How Long Does ADT Keep Videos?

If you’re putting in ADT security cameras, you might be curious as to how long ADT holds on to any camera footage collected on your property. There are several reasons you might want to access old security camera footage, from investigating a break-in to simply checking back on an incident in your home.

ADT stores video camera footage for up to thirty days using the ADT Pulse software app. To preserve memory, the system sheds old footage after thirty days. Security camera footage that needs to be archived longer than thirty days should be downloaded digitally and stored on an external device.

Storing ADT camera footage may be necessary to maintain security on your property, and archiving it can help you with potential legal issues. Read on to learn more about how long ADT stores videos and how you can pull them for your personal use.

Does ADT Save Video?

ADT’s Pulse software app saves video of security footage from every camera you have set up on your ADT network. Whether used for home or business security cameras, these videos can be accessed at any time from the ADT Pulse dashboard. (Source: ADT)

The way ADT saves video is that all video footage recorded through your security cameras is passed to a secured remote server where it is held for use. From here, video can be replayed, screenshotted, or downloaded for personal archival.

How Long Does ADT Save Video Footage?

ADT stores captured video footage from security cameras for either twenty-four hours or thirty days, depending on the homeowner’s security options. (Source: ADT Security)

After thirty days, this footage ends up being erased to make room for more security footage. It wouldn’t be cost-effective for ADT to store old camera footage indefinitely, so it places responsibility on the homeowner to archive the footage past that point.

Can You Retrieve Deleted ADT Videos?

It is impossible to retrieve ADT security video footage once the data has been deleted from ADT’s storage systems. ADT does not have any redundant storage of archived security footage, both for practical and security purposes. Even temporary storage of sensitive personal security camera footage is a liability for the company.

Luckily, ADT has made it easy for subscribers to archive their own camera footage by allowing for digital downloads. Downloading the videos to an external hard drive such as a computer lets each individual keep their own security footage for as long as they think they need it.

To retrieve and download ADT videos before they’re erased, observe the following procedure:

• Go to the ADT website.
• Select Video.
• Select Saved Video Links.
• From the saved video menu, you can choose individual clips of security camera footage to play, download, rename, or ascribe a clip description.

The ADT Pulse software allows owners to perform several functions with saved security camera footage from the Saved Video menu. Here’s a brief overview of the different capabilities you have once you’re in the app:

• Play Video: The Play Video function allows you to go through each of the videos you have on ADT’s website from the past thirty days or twenty-four hours. These videos can be monitored with the option to pause, reverse, and fast-forward camera footage.
  
  
• Download: The Download function allows homeowners and business owners to pull video files off ADT website to store on their personal computers and smart devices. Even though ADT only stores camera footage for thirty days, this allows the owners of the footage to keep it however long they want.
  
  
• Rename: The Rename function allows homeowners and business owners to ascribe a naming system to their saved videos. This makes it easier to find videos with relevant footage and keep them in obvious chronological order.
  
  
• Change Description: Along with changing the name of individual saved video clips, ADT also allows the video owners to add a brief description to each of these clips. This description remains in the app’s history even if the video footage itself ends up being erased over time.

Even though ADT doesn’t store security footage indefinitely, it does give owners plenty of options for organizing and archiving their own footage elsewhere. 

Does ADT Record Constantly?

ADT only stores security footage for a maximum of thirty days, but ADT security cameras run twenty-four hours a day. No matter what time of day it is, you can be sure that if you have ADT security cameras up and running, you’ll have video ready to go.

The only time that ADT cameras don’t record constantly is if you have your ADT cameras hooked up through a wireless system and you lose Internet connectivity. For this reason, people that depend on continuous reliable security footage for safety often have these systems hardwired in rather than relying on wireless service.

How Long Does ADT Record?

ADT security cameras can be set to record either continuously or when activated by motion. These security cameras can also be set up to record video at specific times of day, such as the normal time children are expected to arrive home from school. This allows homeowners to record comings and goings in the household even if they aren’t home.

If activated by motion detection, ADT cameras are set by default to record video clips of thirty seconds. These settings can be adjusted in ADT’s Pulse app on your smart device or phone. (Source: California Security Pro)

ADT Makes Video Archival Easy

While ADT may not store your security video forever, it’s still got plenty of video editing options and easy access storage that make it simple even for household laymen to archive their own data. For this reason, ADT is one of the most popular systems available for both home and business security camera footage.