I’ve been a user of Security Spy camera recording software since 2016. SecuritySpy is software made by Bensoftware based in the U.K. In 2017, I voted it as my favorite software product of the year for Apple World Today.
What makes SecuritySpy so good? Some of the following comments apply to previous versions of SecuritySpy in case any readers are not familiar with it. I’ll also write about what I consider to be one of the strongest features of SecuritySpy–it’s use of AI.
SecuritySpy can record an unlimited number of cameras. There are tiers one can purchase such as 1, 4, 8, 16, 32, and unlimited cameras. I have the 16 camera version.
The software is too advanced to go into a deep review, but if you have any interest at all in recording cameras, SecuritySpy is the goto software. Not only can it record any number of cameras you want, but uses very little processing power. For a few years I had been running SecuritySpy on an M1 Mac Mini. The total CPU usage was only about 15 to 20%. With the release of version 6 that usage dropped closer to 10%.This is a testament to the coding and streamlining of SecuritySpy.
I’ve been testing SecuritySpy on an M2 Ultra Mac Studio as well as an M1 Max Mac Studio. Either of the Mac Studios run SecuritySpy flawlessly. I’ve decided to make the M1 Max Mac Studio the main computer to run SecuritySpy.
The software basically runs itself once you have it set up. It requires little to no attention. I have had the camera server running for multiple months with no attention. Even if there is a reboot due to issues or updates, SecuritySpy comes back up running flawlessly.
The web viewer is one of the best aspects of SecuritySpy. I can quickly and easily connect to the server using a web browser. The cameras instantly pop up and the view is as smooth as viewing directly on the server. I do this from a Mac as well as a Windows computer.
The SecuritySpy server can be totally configured via the browser interface. This makes it very convenient to have an Apple Silicon Mac stored out of the way and use as the SecuritySpy server. I previously had version 5 running for many months in “headless” mode with no keyboard, monitor, or mouse. I would connect via screen share on another mac to check and configure, but with the new remote access, even that is made much easier and can be accessed and configured via any device. But, if past performance is any indication, I expect to never have to access the camera server. In Apple fashion, SecuritySpy “just works.”
I use motion detection to record when there is activity within the specified area of each camera. SecuritySpy now improves upon this by using the power of Apple Silicon to enable AI-powered smart motion detection. SecuritySpy can tell if the motion is a person or car for example. Apple Silicon is substantially faster at AI processing than an Intel CPU. According to Ben Bird, the creator of SecuritySpy, Apple Silicon can process smart detection in 1ms vs. 50ms for the fastest Intel-based Mac–50 times faster. See the end of the article for some use cases I’ve had for AI in SecuritySpy.
SecuritySpy supports H.256 HEVC for high-efficiency streaming and recording. It can even record video in Apple’s ProRes format. Metal graphics is supported for ultra high performance video.
One “intangible” benefit of SecuritySpy is the support. Ben Bird is very quick to respond to emails–usually within an hour or two during the day. Just last week, he responded to a questioning about licensing within five minutes. There is also a user forum where Ben is very active as well as others to answer any questions and give any advice. I have never had Ben go over a work day without personally responding. This is not just any employee responding. This is the actual writer of the software. This type of support makes the software well worth the price. There is also a very detailed manual online that has often answered any questions I have.
Here is a link to the the recent updates in SecuritySpy.
The AI has been much improved in later versions of SecuritySpy, which is vital in recognizing humans, autos, etc.
SecuritySpy is extremely responsive. The software uses less resources now than in previous years and serves up recordings basically instantly. I use an external 4TB NVMe drive to store all recordings on, and I cannot tell any difference in performance whether recording internally or to an external drive. Everything is instant.
The cameras and recorded video are much quicker to respond and much smoother in viewing. I have one older Windows laptop I use as a fulltime viewer of SecuritySpy in another room. The video is as smooth as viewing the cameras directly. It’s much more pleasing to see. There is never a hint of any jerkiness or delay.
SecuritySpy is one of the best Mac-only apps I’ve ever used. Though much of what I do requires a Windows computer, I plan to always keep at least one Mac just simply for SecuritySpy.
You can check the the SecuritySpy website at www.bensoftware.com for the price which is based on how many cameras you need to record.
