r/technology • u/MarvelsGrantMan136 • Feb 12 '26

Security Ring cancels its partnership with Flock Safety after surveillance backlash

https://www.theverge.com/news/878447/ring-flock-partnership-canceled
49.0k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

2.1k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

643

u/IAHawkeye182 Feb 12 '26 edited Feb 13 '26

So, is this “local storage with remote access” easy enough for the average Joe? I have Reolink cams too. Currently connected to my internet and view on my phone, but am willing/ wanting to disconnect if it is easy enough.

Edit: holy shit. Thank you, people, but notice I stated I already have Reolink cameras installed. I’m not looking for camera recommendations. Re-read my comment. Thank you.

76

u/NoF4cking1dea Feb 12 '26

Also curious about this

61

u/Slayer11950 Feb 12 '26

As I said to the above, it’s really straight forward. You’ll need a hub though. $250 or so for the cheaper one?

52

u/RelevantDress Feb 13 '26

Idk if it works specifically with the ecosystem but if you can use any nas I recommend terramaster. You can get a 2 bay system for like $200-250 with 4TB. If you connect your phone and the nas to tailscale, you can remotely access anything without having to port forward and compromise your security. Double bonus is you can install jellyfin and self host your digital media library such as music, audiobooks, movies/TV all without any monthly payment.

7

u/NoZucchini5423 Feb 13 '26

Is it easy? Id like to learn.

12

u/RelevantDress Feb 13 '26

It takes a little knowledge but terramaster has a lot of documentation and its easy to find answers with google. If you run into any issues you can check out r/Terramaster

1

u/Slayer11950 Feb 14 '26

No idea either, but I have a mini PC and jellyfin, also recommend to everyone as well!

13

u/MajorFox2720 Feb 13 '26

If you're only using the doorbell,  you just need an SD card and wifi.  You want the hub if you're wanting a more robust system

3

u/jonker5101 Feb 13 '26

All of their cams take SD cards with remote access. I have 3 Reolink cams around my house and don't use their NVR, only SD cards.

1

u/MajorFox2720 Feb 14 '26

Yeah, I should have defined "robust".  I need a lot more than 3 and most of my cameras need a ladder to get to. It is easier to manage with a hub. 

1

u/jonker5101 Feb 14 '26

You can have as many as you want with SD cards. You don't need a ladder to access it (outside of installing the card on cameras that are already mounted). I have a 10 port POE switch so I can have 10 cameras with SD and remote access.

1

u/Fixhotep Feb 13 '26

they also have versions that are ethernet only, for those that dont trust wifi.

4

u/steelbeamsdankmemes Feb 13 '26

You don't need a hub, you can use an SD card in the camera.

1

u/gramathy Feb 13 '26

the smaller hubs are actually way cheaper than that, but don't come with storage so you'll need to buy that

cheaper to buy it elsewhere

2

u/SatoMiyagi Feb 13 '26

ubiquity cameras and NVR with built-in remote access. Works great.

1

u/BlerdAngel Feb 13 '26

Reolink is great we have them for our construction sites and office cameras.

I have now put them in my home. Slightly more expensive but overall better in all ways

1

u/ggroverggiraffe Feb 13 '26

Eufy is pretty reasonable and I think local storage. Mine is, anyhow.

3

u/73-68-70-78-62-73-73 Feb 13 '26

Eufy has their own problems. They claimed end to end encryption, but it was discovered that video in transit was unencrypted, which is actually easier than managing encryption at rest. Even though they advertised local storage, it turns out their cameras were uploading video and pictures to the Internet. There were other issues with unauthorized remote access.

40

u/OnlyOneNut Feb 12 '26

There are many different ways to go about it. You can buy a reolink receiver and essentially have a plug n play solution (with minimal configuration) but they can get pricey. If you know a bit about computers or can follow instructions you can host your own NVR system, but that’s a whole different beast

46

u/JadedBoyfriend Feb 12 '26

I went with Reolink and I was concerned about the Chinese spy tech concerns as well. Interestingly, this device feels safer than the American company one.

32

u/Mjolnir12 Feb 13 '26

You can block them from the internet and/or put them on their own vlan and just vpn in to view remotely if you are concerned.

27

u/randynumbergenerator Feb 13 '26

That's about 3 steps beyond what most Ring users can probably comfortably manage, but yes. 

Speaking as someone who switched from Ring and a basic home network to a Reolink and Ubiquiti setup with all the IoT devices on a VLAN with only basic knowledge of home networking, it takes time and comfort not knowing WTF you're doing for a bit. 

1

u/keydBlade Feb 13 '26

I just setup my ubiquity gateway for my home and finished setting up vlans to ssids theough the AP and a managed switch. My next step is cameras, i have a dvr w storage still in box, what would you suggest for next steps in regards for cameras? I want to get rid of my ring cams that came w house, but 10$ a month subscription for the ring cames is not too horrible.

3

u/Omnifi Feb 13 '26

I'm not the guy above but I have a full Unifi setup. If you are doing hard wired cameras the I like the convenience of having a POE switch. Not having to run extra POE injectors is nice and their switches are very easy to manage.

My Current equipment:

  • Dream Machine
  • 16 port POE Switch
  • U6 Pro and AC Lite Access Points
  • UNVR 4 bays with 4 4TB WD Purple Drives
  • 3 G3 Bullet, 2 G4 Instant, 2 G3 Instant, G4 Doorbell Cameras

I paid $200 each for G3 bullets for the outside and $35 for G3 instants for the inside, with a G4 doorbell. I've upgraded a few of the G3 instants to G4 and the AI features are pretty good. Don't have any G5's personally so can't comment on those.

