Arlo Releases Privacy-Focused $99 Essential Indoor Camera

Arlo today announced the availability of the Essential Indoor Camera, which was first unveiled at CES. Focused on privacy, the Essential Indoor Camera has an automated privacy shield that's designed to cover the lens when needed.

arlo indoor essential camera
Camera owners can activate the privacy lens using the Arlo app, preventing it from recording when people are home. When in "disarm" mode, the Essential Camera is unable to record and motion and audio detection is disabled. The camera needs to be put into an active mode to turn off the privacy shield, which can be done by opening a livestream view or changing the camera to "arm" mode.

The Essential Indoor Camera is priced at $99.99 and offers 1080p HD video, a 130-degree field of view, motion and audio detection, night vision, support for two-way conversations, and a built-in siren for emergencies. The siren feature can be triggered automatically from motion or audio detection, or activated through the Arlo app to deter would-be intruders.

HomeKit integration is not available for the Essential Indoor Camera at this time. Arlo said that it is working to have ‌HomeKit‌ available on products, but there are no updates on the Essential Indoor Camera. With no ‌HomeKit‌ availability, the camera can be controlled through the Arlo app.

The Essential Indoor Camera can be purchased from the Arlo website or from Amazon for $99.99.

Tag: Arlo

Popular Stories

apple store down feature

Here's Why the Apple Store is Going Down

Thursday November 27, 2025 1:01 pm PST by
Apple's online store is going down for a few hours on a rolling country-by-country basis right now, but do not get your hopes up for new products. Apple takes its online store down for a few hours ahead of Black Friday every year to tease/prepare for its annual gift card offer with the purchase of select products. The store already went down and came back online in Australia and New Zealand, ...
Apple Foldable Thumb

Foldable iPhone to Debut These Three Breakthrough Features

Tuesday November 25, 2025 7:09 am PST by
Apple's first foldable iPhone is expected to launch alongside the iPhone 18 Pro models in fall 2026, and it's shaping up to include three standout features that could set it apart from the competition. The book-style foldable will reportedly feature an industry-first 24-megapixel under-display camera built into the inner display, according to a recent JP Morgan equity research report. That...
iPhone Pocket Short

iPhone Pocket is Now Completely Sold Out Worldwide

Tuesday November 25, 2025 7:16 am PST by
Apple recently teamed up with Japanese fashion brand ISSEY MIYAKE to create the iPhone Pocket, a limited-edition knitted accessory designed to carry an iPhone. However, it is now completely sold out in all countries where it was released. iPhone Pocket became available to order on Apple's online store starting Friday, November 14, in the United States, France, China, Italy, Japan, Singapore, ...
streaming black friday 2025

Black Friday Streaming Deals Include Big Savings on Disney+, Hulu, Apple TV, and More

Monday November 24, 2025 8:03 am PST by
We've been focusing on deals on physical products over the past few weeks, but Black Friday is also a great time of year to purchase a streaming membership. Some of the biggest services have great discounts for new and select returning members this week, including Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a...
streaming black friday 2025

Best Black Friday Streaming Deals - Save Big on Apple TV, Disney+, Hulu, and More

Thursday November 27, 2025 1:14 pm PST by
We've been focusing on deals on physical products over the past few weeks, but Black Friday is also a great time of year to purchase a streaming membership. Some of the biggest services have great discounts for new and select returning members this week, including Apple TV, Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When...
General Apps Messages Redux

Singapore Orders Changes to iMessage by December

Tuesday November 25, 2025 6:39 am PST by
Singapore has ordered Apple to block or filter messages on iMessage that impersonate government agencies, requiring the company to implement new anti-spoofing protections by December as part of efforts to curb rising online scams, the Straits Times reports. Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said that it had issued an Implementation Directive to Apple under the Online Criminal Harms...
General Black Friday Deals 25 Red Green

The 30+ Best Black Friday Apple Deals on AirPods, iPads, MacBooks, and More

Thursday November 27, 2025 6:46 am PST by
Black Friday is in full swing, and as always this is the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment,...
iphone air camera

iPhone Air Flop Sparks Industry Retreat From Ultra-Thin Phones

Thursday November 27, 2025 3:14 am PST by
Apple's disappointing iPhone Air sales are causing major Chinese mobile vendors to scrap or freeze their own ultra-thin phone projects, according to reports coming out of Asia. Since the ‌iPhone Air‌ launched in September, there have been reports of poor sales and manufacturing cuts, while Apple's supply chain has scaled back shipments and production. Apple supplier Foxconn has...

Top Rated Comments

HMFIC03 Avatar
62 months ago
Privacy focused but without HomeKit secure video? Lol well the price point is attractive
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Onexy Avatar
62 months ago
A software controlled physical privacy control... isn't this flawed in itself?
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
btbeme Avatar
62 months ago

https://us.eufylife.com/collections/security/products/t8410

Quite happy with this at $51.99 and Home Kit Secure Video compatible! No privacy screen but we only use it when going away for days at a time. Only downside is that for HKSV the resolution is cut to 1080.
I have deployed several dozen Eufy Indoor cams, both the pan/tilt and the stationary, for folks who want to keep tabs on things. They are rock-solid, less than half the price of this new Arlo, and fully HomeKit capable. They are very simple to set up and so far I have zero complaint from anyone I have helped or recommended them to.

This last month, I used one running off a power bank to help some new neighbors who wanted to watch their house being built. I simply cut a window out of a box and put the cam in with the battery (for some minor weather protection), put the box outside where it had a view of the construction, and shared that particular cam with my new neighbors, and they were thrilled beyond measure.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
metabob Avatar
62 months ago
I don't know…. what's the use case here? I like my cameras to 100% reliably record everything in high detail (1080p barely cuts it), and just make damn sure the videos are not available to anyone but me. I'd hate to have my house robbed, but the cameras didn't record anything because somebody decided to disarm them for whatever reason. Someone "being home" is a very stupid reason to stop recording.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
deannnnn Avatar
62 months ago
Ah yes nothing says privacy like an indoor security camera.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
icanhazmac Avatar
62 months ago
https://us.eufylife.com/collections/security/products/t8410

Quite happy with this at $51.99 and Home Kit Secure Video compatible! No privacy screen but we only use it when going away for days at a time. Only downside is that for HKSV the resolution is cut to 1080.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)