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Here Are the Best Pet Cameras for Helicopter Pet Parents

Here Are the Best Pet Cameras for Helicopter Pet Parents

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Others Tested

Photograph: Molly Higgins

Enabot Rola PetPal Robot Pet Companion for $199 (with no attachments): This rolling pet camera has the best of intentions, but the sometimes glitchy app makes the combo pet camera/toy/feeder a little unpredictable. Through the app, you can watch your pets on the security cam and drive the robot around, pressing buttons to do tricks and dispense treats. You can watch the camera feed live from the app, but you can also schedule recordings, which are viewable via Cloud Playback, and it compiles a 30-second “day in the life” compilation. The robot is also supposed to detect abnormal movement or sounds, like barking or broken glass, and send a smart alert to the owner with a timestamp while away from home. Through AI-powered pet recognition, the bot can also snap a picture of your pet, but the AI features were unreliable.

Petcube Cam for $32: This simple, compact camera doesn’t have all the bells and whistles, but it’s a great price for being a reliable, basic pet camera. Like others in Petcube’s lineup, it has a 1080p HD camera, night vision, and two-way audio. It sits on hinges and can angle upward and downward, with the option to flip the video feed in-app if you want to lay it horizontally. You’ll need the brand’s subscription Care plan to get any features beyond live feed. You can set a “motion zone” to only get notifications in a specific area, and you connect your phone’s location to the app, so that you’re alerted more often when away. You can also share the camera feed with others so they can watch remotely and only specify certain times you want shared. This camera is basic, but it has a high-quality camera feed and advanced extras that make it a steal at this price.

Image may contain Electronics Camera and Webcam

Photograph: Molly Higgins

Catit Pixi Smart Mouse Camera for $90: This cutie looks like a miniature mouse with oversized, magnetic feet that attach to a metal stand, and the mouse legs hinge so you can adjust the camera’s height and angle. It’s cute but expensive for what it is—the lens doesn’t move and requires microSD to get video footage beyond a live feed (with the SD card, you can scroll through the video to see the goings-on from past days, record live footage, and save photos and videos to your smartphone’s camera roll). Although it was hard to pinpoint exactly which time you’re looking at when reviewing footage, video feed can be laggy, and there were connectivity issues a few times. It’s a tad expensive at this price point for its (lack of) capabilities.

Closer Pets TreatView with Pet Camera for $100: This solid pet cam features an HD camera, two-way communication, motion detection, a built-in memory card, and 1-cup storage for kibble or treats, which can be scheduled or given at random. The video feed was always crystal clear, although sound was a bit laggy and hard to hear well. The treat portions were huge, dispensing a heaping handful of kibble at even the lowest setting. The alert sound when dispensing is super jarring, and my pets were scared of it—there was no way to silence it. Because of the placement of the hole for dispensing kibble, the camera is angled low, which made it hard to see the area I wanted. This is a solid pet camera whose additional features become a burden rather than an asset.

Keeping the criteria in mind above, I looked for security cameras that had extra pet-specific features. I set up each camera individually, noting any difficulty or issues with initial setup, configuration with Wi-Fi, and speed and reliability of the camera feed. I tested each camera for at least a week (most, much longer) in various spots around my house and rigorously tested the extra features available on most of the cameras, like scheduled feedings, food-dispensing, playtime, and scheduled recordings, and I noted any issues. Over the months of testing, I went out of town several times and completely relied on these cams to keep an eye on my two children—I mean, cats.

So, Is There Really a Difference Between Security Cameras and Pet Cameras? Sort Of

Security cameras enable you to watch your house (and pet) while you’re away, but pet cameras often have a few more pet-specific features, like dispensing treats or abilities to interact with your pet via two-way speaker. These cameras with special features can help ease common issues like separation anxiety or boredom. The Enabot Rola PetPal Robot Pet Companion, for example, has attachments so you can remotely give your pet a treat or engage in “playtime.”

That’s not to say that you can’t use a security camera as a pet cam, but like any other smart home device that connects to Wi-Fi, there’s a chance it can be hacked and compromise your privacy. Make sure your Wi-Fi password is strong, set up two-factor authentication with your camera’s app, and it’s not a bad idea to keep it turned off when you’re home, as an extra precaution.

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According to the Wall Street Journal, the export control directive that led to Anthropic cutting off access to Fable 5 and Mythos 5 was triggered in part by cybersecurity research from Amazon and conversations between CEO Andy Jassy and the White House. According to the report, the paper from Amazon claims that, through a series of prompts, it was able to get Fable 5 to serve up information that could be used in cyberattacks. Amazon has yet to respond to a request for comment.

Shortly after Jassy shared the company’s findings with the government, it made the call to block its use by foreign nationals. Complicating this issue is that many of Anthropic’s researchers are foreign-born, meaning they were barred from accessing their own product.