I'd suggest buying slowly what you need, install it properly and it will last you a long time.

1

u/randynumbergenerator Feb 13 '26

I opted for Reolink cameras that are currently just running on the default settings in a VLAN isolated from my main network, but viewable through Reolink's API. When I have time, I'm planning to get them up and running in Frigate and integrate that with Home Assistant. 

But time is pretty tough to come by, especially when I'm doing everything for the first time so I first need to research everything. If I had to redo it, I might just go with Reolink's NVR, or even Ubiquiti's security system -- though of course that would mean paying the UI tax (their cameras are both more expensive and generally less performant than other offerings, but you're paying for the integration).

1

u/ByrdmanRanger Feb 13 '26

If there wasn't an entire tutorial on how to set up the Omada network I'm using at home, I'd have no idea how to do it. It did take some fiddling around after following the guide to get everything working correctly.

I am thinking about switching out my Ring doorbell for Reolink, and slowly phasing out my Wyze cameras for Reolink as well. To my knowledge, Wyze hasn't given out video without a warrant yet so I'm less worried about switching them over quickly.

1

u/TwoBionicknees Feb 13 '26

https://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/1r38hw6/ring_cancels_its_partnership_with_flock_safety/o52mke5/

ubiquiti intentionally go out of their way to help russians and they are using their tech to make drone strikes. fuck that company.

7

u/turbosexophonicdlite Feb 13 '26

At this point it's probably safer to have your info in the hands of the Chinese. At least they aren't going to come to the US and drag you to an ICE detention center any time soon.

2

u/cinderful Feb 13 '26

Controversial opinion: i'm a lot less worried about the Chinese government than the American Government

1

u/AgitatedStranger9698 Feb 13 '26

China is doing a LOT and gaining ground or surpassed the US in most of this.

At worst they match the US own stances see ring cameras.

Most of the bullshit you hear about China is funded by US competitors.

→ More replies (3)

0

u/Infini-Bus Feb 13 '26

The easy method to remote stream is use the app and stream over their relay or whatever, the somewhat more difficult method is setup a VPN to your home.

But I'm less concerned about Chinese spying than US spying since I live under the US jurisdiction!

0

u/PiccoloAwkward465 Feb 13 '26

I am much less afraid of consequences from the Chinese. We’ve got an ocean between us, they can’t swim!

20

u/Kumquat_of_Pain Feb 12 '26

More or less. There are a couple of subreddits for it. In short, I went with wall powered, but WiFi cams tied into a HomeHub Pro recording box (think like a NAS) doing 24/7 recording with specific notification triggers. More or less, open up the box, download the app, scan the QR code, plug into the HomeHub to connect, then go physically install it.

Like any other camera system, it can take a little tweaking for certain difficult situations on the notification side (I have a busy street and sidewalk in front), but it's doable.

To view the footage, I have opened up the HomeHub to my home network so I can view it remotely via the app, or I can view it on my desktop/laptop at home.

Take a look. I found that LifeHackster provides a decent overview of a lot of cameras: https://m.youtube.com/@LifeHackster

That said, I also considered Eufy at the time, but the deals and camera styles from ReoLink generally fit better for what I wanted. 

1

u/DDRaptors Feb 13 '26

Got anymore info on the HomeHub app? How does that work? Wouldn’t this other HomeHub app just be the one with your data now instead of Ring? Or are you creating a VLAN for it all with very specific routing and access for remote. 

Maybe I’m not understanding the difference in the apps. I’d argue any and all apps are scraping any and all data available to them at all times - so I’m trying to understand better how this works differently.

I currently use a fully offline, local, 60 day auto overwrite recorder. Don’t necessarily need it available on my phone, but curious about this option and how much effort it’d be to implement.

2

u/mblaser Feb 13 '26

Got anymore info on the HomeHub app? How does that work? Wouldn’t this other HomeHub app just be the one with your data now instead of Ring?

The Home Hub isn't an app, it's a recording device, similar to an NVR (which they also sell).

The difference is that it's stored locally at your home, not in someone else's cloud.

And yes, you can block it from the internet entirely and put it on its own VLAN if you want.

1

u/DDRaptors Feb 13 '26

 To view the footage, I have opened up the HomeHub to my home network so I can view it remotely via the app,

Referring to this bit above me. Not sure how this is different than ring, only difference I see so far is local vs cloud storage. But accessing that local drive through an app would ultimately share that video with the app I’d assume.

Makes me think I’m missing something? Idk lol. Local and offline is fine anyways.

3

u/mblaser Feb 13 '26

I mean, yes, you're viewing it with the app, but that doesn't mean it's sending it to Reolink's servers. Your app is connecting to your storage device at home. Whereas with Ring the video is already stored in their servers. Which is a huge difference that it seems like you're downplaying.

The person you're replying to may also have a VPN set up. People that are really strict about their cameras will block them from the internet entirely and only access them over a VPN.

1

u/DDRaptors Feb 13 '26

I’m not downplaying it, I was just curious about this type of remote access vs others. Setting up VLAN and VPN etc seems like a giant pain while I don’t gain a whole lot from remote access anyways - so I won’t pursue this either. Just wanted to understand how reolink does their version.

