Playing Live Videos on Third-Party Media Players
Today, there are two basic ways to watch live streams of eufy Security cameras. One is to use the eufy Security App and the other is to use our secure Web portal at eufy.com.
Previously, after logging into our secure Web portal at eufy.com, a registered user could enter debug mode, use the Web browser’s DevTool to find the live stream, and then play that link or share it with someone else to play outside our secure system. . However, it would be the user’s choice to share this link, and they would first have to log in to the eufy Web portal to receive this link.
Today, based on industry feedback and without requiring much attention, the eufy Security Web portal now prohibits users from entering debug mode, and the code has been hardened and hidden. Also, streaming video content is encrypted, which means these video streams can no longer be played in third-party media players like VLC.
However, I should point out that only 0.1 percent of our current daily users use the secure Web portal feature on eufy.com. Most of our users use eufy Security app to view live streams. Either way, the previous design of our Web portal had some issues that have since been resolved.
Regarding the PR rep who answered your question about using VLC, they merged the question. This was a known issue, easily copied and reported by the media. However, they thought you were asking if people other than the registered user could discover the links on their own and view them via a third-party media player like VLC. The dynamic naming convention of video links has also been covered in the media, so I can see how that might have confused them. But that wasn’t the official response from our product teams. The main answer to this question is discussed above.
Video End-to-End Encryption
Today, all videos (live and recorded) shared between the user’s device to the eufy Security Web portal or the eufy Security App use end-to-end encryption implemented using AES and RSA algorithms.
Additionally, when a user uses the eufy Security App to access videos from their device, the connection between the eufy Security App and the user’s device is end-to-end encrypted via a secure P2P service.
Released in October 2022, the Homebase3 and eufyCam3/3C devices use WebRTC for end-to-end encrypted communication while using the Web portal to access live streams in a browser. We are currently rolling out WebRTC to ALL eufy Security devices.
I should also point out that if a user chooses to use eufy Security’s optional cloud storage plugin, this process is end-to-end encrypted. In addition, the maintenance of our cloud server complies with the requirements of ISO27701 and ISO27001 standards. We are also audited annually by external third-party regulators.
Consumer Privacy
When using local storage, eufy Security cannot access our users’ video recordings. All video data is encrypted and stored on the device itself and can only be accessed or shared by the user. Also, eufy Security does not have access to the user’s biometric details, such as fingerprints or facial recognition data generated by the user’s local devices. All these processes are done and stored locally.
User Picture Added to Cloud
Earlier we had a device called Video Doorbell Dual which sent and stored an image of the user to our secure cloud. There’s been a lot of speculation and misinformation about it, so let me explain how this seemingly incompatible process came about.
First, the purpose of sending a user image from the eufy App to our devices is to give the native facial recognition software a basis to run its algorithm. All facial recognition is done locally on the user’s device and has always been done. In the case of Dual Video Doorbell, a copy of this installation image was stored in our secure cloud using end-to-end encryption. This was because if the user decided to replace the Dual Video Doorbell or add an additional Dual Video Doorbell to the eufy Security system, the system would pull the current image from the cloud during installation instead of taking a picture to the user. new image.
Again, this process was not in line with our “local” mission and has been removed. Today, like all other devices in the eufy Security series, our Video Doorbell Dual is based solely on local storage of user pictures and video data. It’s not a cloud.
It is important to note that no user or facial recognition data is included in the images sent to the cloud.