Nothing good ever comes out of a burglar breaking into your house and ripping off all your personal stuff. That is – unless he happens to get caught and you get all your stuff back. Unfortunately, that’s rare…and, the theft can quite often have an effect on your homeowners insurance premiums. However, by using any of the numerous apps on the market that keep an eye on your belongings while you’re away, you might, at least, have a fighting chance.
That’s what an Oklahoma City man thought when he downloaded the Manything app after being impressed by a demonstration he saw on the Today Show. The fact that Manything could turn old discarded iPhones, iPods, and iPads into video monitoring cameras with live feeds, unlimited recording, and motion detection, was good enough for him. As luck would have it, the man didn’t have to wait very long to get a front row seat of someone burglarizing his home while he and his wife were at work.
Performing as advertised, the app threw off a signal indicating there was motion in the empty residence, which could only mean the house was in the process of being broken into. Thanks to Manything, the man had the immediate ability to view, in real-time, burglars helping themselves to his and his wife’s stuff. But, sadly, all he could do was watch, unable to stop the burglars from roaming through the house and grabbing everything of value, except to alert authorities of what was going on.
Although Oklahoma City police have a video of the burglars in action, they have yet to apprehend them. The hope is that the streaming video will help identify the people who broke into the home. That said – unless the police are notified once the signal is relayed to the user that a breach has occurred and the response is such that they arrive while the break-in is in progress, the thieves will probably have already made their getaway…with your stuff.
The way it works
The pure advantage of Manything is that it uses the existing camera in an old, discarded smartphone that you may have forgotten about in a drawer somewhere and basically transforms it into the perfect instant video monitoring solution, without the hassle and expense of having to buy any special equipment. Taking only a few seconds to install worldwide from the iTunes App Store, the app has the ability to run on battery and switch between W-Fi and cellular networks, making it more powerful and resilient than the average Closed Circuit TV (CCTV) system.
What’s next?
At present, Manything fits into a completely new category – one that has the ability to stream and record continuously, to survive network and power outages, to detect motion and sound, and to easily create video clips of the highlights. In the very near future, the plan is to simply integrate Manything into a home automation ecosystem, where a camera will have the flexibility to trigger, and be triggered by, other connected devices in the home.
Obviously, the advantages are quite attractive given the ease of installation and the potential of around-the-clock video monitoring at a minimal cost by using old, discarded smartphones. But, remember – if you decide to download Manything, be sure to check with your current homeowners insurance carrier to see if the added security feature qualifies you for a possible discount.
When it comes to protecting your home, with or without additional security features, you always want the best rate on your homeowners insurance. Why not get a free homeowners insurance quote today?
