Google Nest facial recognition powers ADT’s new Trusted Neighbor feature

ADT confirmed On the edge which is rolling out a major update to its ADT Plus home security system. The new hardware and software platform for ADT Plus features new ADT hardware, deeper integration with Google Nest hardwareand the ability to automatically disarm using facial recognition to allow trusted neighbors to enter your home when you are away.

I first reported on the new system last October, but until now, ADT has declined to comment, despite publishing multiple support pages about it on your website. This week, ADT spokesman Ben Tamblyn confirmed On the edge The new ADT Plus system has begun rolling out in select states and will be available nationwide in the coming months. The system can be self-installed or professionally installed and can work with ADT Professional Monitoring Service.

An update to the ADT Plus app will also be released soon, enabling a new feature called Trusted Neighbor. This leverages the capabilities of devices like Google Nest cameras and doorbells – including facial recognition and package detection – and devices like smart locks, to grant automated, secure, temporary access to “trusted” people when you’re not home but need to some help.

Tamblyn said Trusted Neighbor uses time- and event-based access, leveraging new Google Home APIs that Google announced at I/O this week to allow the security system to react to non-emergency events in your home. For example, if the Google Nest doorbell detects a package, Trusted Neighbor can run automation that disarms the ADT security system when the Google Nest doorbell recognizes your approaching neighbor and re-arms them as soon as they leave.

Tamblyn said Trusted Neighbor can also be configured to respond to sensors, so if a water leak is detected, it can automatically allow a neighbor to enter. The ADT app will notify you of these events, and if you’re not comfortable with automatic access, you can choose to start the automation manually, according to Tamblyn.

There is also time-based automation for regular events, such as letting the dog walker in if recognized by the camera between 10am and 10:30am on weekdays. Automations are all managed by the user and can be deactivated at any time.

“Trusted Neighbor is a service that is based on the universal feeling of giving your trusted neighbor the key to your home to help you when you are out of town,” said Tamblyn. “This will allow users to easily grant and automate secure, temporary access to their homes for neighbors, friends and helpers. For safety emergencies, ADT monitors and calls professionals, but for everyday non-safety needs, ADT allows your trusted neighbors to be present.”

The Trusted Neighbor feature requires the new ADT Plus system, which takes some design cues from Nest Secure, Google’s home security system that was shut down after investing $450 million in ADT. (Nest Secure users received a free ADT system, but that offer expired last month and is not applicable to this new system. However, Tamblyn said some existing ADT hardware will be able to be updated to work with Trusted Neighbor.)

The new hardware includes updated door and window sensors with the same bypass button found on Nest Detect sensors and a backlit circular base station that looks a lot like the Nest Secure version. ADT has not released any new information about the ADT Plus hardware, but has confirmed that my report from last year was accurate, where you can see all the details about the new ADT hardware and its functions.

Tamblyn said Trusted Neighbor should be available this summer “to ADT subscribers whose service level includes Nest Aware and that have the ADT + platform and hardware, and other necessary hardware, such as Nest cameras.”

It will also work with hardware from other manufacturers, including smart locks and sensors. Tamblyn said smart locks will allow you to enter a code to unlock the door and disarm the system as an alternative to facial recognition. But ADT hasn’t announced which locks will work with the system.

Of course, if you have a smart home, you can already do much of what Trusted Neighbor offers. If you’re on a beach in Bali and you get an alert that there’s a water leak in your laundry room or a package on your balcony, you can text your neighbor, unlock your smart lock in the app, and disable the system to allow them (or provide the codes so they can do it themselves). The idea behind Trusted Neighbor is to make this process easier and more automated.

While this can certainly be useful, there are some obvious drawbacks. First, you need to get your neighbor to download and use the ADT Plus app so that they are an authorized user. Secondly, if you want to use the facial recognition aspect, you will need to store their face in your database of familiar faces, for which you will have to ask permission.

Third, and most worryingly, this may not always work. I personally use Google Nest’s familiar faces feature, and it regularly confuses me with my UPS driver. I would hesitate to trust the security of my home to these smart people. Tamblyn said safeguards are in place to prevent accidental activations, but was unable to share details.

Still, this is an intriguing new feature for a security system. With Google opening up its Home APIs, I’m excited to see what other innovations smart home companies come up with to take advantage of the platform’s devices and intelligence. I could certainly see a future where your entire household could respond to your face. Walk up to the front door and the doorbell recognizes you, turns off the alarm, unlocks the door, adjusts the temperature to your preference, and starts playing your favorite playlist. Is it a little scary? Yes. Is it smart? Very.