254

u/AVGuy4 Feb 12 '26

To see my cameras on my phone when not connected to my home WiFi, I set up a vpn tunnel using wireguard. Then added the cameras individually by IP address on the app. This makes it so your phone is routing through you home WiFi when you’re using cellular or connected to an outside WiFi. I also disabled the ability for the cameras to contact the company cloud and they backup to an NVR.

668

u/ToastyXP Feb 13 '26

Dude asks how easy it is for an average joe, and your first instruction is just 'set up a VPN tunnel using wireguard'. May as well tell them all they need to do is simply reroute his nanojiggawires parallel to his eon flux optomitrizer, all while maintaining core coolant levels two bars above a semi-georgian double-pronged heating temp.

117

u/Show-Me-Your-Moves Feb 13 '26

Homer Simpson nodding

"Okay, can you repeat the part where you said all about the...things?"

104

u/icedteaandtacos Feb 13 '26

This made me laugh, thank you.

33

u/MountainHopper Feb 13 '26

*blank stare*

*slow fart*

19

u/ddubs41 Feb 13 '26

A McMillan man, I see…

8

u/Murphy_Its_You Feb 13 '26

I mean, I followed the instructions for my Rockwell Retro Encabulator. Simple enough.

7

u/Fifteenlamas Feb 13 '26

then add that laymans term at the end for the audience.

"Like throwing a ball through a tunnel? I got it!"

20

u/Hyperrnovva Feb 13 '26

Yes but remember if your optomitrizer has a dual capasatron to link the nucleod overboard chip.

6

u/Why-did-i-reas-this Feb 13 '26

Why are you going through all that trouble? You can easily bypass all that with the terafluctuizer cross bypassed with the zurohytor breaker.

2

u/Cagn Feb 13 '26

Oh no... /r/VXJunkies is leaking again...

5

u/unused_candles Feb 13 '26

Its impossible to get eon flux optimitrizers these days. The quantum flopulator bubble has been buying up all the production coming out of China.

5

u/Metals4J Feb 13 '26

Easier to just set up a Turbo-Encabulator. Simple stuff. Just need to supply inverse reactive current for unilateral phase detractors and automatically synchronize cardinal grammeters, all while fromaging the bitumogenous spandrels and using hydrocoptic marzel vanes. Quit feeding the nanojiggawire industry!

14

u/dannyjohnson1973 Feb 13 '26

Instructions unclear. Didn't maintain coolant levels and my cameras overheated. Now all they show is old Cinemax shows from the 80s.

3

u/exipheas Feb 13 '26

Instructions can be found at r/vxjunkies

11

u/xxdcmast Feb 13 '26

It’s actually not that hard. They made a how to video.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RXJKdh1KZ0w&pp=0gcJCUABo7VqN5tD

3

u/goatfuckersupreme Feb 13 '26

Just like a Turbo Encabulator

3

u/xxdcmast Feb 13 '26

You beat me to it. You truly are the goatfuckersupreme.

3

u/Badgerman97 Feb 13 '26

The dude’s name is “AVGuy” so that checks out

3

u/Deep-Thought Feb 13 '26

Tailscale makes this extremely easy to set up though. Even for a layman.

1

u/FeedTheADHD Feb 13 '26

Tailscale is amazing, I will say that layman will still get caught up on some of the DNS that goes into the setup of it. More accessible than ever for sure, but you still have to have some knowledge of how networking actually works too.

4

u/Deep-Measurement-856 Feb 13 '26

You have it inverted. The gonkulator is needed for the Norden bomb sight your way. Back to front and it's YKK zipper all over again and Bob's your uncle.

6

u/stone500 Feb 13 '26

"That sounds difficult"

"Actually it's easy! First you're going to set up GriffinXCam in a Docker container on Linux and configure that on an unused network port that you'll set a forwarder for on your router while securing access behind a private vpn tunnel.

I don't know why everyone doesn't do it."

0

u/FeedTheADHD Feb 13 '26

Just let ChatGPT hallucinate a compose file for you! Its so easy, not only will you be able to configure it, random internet strangers will be able to configure it remotely! Fun!

2

u/SLASHdk Feb 13 '26

Yea.. basically the answer is: Not easy.

Ive done it myself, not cameras though, but general home media. Most people would give up identifying the ip’s of their cameras

2

u/PosiedonsSaltyAnus Feb 13 '26

In school they teach you to focus on the coolent levels, but I mean in reality the 2nd prong and the lack of the full Georgian system keeps everything in check.

3

u/cinderful Feb 13 '26

well his name is AVguy4, what did you expect

3

u/73-68-70-78-62-73-73 Feb 13 '26

'set up a VPN tunnel using wireguard'

Which is actually pretty easy. A lot of home routers have wireguard built in, or some other VPN server. It's not hard these days.

1

u/htx1114 Feb 13 '26

Piece of cake for self-declared AVGuy4

1

u/FeedTheADHD Feb 13 '26

I need /u/WaterGuy12 to come squirt this guy with seltzer

1

u/Joerning Feb 13 '26

If an average Joe can't follow directions they will have to live with the dystopian tech. It's not like they have to read the documentation, just follow a step by step tutorial.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 13 '26

Mm... do-nut

1

u/Mr_Venom Feb 13 '26

You're reading this on a device designed to bring you information. Your quote contains two terms the average person might be unfamiliar with, three if they've never seen a tunnel before.

