ADT is best known for home security systems. But now the company is expanding beyond that with a suite of services including an app that helps you keep track of your family members, an app to notify folks of an emergency and cybersecurity software for your web-enabled devices.
First off, the company, which again, is best known for the little flags people stick in their front lawns to deter burglars, is launching ADT Go. The app, which will be available for Google’s (GOOG, GOOGL) Android and Apple’s (AAPL) iOS devices, will let you set up a geofence for seeing when your family members leave a certain area, check what they’ve been up to on their devices, monitor the devices’ battery levels and, most interesting of all, provide real-time local crime data.
ADT says the feature will only include data on crimes after they’ve been entered into a police database, so it’s not real-time in the sense that the crimes are happening at that exact moment.
That’s an important distinction as other apps like Citizen, formerly Vigilante, alerts users about crimes as they occur. Citizen has been criticized for creating an app that makes it too easy for people to act as vigilantes to stop crimes in progress, despite the fact that the app’s creators tell them not to in the user agreement.
Health and home
Then there’s the ADT Health personal emergency response app available for Samsung’s Gear S2 and Gear S3 smartwatches. Designed to replace those old-fashioned emergency response pendants that are advertised on basic cable on weekday afternoons, ADT’s offering allows for two-way calling between the wearer and trained ADT agents, should an emergency occur.
The smartwatches’ built-in heart rate monitors and activity trackers also give wearers and their family members a better look at the wearer’s overall health and activity level.
The tech giant, is also launching its own doorbell camera called the ADT Video Doorbell. This is far from the first doorbell camera on the market, but ADT’s value proposition is that its offering will hook into the security company’s existing security ecosystem.
What’s more, the company is adding Google Home functionality to the camera, so you’ll be able to access it and your overall ADT system using nothing but your voice.
Finally, ADT is jumping into the cybersecurity market with its aptly named ADT Cybersecurity service. The company doesn’t have many details as to how the system would work, or if it will exist as a series of apps installed on your computers and smartphones, but it has said that the service will include Personal Data and Identity Protection; Mobile, Web and Email Protection; Home Internet and Device Protection and Help, as well as Resolution and Insurance, whatever that means.
It’s an interesting move for ADT, and one that is likely a response to the growing number of do-it-yourself security products on the market. If ADT can build a bigger presence for itself outside of its traditional space, it could help offset any loses it might take from competitors.
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Email Daniel Howley at dhowley@yahoo-inc.com; follow him on Twitter at @DanielHowley.
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