Google has recently announced that it will stop supporting Nest Secure and Dropcam products by 2024.
According to a blog post from Google, the company plans to end support for its Nest Secure and Dropcam home-security products by April 8th, 2024. Google says that its partnership with ADT has prompted the company to shift away from Nest Secure products in favor of ADT systems, while Google argues that the age of Dropcam products has made them unwieldy to support in the modern-day.
However, Google isn’t just leaving Nest Secure and Dropcam users out to dry. Nest Secure users can either choose to receive a free ADT Self Setup System (which Google calls up to a $485 value) or a $200 credit in the Google Store. Affected users will receive an email with further instructions. For Dropcam users, Google is offering a free Nest Cam with a Nest Aware subscription and 50% off the Nest Cam for those without a subscription.
Nest Secure originally launched back in 2017 as a smart home security brand intended to compete with mainstays the likes of ADT, and considering Google’s more recent work with ADT itself, phasing out Nest Secure makes some sense. Dropcam launched over a decade ago and, according to Google, was “one of the first smart cameras on the market.” Now, Google notes that the early nature of Dropcam hardware makes it difficult to update them going forward, which also makes a good deal of sense even if it’s less than ideal for consumers.
Lastly, Google also announced that Works With Nest, its API system allowing for third-party integration, will be discontinued after September 29, 2023. Google promises a script editor in the coming months that will allow for “advanced home automation” and “offer new features and capabilities.”
All told, seeing products already in the hands of customers get phased out is never good news, but when it comes to Google, Nest Secure, and Dropcam, it’s easy to understand why this is happening. However, you’ll still have a year to use these home security products before they go offline.