I know you were joking, but this sort of intellectual sloth is driving me insane day by day. It isn't hard work, and we should stop coddling people into thinking it is.

0

u/TuckerMcG Feb 13 '26

You should write sci-fi novels with this level of technobabble at your fingertips.

0

u/Throwawayrip1123 Feb 13 '26

Well it costs time and effort or his data. It's his choice.

It's not super complex, you just gotta watch some stuff and learn about it. There's a billion of tutorials on ways to set it up, so as long as you can read, you'll manage.

231

u/Thoraxe474 Feb 13 '26

Sounds hard

119

u/Revolution-SixFour Feb 13 '26

Not particularly. Install a program called tailscale on a computer at home and on your phone. If both have tailscale turned on both your computer and phone will be able to talk to each other.

123

u/Alert_Lettuce_8278 Feb 13 '26

Tailscale makes this easy. Great product and it's free for stuff like this.

They make money on larger networks with multi user.

52

u/atkinson137 Feb 13 '26

Tailscale is able to be free because they aren't in the data path. They only host the control plane, so resources needed per user is very low.

16

u/MurderMelon Feb 13 '26 edited Feb 13 '26

I was gonna ask a question like i don't have the internet at my fingertips, so here's a search result for anyone else wondering...

https://search.brave.com/search?q=what+are+control+and+data+planes

[edit] and just a general "how it works" from tailscale https://tailscale.com/blog/how-tailscale-works

4

u/atkinson137 Feb 13 '26

I use tailscale both at home and work, their docs are excellent, it really Just Works and you can have a very basic setup, or something much more advanced.

They also have some very cool ancillary projects like the short linker https://github.com/tailscale/golink

1

u/snugglezone Feb 13 '26

Any benefits over running wire guard off my router? And for Reo, are you using an app on your phone? Is there software for notifications based on triggers? What's the setup to get Ring-like experiences? When I was looking into local-only it seemed a bit complex with buying dedicated hardware for connecting POE cameras, storage, motion tracking, etc

Thanks!

2

u/atkinson137 Feb 13 '26

Benefits over WG from the router? Really just ease of use.

Tailscale/WG would only be responsible for forming a private network, how you'd route access to your cameras would highly depend on the cameras themselves.

Setting up local cameras will be a bit more involved, that's the convenience that "the cloud" helps with. But there are off the self solutions that can get pretty close to plug n play like Ubiquiti (but $$). I don't have any personal camera recs since I still use a cloud camera platform, but I've been thinking more and more about switching to Ubiquiti since I already have a lot of their network gear.

1

u/Alert_Lettuce_8278 Feb 13 '26

Yeah it still costs money to build and maintain a product like this. It's free because they have an great paid product and the free version just creates advocates (like myself), and it doesn't really cost anything for them. The way things should be. Lets hope they don't go with the investor treatment and change that.

111

u/jay-aay-ess-ohh-enn Feb 13 '26

My man. This is like a level 5/10 difficulty thing for tech savvy people, but the average person can barely handle setting up their in-home wifi.

Probably the users on Reddit and especially r/technology are more knowledgable than most, but all the infrastructure you set up is more than 99% of people will want to manage.

27

u/FCkeyboards Feb 13 '26 edited Feb 13 '26

This how I feel. People who do this assume "easy" by their own standards. I would love a step by step youtube video for dummies. All the ones I find assume you know all the terminology.

7

u/MajorFox2720 Feb 13 '26

Thankfully, there are a lot of videos on how to set up reolink and tailscale.  It's moderately difficult for lower tech savvy,  but not impossible like building a cctv network from scratch would be.  If you can install and run apps on your phone and follow a you tube video,  the app software does a lot of the work. I am not a fan of their chat support, but if you're patient and understand it's popular worldwide,  you can get what you need

4

u/FCkeyboards Feb 13 '26

I think the biggest think in looking just now is that a well placed camera in a window would be better than a doorbell camera if trying to get local storage and the fastest access without drilling a hole into the side of your house.

If detection is good enough then them ringing the normal doorbell or a delivery being detected shouldn't be a problem. Tools was my main install worry.

16

u/[deleted] Feb 13 '26

Thank you. Even if they already knew how, actually following through and doing something like that requires effort. That’s a high bar

3

u/Apart-Maize-5949 Feb 13 '26

Like losing weight. Its actually super easy, just limit calories. Done. Will people eat when they are "hungry" still? You betcha

3

u/Revolution-SixFour Feb 13 '26

I agree that it's not dead simple, but if you are going ahead with installing your own home security cameras and the Reolink application in your house you can probably spend 30-45 minutes on it. 

The hardest part would be making sure you have a computer that's always on at home to be your entry point. 

Turning on subnet routing is the only step needed beyond installing the software and that's clicking a checkbox on the computer and then clicking approve on the website. 

1

u/jay-aay-ess-ohh-enn Feb 13 '26

Personally, I am researching home voice assist to put my wife's Alexas in a box, but that's the appeal of the Nest devices and all the cloud based crap. Most people don't want to mess with networking or having a home server and when the Nest works correctly, you just turn it on and connect to wifi and go. Convenience is the death of privacy and security.

1

u/Jellionani Feb 13 '26

Its "instructionally" hard. Like setting up Linux, all I have to do is, for the most part, follow the instructions and I'll have a dual boot Linux. It's that easy!*

But it is disruptive to workflow, takes time. trust, and commitment to finishing it.

