The Active Guard external protection system from SimpliSafe allows live agents to monitor your property.

SimpliSafe, a company dedicated to home security, has introduced its new live monitoring feature called Active Guard Outdoor Protection. This service, announced earlier this year, is based on a new outdoor camera that uses artificial intelligence both on the device and in the cloud to notify call center agents of potential threats to the user’s property. Once alerted, the agent can access a live view through the camera, allowing them to communicate with any potential intruder, thus deterring the threat or requesting intervention from emergency services.

Since its public beta phase in April, Active Guard is now available to all SimpliSafe users. The cost of the service is $49.99 per month for nighttime live monitoring (from 8 PM to 6 AM) or $79.99 for 24/7 monitoring. Both prices include professional monitoring of security alarms and an indoor live monitoring service launched last year, which requires a compatible camera. Essentially, this new feature allows users to pay someone to actively monitor their security cameras, thus avoiding the need to react to alerts at unexpected moments.

Hooman Shahidi, vice president of product at SimpliSafe, explained how the service works: when the system is armed and the camera detects motion, the device's artificial intelligence sends the recording to the cloud for confirmation and comparison with previously stored trusted faces in the SimpliSafe app. This data is then sent to a live agent who can visualize the information and access the live stream to determine if it is a friend or a potential intruder, assessing the situation in real-time. If it is determined to be a stranger, the agent engages with the person in a friendly manner and escalates the intervention if necessary.

To use Active Guard, customers need to have SimpliSafe's new Outdoor Camera 2, which is also launching this week. Priced at $199.99, this camera features enhanced processing and improved night vision and audio capabilities. It operates on battery power and must be continuously connected to function with Active Guard. Additionally, the company has noted that customers who own the previous outdoor camera can receive a discount when upgrading to this new model.

The company is excited about the potential of this technology to reduce false alarms and combat crime. According to its CEO, Christian Cerda, 90% of alarms are false, and often, the response can take longer than ten minutes. With this innovation, the company aims to better inform first responders so they can prioritize their resources. Cerda also emphasized that this technology transforms home security from a reactive approach to an active one, preventing crime instead of just attempting to stop it once it has started. SimpliSafe is implementing generative artificial intelligence to identify potential scenarios more quickly, ensuring that an agent always has the final say in assessing a situation.

Active Guard Outdoor Protection is now available to all SimpliSafe customers in the United States for $49.99 per month, and the service along with the new camera can be purchased on their website.