SecuritySpy offers a free iOS app that lets you control your cameras from anywhere. You can view footage, enable and disable recordings, and much more. You can set up alerts and have them sent by email or in the app.
SecuritySpy also offers a free TV OS app and an Android app is being developed. I use the TV app almost 100% of the time that the television is on. I use it to view the cameras and an Android app is going to greatly help those who choose an Android phone. This is a much welcome addition.
One alert I use often is to alert me when there is motion in the garage. I have SecuritySpy set up to do this only from sunset to sunrise. As the months progress, SecuritySpy changes the time daily that alerts are enabled. It sets this time frame based on my location.
You can set up very complex alerts, triggering of other cameras, and even upload all recordings to an off-site FTP server.
I’m old school when it comes to computers and really thought of AI as being “iffy” at best. The AI in SecuritySpy showed me how beneficial AI can be. SecuritySpy uses it’s own in-house trained AI specifically for image detection.
At our Church building there is a Mac running SecuritySpy. I had all cameras set up for pixel based motion detection. This works, but I was getting dozens of false alerts per day. As the light in the building changed or vehicles go by, motions would be detected and send an alert. I changed this to have AI only recognize humans. This works perfectly and has taken care of the false alerts. (Due to the great scheduling built within Security Spy, I have the alrets turned off right before services and on after everyone is gone. Recording still takes places, but there are no alerts during this time.)
Very recently we were expecting a package and I didn’t want to leave it outside due to the freezing weather. I didn’t want to just stare at the camera, so I set up SecuritySpy to let me know if a human was detected. SecuritySpy is so good that it saw a horse and buggy go by and was able to see the driver at the road, about 150 feet away, and let me know there was a human there. You can adjust the area watched as well as the sensitivity for more or fewer alerts.
Once we had been watching for a cat to appear at the backdoor as it had done off and on so we could leave food out. I set SecuritySpy to watch for only four-legged animals and within a couple of hours the cat appeared and was fed. We were able to see it before it left thanks to SecuritySpy doing the constant watching for us.
One advantage of AI is SecuritySpy uses the Apple Silicon Neural Network to determine what it is seeing, and doesn’t use the CPU. This lets even the more advanced features of SecuritySpy use less processing power than simple pixel based motion recording.
The main computer that SecuritySpy runs on does have some gaming done periodically and I like to record the gaming session. I have the monitor set up as a camera in SecuritySpy and it watches for pixel changes. When activity starts, SecuritySpy starts recording that screen and then stops when there are no screen changes. I have it set to delete these recordings after seven days.
This years marks ten years of me using SecuritySpy. I still learn new ways to use it and it just gets better with every release. It truly is my most used software on the Mac. Even the most basic Mac Mini makes a great dedicated computer for SecuritySpy. Its function and server are truly world class.
Unlike so much software today, SecuritySpy is not a subscription service. You purchase it once and never have to again until you want major future updates. You can choose to purchase optional support renewals. These provide access to continued updates and tech-support.
You do not need to be connected to the Internet for SecuritySpy to work except at the very beginning to check the licensing. There are some features such as downtime notifications, which I really like, that do require the Internet, but it will work indefinitely with no subscription and no Internet which is refreshing in this day of software subscriptions.
What if you run into something SecuritySpy cannot do or would like to suggest a change? Ben is very open to suggestions on the forums and I’ve seen him more than once say they would plan on adding that feature. You just don’t get that kind of access with other developers.
Security Spy is my single most used application. It runs 24/7, and has for many years, and is rock-solid reliable. I have never once had it crash or stop working, which is critical for security cameras. I give SecuritySpy five out of five stars.
Youu can download it and try it free for 30 days at www.bensoftware.com. Even if you don’t have a spare Mac to run it, SecuritySpy will run seamlessly alongside your regular apps. For recording security cameras, there is no better Mac solution than SecuritySpy. If you are not using SecuritySpy, I highly recommend it.
Apple World Today rating (out of 5 stars): ★★★★★
I hope you’ll help support Apple World Today by becoming a patron. Almost all our income is from Patreon support and sponsored posts. Patreon pricingranges from $2 to $10 a month. Thanks in advance for your support.
