monitor parts of your home, keep reading to find out how you can use your mobile phone as a security camera, and save money at the same time.

Also continue reading to see why using a professional security system is a thousand times better and why you should considering investing in one for your home or business.

Sections in this document

• Should You Set Up Home and Business Security?
• What Are Benefits of Installing Professional Video Surveillance?
• Making The Choice

Should You Set Up Home And Business Security?

In this day and age you should set up security – whether for your business or your home. Crime is on the rise, criminals are more brazen and any kind of deterrent will only benefit you.

Using a Mobile Phone for Video Security

For whatever reason, some people just can’t afford to hook up their homes with a full-fledged security system, or they live somewhere where they are not permitted to like in an apartment building, townhouse or condo. Well, as the old saying goes – there’s an app for that – and there is, and today we’re going to showcase that app, and give you a few other interesting video security options as well.

Introducing the Presence App

The Presence app is by far one of the best free video surveillance apps out there. It can be used to monitor a home or business, or virtually anywhere you need to record motion or live video streams. It can be used in both data and WIFI mode, it saves all your video captures, and you can hide the camera virtually anywhere you need to completely out of sight. But wait there’s more.

You can install it on your iPad or iPhone/tablet or Android, get instant text and email motion-alerts, and lets as many people as you want to monitor your home through the app as well. You simply install the same app on 2 devices; one is used for security to monitor and record, and the other is used for viewing the live video and recordings from anywhere you are in the world. Did I mention it’s free?

Yes, it’s free, with no ads, but you can upgrade your free package and get a few interesting extras too, but you really don’t need to.

One more thing: you can even view what’s going on in your home or business from your computer. Simply visit their website, log in with the account you created during the app installation, and start viewing all the action from there.

Once you download and install the app on your devices, you’re going to want to go through the basic but optimal setup. 

Presence App Setup

Here’s the best way to set up the app. Keep in mind most people want motion detection and instant alerts.

• Install the app on two devices
• Add your devices main menu/Cameras and Devices – follow the instructions
• Set up your rules in main menu/rules and Text Your Phone When
• Go to Settings in main menu/Settings, and Video Settings and activate Email Notifications
• Go back to your Cameras and Devices section click on your other device to activate the camera mode
• Go into it’s Options and set the level of motion detection

That basic setup will keep get your going. You’ll be able to watch your pets, your children, for intruders, land lords or maids, and, you’ll be notified whenever there’s movement. Your videos will be uploaded to the cloud, and you can download them too.

Make sure to go into the other app settings so you can get the best of what it has to offer, which is a lot.

What Are Benefits of Installing Professional Video Surveillance?

Although using a phone app for video security seems ingenious, the fact is, saving up enough money to install a professional security camera system is definitely the way to go.

These are some of the benefits to installing a professional video surveillance camera in your home or business (source):

• increase Safety
• alarm verification
• crime deterrent
• loss prevention
• remotely monitor your business
• very affordable
• totally convenient
• provides freedom and peace of mind
• analyze developing trends

The best part of a professional system is that it’s hooked up with an alarm company and emergency services.

This is a major drawback of using phone app for security, not to mention you have to call the police yourself, and by the time they can respond, the crook could be long gone.

A professionally developed security system will reduce crime in a commercial setting while businesses choosing to go without, are 4.5 times more likely to experience a burglary, fraud, thefts and embezzlements. (source)

Drawbacks to Using a Phone App for Security

Another major drawback of using a phone app. is that you don’t have 360 view capabilities which again substantially reduces your ability to get decent and more footage of the situation you’re recording. Here’s a list of the drawbacks of using an phone app for home or business security:

1. inefficient access to live camera
2. restricted video recording times
3. no notifications to emergency services
4. no intrusion alarms
5. potential issues with app servers
6. videos are accessible by intruders
7. intruders can destroy the camera
8. minimal areas can be monitored
9. relies on outlet and to be connected to wires

Professional companies give you all the features that free apps do but they offer more extensive packages including entry alarms, fire detection and even tampering detection. A recent article by ReoLink shows that a professional system actually deters crime, while it’s obvious that apps only catch people in action. This is especially important information for business owners to take into consideration.

Making The Right Choice For Security

If you’re on a low budget and can’t afford a full security system, go for the app. You’ll be able to set up multiple cameras and it will give you some needed peace of mind – for the time being anyways. It won’t however, offer complete and reliable ongoing protection of your property; there is no 24 hour monitoring, the police will never be called, and you have to rely on grainy images which may not even be good enough to identify intruders.

The advice is to save up enough money and talk to a professional security company and get properly protected, but get on it, and until then continue using the phone app because a little bit of security in much better than none.