Apple's HomeView may be about to double as a security camera, according to strings found in the device's software — with a set of safeguards that look unusually careful about privacy.
A Reddit user going by pdfu found the hints in HomeView 27.2, The Verge reports. The strings describe a security camera mode with motion detection, live streaming, recording options and privacy functions. One setup page reportedly reads outright: "Your HomeView can be used as a security camera with HomeKit Secure Video."
What the strings sketch out is fairly specific. Video feeds would be visible only to members of the home. If someone is watching the feed or a recording starts, the device is meant to show an indicator light and play a sound. Household members get a notification whenever the Secure Video settings are changed. And the mode would offer options for what to detect, stream or record depending on whether you are home, away or asleep.
Apple has said nothing, which is normal for a code find: strings can surface months before a feature ships, or never ship at all. That HomeView did not act as a camera at launch raised eyebrows in smart-home circles. A plausible explanation is that Apple wants the privacy mechanics finished first — for a company that sells on privacy, a camera without a visible recording indicator would be a reputational problem, not a feature.
The find matters mostly as a signal of direction. HomeKit Secure Video has long been one of the few camera integrations where footage is stored encrypted in iCloud and the analysis — motion and object detection — runs on a hub rather than in the cloud. A HomeView that handled that itself would make Apple less dependent on third-party camera makers and give the hub a stronger claim to being the centre of the smart home.
For now it is a hint rather than a promise. HomeView owners should watch the settings after the next update; whether and when the feature appears is Apple's call.
