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

AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Pro 3, and AirPods 4

Thursday November 13, 2025 11:35 am PST by
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3, the AirPods 4, and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 firmware is 8B21, all up from the prior 8A358 firmware released in October. There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2, AirPods 4 with ANC, and AirPods Pro 3...
CarPlay Pinned Messages

iOS 26.2 Adds New CarPlay Setting

Thursday November 13, 2025 6:48 am PST by
iOS 26 extended pinned conversations in the Messages app to CarPlay, for quick access to your most frequent chats. However, some drivers may prefer the classic view with a list of individual conversations only, and Apple now lets users choose. Apple released the second beta of iOS 26.2 this week, and it introduces a new CarPlay setting for turning off pinned conversations in the Messages...
Tesla Charging

Tesla Working to Add Apple CarPlay Support to Vehicles

Thursday November 13, 2025 8:31 am PST by
Tesla is working to add support for Apple CarPlay in its vehicles, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports. Tesla vehicles rely on its own infotainment software system, which integrates vehicle functions, navigation, music, web browsing, and more. The automaker has been an outlier in foregoing support for Apple CarPlay, which has otherwise become an industry standard feature, allowing users to...
tvOS 26 Profiles

tvOS 26.2 Adds a Useful New Feature to Your Apple TV

Friday November 14, 2025 10:02 am PST by
Starting with the upcoming tvOS 26.2 update, currently in beta, additional profiles created on the Apple TV no longer require their own Apple Account. In the Settings app on the Apple TV, under Profiles and Accounts, anyone can create a new profile by simply entering a name and indicating whether the profile is for a kid. The profile will be associated with the primary user's Apple Account,...
homepod mini thumb feature

New HomePod Mini, Apple TV, and AirTag Were Expected This Year — Where Are They?

Wednesday November 12, 2025 11:42 am PST by
While it was rumored that Apple planned to release new versions of the HomePod mini, Apple TV, and AirTag this year, it is no longer clear if that will still happen. Back in January, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple planned to release new HomePod mini and Apple TV models "toward the end of the year," while he at one point expected a new AirTag to launch "around the middle of 2025." Yet,...
iPhone Pocket Short

iPhone Pocket Now Available to Order, But Already Selling Out

Friday November 14, 2025 6:20 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. iPhone Pocket is available to order on Apple's online store starting today, in the United States, France, China, Italy, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. However, it is already completely sold out in the United...
iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Available Next Month With These 8 New Features

Tuesday November 11, 2025 9:48 am PST by
Apple released the first iOS 26.2 beta last week. The upcoming update includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, including a new Liquid Glass slider for the Lock Screen's clock, offline lyrics in Apple Music, and more. In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 26.2 will be released to all users in December, but it did not provide a specific release date....
m1 chip slide

Five Years of Apple Silicon: M1 to M5 Performance Comparison

Monday November 10, 2025 1:08 pm PST by
Today marks the fifth anniversary of the Apple silicon chip that replaced Intel chips in Apple's Mac lineup. The first Apple silicon chip, the M1, was unveiled on November 10, 2020. The M1 debuted in the MacBook Air, Mac mini, and 13-inch MacBook Pro. The M1 chip was impressive when it launched, featuring the "world's fastest CPU core" and industry-leading performance per watt, and it's only ...
iOS 26

Everything New in iOS 26.2 Beta 2

Wednesday November 12, 2025 3:29 pm PST by
Apple today provided developers with the second beta of iOS 26.2, which adds a few new features worth knowing about. Measure App Apple's Measure app now features a Liquid Glass design for the level, with two Liquid Glass bubbles instead of white circles. Games App There's now an option to sort games in the Games app Library by size, in addition to Name and Recent. CarPlay The...
iPhone 16e Feature

iPhone 16e Has Apparently 'Failed' Just Like iPhone Air

Thursday November 13, 2025 4:46 am PST by
Apple's entry-level iPhone 16e model is selling poorly, just like the iPhone Air, according to an Asia-based leaker. The Weibo user known as "Fixed Focus Digital" said that the iPhone 16e is not selling well and the attempt at delivering a popular, low-cost iPhone has "failed." That being said, both models are expected to see successors. The iPhone 17e is expected to debut in the spring of...

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)