I’ve been using the Arlo Essential Indoor Camera for weeks, and it’s become my secret weapon for spying on my mischievous dog. The 2K clarity catches him mid-couch-raid in glorious detail—no more ‘who ate the remote?’ mysteries.

The privacy shield is genius. I flip it closed during movie nights (no creepy Big Brother vibes) and open it when leaving. The motion alerts? Spot-on. It even distinguishes between my dog’s zoomies and actual intruders—though let’s be real, the squirrel outside gets more airtime.

Night vision surprised me. My living room at 3 AM looks like a grainy noir film, but I can still spot the guilty crumbs around my dog’s mouth. The app’s ‘activity zones’ would be perfect… if they weren’t paywalled. Arlo, why?

Bandwidth warning: This camera streams like it’s hosting Netflix. My non-fiber internet now buffers cat videos at dial-up speed. Worth it? For catching my dog’s dramatic sigh when his toy gets stuck? Absolutely.