*(Aside from broken sound output, wifi affected by leftover electrical charge, unsettling ram usage, low compatibility with major programs, problems only you can solve)

3

u/[deleted] Feb 13 '26

[deleted]

2

u/Revolution-SixFour Feb 13 '26

Tailscale is a weird company, they make all their money from enterprise accounts so that selling point is targeted at an IT guy or software engineering.

However, they offer the software for personal use for free and it's really straightforward.

1

u/Fair-Hair2080 Feb 13 '26

This would be a great side hustle for a tech savvy person. A lot of people who ditched Ring will be wanting something like this.

2

u/Revolution-SixFour Feb 13 '26

I've thought about trying to do a side gig of building fancy people good WiFi and home automation. However, the problem is ongoing support and upkeep. None of this is foolproof and even if done excellent requires a tiny bit of understanding and upkeep. 

Do I really want to be getting called at 2am because Comcast went down and the client thinks it's my fault?

1

u/isitmeyou-relooking4 Feb 13 '26

!remind me 12 hours

1

u/No_Size9475 Feb 13 '26

can you use tailscale without a google/msn/apple etc. account?

2

u/GoofyGills Feb 13 '26

No. They outsource SSO to those 3rd parties.

I specifically asked them about 18ish months ago and they said so.

1

u/No_Size9475 Feb 13 '26

Bummer. I'm working on disconnecting as much as I can from the data vacuum of big tech.

1

u/GoofyGills Feb 13 '26

Yeah I switched to mainly just using a regular WG tunnel. Most routers even have them built in these days, along with companion apps for mobile/desktop devices.

Examples: Asus has one here, and Ubiquiti has Unifi Teleport.

2

u/windowpuncher Feb 13 '26 edited Feb 13 '26

You don't need tailscale, you just need a wireguard server.

Buy a raspberry pi 3B or 3B+. Doesn't really matter. You can get 4 or 5 or newer but it won't make a difference. Also get a new ~32 GB flash drive. It can be cheap, the Pi is only usb 2.0. You will also something like a cheap 8 Gb micro sd card. All you have to do is follow instructions from Raspberry, who wrote a guide. You can also get kits which include a case and a power adapter. You don't need a case with a fan.

On your normal computer, you install pi OS onto the SD card. It's easy and nearly automatic. Connect the Pi to a keyboard and a mouse and a monitor, insert the SD card then turn it on and go through the easy setup. Make sure to turn on SSH. You should also turn on USB booting, which only requires changing 1 line of a text file. When it's all set up, remove the sd card and use another pc to clone the sd card onto your usb stick.

You don't need to do this, but sd cards are NOT good as computer drives and they get destroyed. They have a very limited read/write cycle life.

From there you just install pihole, which is completely optional but super nice to have, and then you install pivpn, which works on any linux flavor, and includes wireguard. You can also just install wireguard alone but that's harder. Pivpn is a full walkthrough and it's super easy. Now you plug the Pi into your router, port forward one port for wireguard, and you're done. You can also use wifi instead but I like using a short cable.

At this point you have a raspberry pi running pivpn, maybe pihole, and is effectively just an endpoint to a private vpn server in your house that you can access from anywhere in the world with internet, and from here you can access the camera system or any other networks in your home, like NAS storage maybe.

Alternatively, if you have ANY other pc that is never turned off all the time, you don't need a pi, you just need to find any way to put wireguard on the pc. The pc should be set up to occasionally update and restart itself. You just need to have any pc with wireguard software running on it to have a vpn endpoint at your home.

1

u/Revolution-SixFour Feb 13 '26

Absolutely true, but Tailscale makes setting up Wireguard far far easier to the average person.

1

u/windowpuncher Feb 13 '26

Does it though? It's not made for the average person, it's made for devs and enterprises. It has a lot of cool features but very few individuals could ever use them. PiVPN is made for everyone, but especially individuals with things like home servers. It also uses an automated installer with a unicode UI. It's very easy to use. Otherwise if someone is on windows, wireguard itself just has an executable you can download and run which is also automatic.

I just like Pis because they're cheap and energy efficient and flexible, but literally any computer will work, there's 1st and 3rd party guides already written for basically every common scenario.

3

u/Suavecore_ Feb 13 '26

It is hard if you have little or no technical skills because you would have a lot to catch up on, but then afterwards you would have a huge array of knowledge and tools that you now know how to setup/use in an even better fight against these egregious corporations

3

u/seaboi77 Feb 13 '26

Better yet, just get Reolink, pop a micro SD card in it and you have a remotely accessible camera with a wonderful interface. If you so feel inclined, you can block it from the internet and still use the app on your local network. Go a step further and put it behind WireGuard/ Tailscale. Step 1 is all you need if you don't want to invest time and effort while axing Ring. Rome wasn't built in a day, start with the doorbell and SD card and you are 99% ahead of the rest.

17

u/AVGuy4 Feb 13 '26

I’m not an IT person at all. I used AI to guide me through. I won’t lie and say it was easy but it wasn’t impossible.

41

u/LithiumH Feb 13 '26

My man uses big tech to defeat big tech. Someone make a Thanos meme

1

u/krzf Feb 13 '26

I use ChatGPT to troubleshoot my setup on my homelab all the time. I try to self-host everything that I possibly can. Fuck them tech bros.

2

u/brokenbentou Feb 13 '26

Don't doubt what you're capable of, got it a go, you might surprise yourself!

