Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I purchased this in order to keep an eye on a new puppy, to see how he handles the workday hours home alone in a play pen (being let out at lunchtime, of course), and for that purpose it works well enough, on paper. I did have a bit of trouble finding the correct spot to place it, due to its very limited ability to tilt down, but ideally I think it should be mounted on the wall or ceiling and plan to do so — if I decide to keep it. To start, both this unit and the other two 720p YI Dome Cameras I purchased had smudges on the camera right out of the box, despite being "brand new", which was a bit disappointing. The smudges were on the orb part, rather than the lens, so I suppose it could have been worse. The stream quality is okay but it still leaves a lot to be desired. It somehow manages to lag and stutter even while connected to a stable 120Mbps WiFi network, which is very strange. Video is captured at 15fps but played back at 30fps, so it ends up looking like an old-time slapstick comedy skit (sped-up). The "night vision" capability is very limited, but it's certainly better than nothing. The video quality may technically be 1080p, but the quality is pretty bad, even with plenty of light (see attached photos). Overall though, considering the price, it's a decent product. However, as most others have said, the real problem with this device experience is the mobile viewing app. By default, it installs with far more permissions than it has any reason to require (Camera, Contacts, Microphone, Phone, and Storage), with the real kicker being that it installs with the ability to modify system settings. Considering that most people purchase this device with security as a priority, the fact that it has such widespread access to your device should raise concern. Here is a detailed list of YI Home (Android) app permissions: DEVICE & APP HISTORY - retrieve running apps - android.permission.READ_LOGS IDENTITY - find accounts on the device PHOTOS/MEDIA/FILES - android.permission.MOUNT_UNMOUNT_FILESYSTEMS - modify or delete the contents of your USB storage - read the contents of your USB storage CAMERA - take pictures and videos MICROPHONE - record audio WI-FI CONNECTION INFORMATION - view Wi-Fi connections DEVICE ID & CALL INFORMATION - read phone status and identity OTHER - disable your screen lock - prevent phone from sleeping - connect and disconnect from Wi-Fi - android.permission.FLASHLIGHT - control vibration - view network connections - have full network access - modify system settings - change network connectivity - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - As an Android Developer myself, I have to say that several of those permissions make no sense at all, as to why they would be required, and many of them indicate that the YI Home app was created by either an inexperienced or otherwise questionable developer. Example 1: There are no features within the app that could possibly have any use for the "retrieve running apps" permission (which is pretty self-explanatory as to what it allows). The kind of apps that would request this permission legitimately would be task killers, battery monitors, etc; apps that need to know what else is running in order to function properly. Example 2: Far more disturbing is the permission to "disable your screen lock". Again, there isn't a single feature or function within the YI Home app that would require this for any reason at all, and having to allow your screen lock to be disabled by anything other than your pattern/pin/fingerprint (e.g. anything other than you yourself) is very concerning. Example 3: The permission to "android.permission.READ_LOGS" allows the app to read low-level system logs, most likely in order to track runtime errors. However, any respectable app developer would use their own log buffer to track these, whereas this permission grants them access to sensitive information about your system that can be (and likely is) used to mine your data. And I don't believe for a moment that this was some kind of oversight or result of inexperience developing apps. But in the immortal words of that guy from Reading Rainbow: "You don't have to take my word for it!" You can see how unnecessary all of these permissions are yourself. Once you have the app installed, go into Settings > Apps and select Yi Home. Then tap Permissions, and toggle off Camera, Contacts, and Phone—note that if you toggle Storage you'll lose access to the video thumbnail showing on the main cameras page, along with the ability to save photos/videos from the camera stream, and if you toggle Microphone you'll lose the ability to use two-way audio. Once that's done, tap the back button, scroll down to "Modify system settings", and toggle that off. After doing all of this, go back to using the app as usual. You might have to log in again, but otherwise you won't notice any kind of reduced or impaired functionality of the app. Why? Because the YI Home app doesn't need access to Camera, Contacts, and Phone, nor does it need the ability to modify system settings. Regardless of why it requires these permissions by default, the simple fact that it does puts you at risk. In the end, I'm going to do some research to find an alternative—one that, unlike this one, isn't tethered to an app that I am absolutely certain I can't trust. Because if I can't trust their app, why would I trust their camera to see the inside of my home at all times?