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Amazon: Cloud Cam will be shut down

Amazon discontinues the cloud service of the Cloud Cam, rendering the device useless. The move ends the controversial camera’s short and inglorious career.

Shutdown officially confirmed

Amazon did not announce the shutdown of the cloud service needed to run the surveillance camera in a press release. The information only became public after informational emails to customers using the camera surfaced. At the request of a blog, Amazon confirmed the authenticity of the mails – and thus the end of the Cloud Cam. The shutdown of the service is justified in the mails with the support effort associated with the operation. Amazon wants to save this effort to be able to focus more on the Ring and Blink products.

According to the mail, affected customers will receive the Blink Mini as a replacement for the camera that has become unusable. Those who used the surveillance camera together with the Key service will also receive an Echo device.

Camera was controversial

The surveillance camera was not successful at any point. Rather, it drew attention due to security concerns – which may have been one reason why it never made it to market in this country. The camera was mainly used in conjunction with the Key service. This allowed employees of delivery companies to independently enter the apartment provided with the service. This required a special door lock in addition to the camera. The public response was restrained to critical: The Key function drew ridicule and massive concerns about privacy protection.

In addition, there were two problems that related exclusively to the camera. For example, a security vulnerability was discovered at the end of 2017: The camera could be overrun with DDoS attacks – and thus could not fulfill its function at times. In addition, it was reported in 2019 that Amazon employees had viewed and analyzed video fragments that came from customers’ cameras. The affected customers had allowed Amazon to access their camera for repair purposes.

With the shutdown of the cloud service, this chapter in Amazon’s history ends – unsuccessfully.

Simon Lüthje

I am co-founder of this blog and am very interested in everything that has to do with technology, but I also like to play games. I was born in Hamburg, but now I live in Bad Segeberg.

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Amazon discontinues the cloud service of the Cloud Cam, rendering the device useless. The move ends the controversial camera’s short and inglorious career. Shutdown officially confirmed Amazon did not announce the shutdown of the cloud service needed to run the surveillance camera in a press release. The information only became public after informational emails to … (Weiterlesen...)

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