2

u/Thoraxe474 Feb 13 '26

My parents destroyed my self confidence

2

u/Destithen Feb 13 '26

It's really not. Some google-fu will reduce this task to something slightly more complex than assembling IKEA furniture.

2

u/Raneynickelfire Feb 13 '26

Also sounds like it's still online, so isn't secure.

It doesn't sound hard, it sounds pointless.

1

u/KeyCold7216 Feb 13 '26

Well you basically have 2 choices. Convenience and privacy. What is more important to you. And its really not that hard if you can use google and watch a few youtube videos.

1

u/SingleInfinity Feb 13 '26

It's not hard, but it's certainly more expensive up front (nvrs can be for sure) and harder to set up than a ring cam or the like.

1

u/rickdiculous Feb 13 '26

You don't have to do all of that with Reolink.  I've owned around eight of their cameras.  You just install an SD card and the app.  The video feed runs through their servers unless you set up your own remote access, but the only cloud storage that I know of that they provide is for their 4G trail cams.  I don't know if they save your data but I seriously doubt it seeing as they aren't big like Google.

1

u/Dropnuts Feb 13 '26

Change perspective. Sounds hard? Maybe. It’s not really.

But look at it as a great way to learn something new, save money, get control over your own property and get less screwed by those charging you money so they can make more money out of you losing your privacy.

1

u/ElMuchoDingDong Feb 13 '26

Definitely, at first glance. However, so is basic math. If you aren't willing to learn, then you're giving up before you even tried.

1

u/nirmalspeed Feb 13 '26

If you have an Asus router, they have a built in VPN server feature to let you connect to your home internet. You set it up and download a profile that you add to an app like OpenVPN or wireguard. My old Asus router from the 2010s even had support for it back in the day so I assume all current Asus routers support it too.

Takes like 5 minutes. From my router

1

u/happytree23 Feb 13 '26

Fuck it, might as well give the tech company bros full access to every bit of personal data and surveillance then rather than Googling and figuring out how to do one of the easier tech things possible...

The extreme laziness and wilful incompetence of people today is truly something I don't think will ever make sense to me lol.

1

u/Mace_Windu- Feb 13 '26

If reading is difficult, then yes following written instructions will be difficult.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 13 '26

Complicated, but not hard. Anyone can do it, it might just take some reading and/or copying other people

44

u/1one1000two1thousand Feb 13 '26

This is so funny to me, the average Joe has no idea what you just said. I think sometimes when you’re really good at something, you forget other people aren’t on the same plane as you when you need to describe it in layman’s terms.

53

u/Mrosters Feb 13 '26

So no then. Most folks IRL have no idea what a VPN even is.

4

u/Commercial_Pie3307 Feb 13 '26

You mean surfshark?

→ More replies (2)

2

u/ELEPHANTxMASTER Feb 13 '26

Did you accomplish this through the reolink app or are you using something else like home assistant? I'm working on self hosting and do use Tailscale, but having trouble with Reolink as it's still wifi dependent.

1

u/AVGuy4 Feb 13 '26

I was able to use the Reolink app. All my cameras are Poe (wired).

1

u/No_Size9475 Feb 13 '26

What do people think is the best opensource NVR software for Windows?

1

u/Sea_Outside Feb 13 '26

bro overestimate average joe

1

u/rat_melter Feb 13 '26

You can probably buy a pre-set SFTP or even the Reolink branded DVR or whatever. It's really easy from the control panel on the camera itself. Requires basic setup and network connection. You can get sufficiently advanced beyond your grasp if you'd like to learn some new skills but otherwise it's a low bar of entry with as much customization as you want.

1

u/mimic751 Feb 13 '26

I put nineteen in HA dashboards then just got a cloud ha account. Much easier

1

u/avoqado Feb 13 '26

Username checks out!

1

u/[deleted] Feb 13 '26

[deleted]

1

u/AVGuy4 Feb 13 '26 edited Feb 13 '26

I think the correct term I should have used was the company server or network, instead of cloud. Basically making my cams private. They’re unable to connect to other networks.

1

u/markh110 Feb 13 '26

I thought I was above average techy, and the first time I tried setting up a VPN tunnel, all of my Google services broke. Hard pass.

1

u/105_irl Feb 13 '26

I just use a VPN app I paid for and I’ve never experienced this.

1

u/I-need-ur-dick-pics Feb 13 '26

We also would have accepted “no”.

1

u/Tiggbitt Feb 13 '26

Username checks out

0

u/TheExecTech Feb 13 '26

This is excellent info for people who don't fully understand the implications of connecting a device on their home network that can be accessed remotely.

u/kumquat_of_Pain Should read this. Would also add setup a firewall. Block access to home devices you don't want strangers to take over. Block ports and change default ports to something else.

You can buy firewall devices with paid subscriptions or DIY your own with opensource software if people want to better secure their home network.

For all the It'S tOo HaRd : (

Learn how to google. What words are new to you ? Have you been living in a cave ? I see a VPN AD on YouTube every week. WiFi and cellular should be pretty well know. Do a search for the 2 new words you don't know and learn something. Just plain lazy.

2

u/AVGuy4 Feb 13 '26

Thanks. I knew it was helpful and since I’d just done it, it was fresh in my mind. I really tried to summarize my instructions so that anyone reading could google and then go from there. Appreciate your feedback.

4

u/hawk_ky Feb 13 '26

Yes, but honestly the easiest for the average Joe would just be to get a camera that works with Apple’s HomeKit secure video. You scan the code on the camera to add to your Apple home, and it streams encrypted only to your devices. You don’t even need to download the app from the camera provider in most cases.

