What Can Nest Cam Do Without Subscription?

By Benny Kounlavouth,

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Google Nest Cameras aren’t cheap to begin with. So after purchasing your Nest Cam, you may not want to pay the monthly subscription fee to Nest Aware.

Many people forego this optional expense. But, what can you do with your camera without it?

Nest Cam Features Available without a Subscription

In the past, Nest did not offer access to any Nest Doorbell or Camera recordings without a subscription.

However, you can now view up to three hours of recorded footage without Nest Aware. You can also view still image captures for up to three hours after they are taken.

In addition to this recorded footage, Nest offers the following features without a subscription:

Doorbell notifications
Motion-based alerts
Access to live video stream
Still image snapshots for face or motion detection

To see your Nest Camera video history in the Nest app or Google Home app, select your camera and scroll below the live stream. You’ll see your recorded footage here.

While the biggest advantage of a Nest Aware subscription is more access to recorded footage, you do still get some recordings without paying a monthly fee.

Does Each Nest Cam Require a Subscription?

One Nest Aware subscription covers all the cameras and doorbells in your network. There are no additional charges to add a second or third device later on.

You don’t need to download a separate app to use a Nest Aware subscription, either. It all works within the Google Home app.

Do I Have to Pay Monthly for Nest?

There are many basic Nest features available without a monthly subscription plan. However, if you want to access the premium features, you must subscribe to Nest Aware.

When you first set up your Nest Camera, you can try Nest Aware free for 30 days. If you decide to keep it after this trial, you’ll have to pay a monthly fee.

What Do You Get With a Nest Aware Subscription?

Subscribing to Nest Aware allows you to access video recordings for up to 30 days. Subscribing to Nest Aware Plus increases this timeframe to 60 days.

No matter which plan you choose, you’ll gain access to the following features when you subscribe:

Subscription Service Feature	Description
Familiar Faces	Nest Aware lets your camera use facial recognition to let you know who exactly is at your door.
Intelligent Alerts	You can set your camera to alert you to certain sounds, such as smoke alarms and breaking glass.
Activity Zones	Program your camera to include or exclude certain areas of your video frame for motion alerts.
Share Video Clips	You can save and share recorded clips for as long as they’re in your video history.
Continuous Recording	Your camera will record video around-the-clock, storing any footage where motion is detected for 30-60 days. All other footage will be stored for 10 days.
Create Video Timelapses	Condense your 24/7 video history into 30, 60, or 120-second timelapses.

Can Nest Cameras Record Locally?

Nest Cameras store footage on the cloud. While you can save clips from your security camera to your phone, computer, or a flash drive, there’s currently no way to bypass the cloud entirely.

Here’s how you can download and save video recordings to another device: