Nest Hello Doorbell Can Now Detect Package Deliveries

Your Nest Hello Video Doorbell can now detect package deliveries, making it even more useful than ever before.

With an update today, US-based Nest Hello Doorbell owners with a Nest Aware subscription can now enable the package delivery feature, which will notify users when a delivery driver leaves a package at your doorstep. Users can find the support page here.

There are multiple reasons you might want to have this sort of feature enabled.

First off, of course, is the convenience of knowing when your packages arrive, regardless of whether you are home or not. Secondly, there’s a significant security benefit to having a video doorbell that can automatically identify specific actions and people the way the Nest Hello Video Doorbell can.

Aside from the obvious identification of strangers, knowing that your package hasn’t been stolen without having to resort to the police or third-party monitoring is crucial to personal privacy.

Then, of course, is the third reason, which revolves around package thefts and subsequent customer service interactions. Being able to detect package deliveries and having footage of someone taking the package that should be sitting at your doorstep is a huge help when claiming a missing item and really provides a host of benefits on its own.

It also gives you a way to interact with the delivery driver without having to be at the front door, either by leaving instructions for where to put it or anything else that might require human interaction.

Nest knows that not all doors and porches are even remotely the same, so they’ve enabled the ability to draw an Activity Zone around where packages are generally delivered. This helps cut down on false-positives and creates a more accurate environment for detection.

Once users receive the alert, package detection will be automatically enabled and users will be notified via a notification from the Nest app. Google Nest encourages users to check the video settings within the app and ensure that the area is properly marked and lit to fit within the requirements for best detection.

Sometimes, this may require additional lighting to correct some shadowed areas, or it may even require installation of the wedge to place the Nest Hello at a better angle to see packages.

Google Nest’s latest update directly addresses issues that users have been facing and seems to handle them in a very privacy-oriented manner. While some companies rely on other humans to digest the audio and visual information presented through video doorbells or other cameras, Google Nest seems to be able to accurately interpret data without this requirement. Google is no stranger to privacy issues but has been outspoken in its efforts to address issues that have arisen.

One of the most recent major changes involved keeping the little green light on the front of Nest cameras enabled all the time, showing users that the device is on and recording. Several questions have been brought up regarding the outdoor cameras, in the particular instance, which are no longer able to stealthily record the goings-on in the darkest parts of your outdoor property.