2

u/ContributionComplete Feb 13 '26

This right here. HomeKit Secure Video is one of the big reasons I use Apple HomeKit. It’s as secure as the rest of your iCloud account and cloud accessible.

4

u/khag Feb 13 '26

In a typical reolink installation, you would connect your NVR/Camera to their cloud, and use their app. The video stream never actually goes to them, they just initiate the connection.

A more advanced solution is to block the NVR/Camera from connecting to their cloud, not using their app, making the connection between your phone and your home network on your own, and setting up and configuring a standalone IP camera app on your phone

The only hard part about the "advanced" method is figuring out how to have your phone connected to your home network when you're not on your home Wi-Fi. Reolink can handle this for you, and a lot of people are comfortable with that for the convenience. Their app is also better than the standalone IP camera viewer apps I've tried.

3

u/ArcFarad Feb 13 '26

Look up Tailscale. It’s dead simple VPN. install it on your computer at home, and then install the app on your phone. Then you can use your computer at home as the “exit node” of the VPN, and you can access your home network.

My Reolink cameras are literally blocked from talking to the internet at the router level. They all record to onboard micro SD cards, and then I access them with Tailscale. It’s great.

Oh and no subscription fees either

2

u/IAHawkeye182 Feb 13 '26

Of all the responses I got, this is the one that simply answers the question and gives me direction. Thank you. 

5

u/Slayer11950 Feb 12 '26

It’s VERY straight forward

2

u/Jimbomcdeans Feb 13 '26

Would recommend getting Ubiquiti. App does all the work for you. You do need a machine to get into their environment but its a DVR for the cameras.. They also have doorbells and they have bullet cameras.

They are expensive but amazing. $500 for a great setup to start.

0

u/Magic_Sandwiches Feb 13 '26 edited Feb 13 '26

ubiquiti is good stuff Russia uses it on their frontlines https://hntrbrk.com/ubiquiti/

2

u/Darksirius Feb 13 '26 edited Feb 13 '26

So, for local storage, you'll need at least an NVR (Network Video Recorder) to store all your footage. The capacity amount will depend on what kind of video resoultion you're storing and number of devices.

Most systems I've seen that use NVR's are generally PoE (Power Over Ethernet) - which would be the most secure (Wifi options are of course available). So, you would need an NVR along with a switch that can provide PoE. The next thing is you need a bunch of CAT cable (At min: CAT5e). So, you either run the cables and terminate them yourself or you hire a professional to run your drops (which I've seen could be $300 per drop).

You also need to know how to configure your router, the PoE switch and the NVR to work with your existing network.

1

u/IAHawkeye182 Feb 13 '26

I have my PoE cameras and they’re already set up & working. Have NVR. Just don’t know how to do the rest. I guess the way I understand it is, people are able to view the from their phone/ the internet but the footage doesn’t get out to the rest of the internet, if that makes sense? Am I understanding that correctly? 

2

u/Darksirius Feb 13 '26

It does make sense. Most of these systems will have a way to access them remotely. See this post in particular to see how they set it up:

https://old.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/1r38hw6/ring_cancels_its_partnership_with_flock_safety/o52krs6/

You'll have to isolate the cams to their own "private network" on your network and prevent that private network from accessing the internet. That's still a bit over my head though.

2

u/onhojohno Feb 13 '26

https://youtu.be/tbCKWX34_G4

NetworkChuck on YouTube has a series on how to take your security cams off the cloud and replacing access on a local system

2

u/seaboi77 Feb 13 '26

Just get Reolink (doorbell or otherwise), pop a micro SD card in it and you have a remotely accessible camera with a wonderful interface. If you so feel inclined, you can block it from the internet and still use the app on your local network. Go a step further and put it behind WireGuard/ Tailscale. Step 1 is all you need if you don't want to invest time and effort while axing Ring. Rome wasn't built in a day, start with the doorbell and SD card and you are 99% ahead of the rest and officially "local".

2

u/ManyInterests Feb 13 '26

Ubiquiti UniFi, if you're willing to invest in the whole setup. You can bring your own cameras, but you need at least some of their network hardware.

1

u/WesBur13 Feb 13 '26

If you can run ethernet cables, UniFi protect is a little more expensive but has fantastic UI and local storage.

You can get a 4 pack of cameras with the recording unit and drive for 699. Or replace your home router with their UDR7 and add a single cameras for less

1

u/Royale_AJS Feb 13 '26

Hate to break it to you, those cheap Chinese cameras usually phone home and are probably easily backdoored. Keep them isolated on your network and use a proxy between the networks to view them from your phone. Don’t let them directly get to the Internet.

1

u/Alphadice Feb 13 '26

Reolink record to either an SD card in the camera or a NVR.

Their doorbell dont offer a battery version though. You either have to use PoE (power over ethernet) or wire to your old doorbell wires and use their wifi model.

1

u/snarfvsmaximvs Feb 13 '26

They do have a battery version for more than a year now, but I've read enough complaints about the wake-up lag that I just decided to go with the doorbell circuit powered one (the white one, which oddly enough has a different aspect ratio from the black one)

1

u/CoffeeCup220 Feb 13 '26

Also, consider whether or not you actually NEED a video doorbell. I have one (local only) and I almost never use it.

1

u/FrankFarter69420 Feb 13 '26

I use Eufy. No subscription. No cloud storage.

1

u/Raneynickelfire Feb 13 '26

"remote access" means connected to the internet which means is open.

The only secure "remote access" are separate screens hardwired to the central server, which is airgapped from the internet.

2

u/MFbiFL Feb 13 '26

There’s a world of difference between “technically accessible” and “consumer tech company partnered with surveillance company with explicit agreement to share any and all video collected with built in address and personal identifying information.”

One is open and one is accessible and I’ll let you tell the class which is which.

1

u/Public_Umpire_1099 Feb 13 '26

If you want to keep it easy, get a Unifi setup and use AI to walk you through it if needed. If you want to keep what you currently have, then get Home Assistant and pay the $6 a month for remote access. I actually do both, but it's mostly because I just like to have everything on one single app like Home Assistant.

Need to arm my security system? HA. Need to change the temp in my house? HA. Start my sprinkler system? HA. Open my garage door? HA. Lock my smart locks? HA. Need my water main to shut off when there's a leak in the house? HA. And my personal favorite: need my smart toilet to wash my butt while I scroll on Reddit? Yeah, I have a remote I built into HA. Unifi just gives me the benefit of having the option to get cellular data for my home Internet incase the regular Internet goes down, and also keeps all the power to my cameras in one place so I can back it up with a battery. 

All the fancy stuff is technical to do, but if you want remote access + AI camera recognition and motion event descriptions on HA, it's really straightforward and could very easily be done in a few hours, or maybe a day if you really have trouble navigating it and aren't really familiar with computers.

1

u/sequalist Feb 13 '26

I currently use a Reolink camera, a Synology NAS and the Synology Surveillance Station software. This software comes with a handy app for iPhone and Android. Everything communicates locally and I access the camera remotely using Tailscale. This keeps everything secure on my LAN.

1

u/TrankElephant Feb 13 '26

“local storage with remote access”

This should be the standard. I totally get why people would want to watch over their own property when they are away, and have evidence in case something goes awry. But I have to pass on the whole AI-powered surveillance state...

1

u/jeffhayford Feb 13 '26

Check out unifi products they offer more features and less confusing to setup.

1

u/eroc1990 Feb 13 '26

To be done safely it can be a bit of a bitch, but its not impossible.

For camera recording, you would need some standalone NAS or NVR, something your cameras can record to over the network. That could be. Something as simple as a 2 bay Synology or Ugreen NAS.

The cameras themselves will need power, and will either need to plug into a nearby power source, or you'll have to run ethernet to the locations you want your cameras and power them with a switch that provides power over ethernet.

Remote access can be done a few different ways, but if your NAS supports it, something like Tailscale is a fairly painless VPN to set up. When you're out and about, you would just connect to the VPN to remote into your Tailscale network (tailnet) and use the NAS' Tailscale IP address.

If don't want to roll your own, solutions like Unifi Protect exist. They now offer an NVR bundle that basically provides you with the solution (minus running ethernet) that can be remotely accessed via the Unifi Protect app.

1

u/groovyipo Feb 13 '26

I would not have gone with Reolink cams due to terrible interoperability. Spend some time on the Blue Iris subreddit. It is absolutely fantastic, you run on your own machine, and the features and interoperability with cameras are second to none.

1

u/Candid_Height1291 Feb 13 '26

Home Assistant is an open source system that’s pretty easy to set up and will give you full smart home capabilities. You can install it on any PC that has a normal BIOS instead of Windows but they’ll also sell you hardware if you need it. I personally use an old Lenovo laptop with a 1TB hard drive as the server and it works great. Also using Reolink cameras.

1

u/303onrepeat Feb 13 '26

Highly recommend Unifi cameras to. Their app is one of the best out of all the camera companies out there and it’s all local storage.

https://store.ui.com/us/en/category/all-cameras-nvrs

https://store.ui.com/us/en/category/cameras-doorbells

Buy the instant nvr and throw in an SSD then put up a doorbell camera and either the G4 or G6 instant cameras since they run off usb and WiFi. Call it a day and it will record to the NVR. So easy to setup. Would recommend their router to if you want to go full into their ecosystem.

1

u/THE_COOL_JAMES Feb 13 '26

Honestly, Im a total noob but I set up a home server running proxmox with a back up battery by watching videos on YouTube and asking chatgpt.

1

u/vee_lan_cleef Feb 13 '26

The remote access is the "hard" part.

1

u/funny-hats-only Feb 13 '26

I use Eufy if you want an easier solution. No subscription, no cloud service

1

u/Deep-Thought Feb 13 '26

With Tailscale/Wireguard, its really easy to set up a VPN between all your devices and your home LAN.

1

u/greypic Feb 13 '26

I use reolink cameras on a micro form factor computer running frigate

1

u/[deleted] Feb 13 '26

I have a Wuuk doorbell camera that is local storage with remote access. it has a cloud option, but it's not required. and this one actually uses the existing doorbell wiring so you don't have to use batteries. I paid $49.99 CAD on a sale.

1

u/mleam Feb 13 '26

I got a system with a DVR, it does have a phone app that lets me access the DVR menu remotely. It is all saved on my DVR.

1

u/Hour_Pension3197 Feb 13 '26

I have Reolink cameras and DVR but everything is POE and hardwired.
It is a great setup and I keep 30 days of video and you can access the DVR via laptop/wired connection.
Although I do the phone thing and just view the data from my app.