In a statement, Anthropic disputed the government’s characterization of the issue as a “jailbreak.” It argued that many of the same vulnerabilities could be discovered using other publicly available models, including GPT 5.5. Some security researchers appear to back the company’s interpretation. Katie Moussouris, the founder and CEO of LutaSecurity posted on BlueSky that “I’ve seen the paper. It’s not a jailbreak.” Former Commerce Department official Kate Koren speculated to the WSJ that the White House’s dislike of Anthropic may have influenced the decision.

Anthropic and the Trump administration have been at odds for some time over the company’s refusal to allow its AI to be used for mass surveillance of Americans or to power lethal autonomous weapons. In February, Trump instructed federal agencies to stop using Anthropic’s AI. And just hours later, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth designated the company a supply chain risk.

The government and the company seemed to have made amends, and the two had worked together to expand access to Mythos. However, now the two seem destined to clash again.

#Amazon #security #research #reportedly #led #White #Houses #Anthropic #Fable #banAI,Amazon,Anthropic,News,Policy,Politics,Security,Tech">Amazon security research reportedly led to the White House’s Anthropic Fable banAccording to the Wall Street Journal, the export control directive that led to Anthropic cutting off access to Fable 5 and Mythos 5 was triggered in part by cybersecurity research from Amazon and conversations between CEO Andy Jassy and the White House. According to the report, the paper from Amazon claims that, through a series of prompts, it was able to get Fable 5 to serve up information that could be used in cyberattacks. Amazon has yet to respond to a request for comment.Shortly after Jassy shared the company’s findings with the government, it made the call to block its use by foreign nationals. Complicating this issue is that many of Anthropic’s researchers are foreign-born, meaning they were barred from accessing their own product.In a statement, Anthropic disputed the government’s characterization of the issue as a “jailbreak.” It argued that many of the same vulnerabilities could be discovered using other publicly available models, including GPT 5.5. Some security researchers appear to back the company’s interpretation. Katie Moussouris, the founder and CEO of LutaSecurity posted on BlueSky that “I’ve seen the paper. It’s not a jailbreak.” Former Commerce Department official Kate Koren speculated to the WSJ that the White House’s dislike of Anthropic may have influenced the decision.Anthropic and the Trump administration have been at odds for some time over the company’s refusal to allow its AI to be used for mass surveillance of Americans or to power lethal autonomous weapons. In February, Trump instructed federal agencies to stop using Anthropic’s AI. And just hours later, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth designated the company a supply chain risk.The government and the company seemed to have made amends, and the two had worked together to expand access to Mythos. However, now the two seem destined to clash again.#Amazon #security #research #reportedly #led #White #Houses #Anthropic #Fable #banAI,Amazon,Anthropic,News,Policy,Politics,Security,Tech

Wall Street Journal, the export control directive that led to Anthropic cutting off access to Fable 5 and Mythos 5 was triggered in part by cybersecurity research from Amazon and conversations between CEO Andy Jassy and the White House. According to the report, the paper from Amazon claims that, through a series of prompts, it was able to get Fable 5 to serve up information that could be used in cyberattacks. Amazon has yet to respond to a request for comment.

Shortly after Jassy shared the company’s findings with the government, it made the call to block its use by foreign nationals. Complicating this issue is that many of Anthropic’s researchers are foreign-born, meaning they were barred from accessing their own product.

In a statement, Anthropic disputed the government’s characterization of the issue as a “jailbreak.” It argued that many of the same vulnerabilities could be discovered using other publicly available models, including GPT 5.5. Some security researchers appear to back the company’s interpretation. Katie Moussouris, the founder and CEO of LutaSecurity posted on BlueSky that “I’ve seen the paper. It’s not a jailbreak.” Former Commerce Department official Kate Koren speculated to the WSJ that the White House’s dislike of Anthropic may have influenced the decision.

Anthropic and the Trump administration have been at odds for some time over the company’s refusal to allow its AI to be used for mass surveillance of Americans or to power lethal autonomous weapons. In February, Trump instructed federal agencies to stop using Anthropic’s AI. And just hours later, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth designated the company a supply chain risk.

The government and the company seemed to have made amends, and the two had worked together to expand access to Mythos. However, now the two seem destined to clash again.

#Amazon #security #research #reportedly #led #White #Houses #Anthropic #Fable #banAI,Amazon,Anthropic,News,Policy,Politics,Security,Tech">Amazon security research reportedly led to the White House’s Anthropic Fable ban

According to the Wall Street Journal, the export control directive that led to Anthropic cutting off access to Fable 5 and Mythos 5 was triggered in part by cybersecurity research from Amazon and conversations between CEO Andy Jassy and the White House. According to the report, the paper from Amazon claims that, through a series of prompts, it was able to get Fable 5 to serve up information that could be used in cyberattacks. Amazon has yet to respond to a request for comment.

Shortly after Jassy shared the company’s findings with the government, it made the call to block its use by foreign nationals. Complicating this issue is that many of Anthropic’s researchers are foreign-born, meaning they were barred from accessing their own product.

In a statement, Anthropic disputed the government’s characterization of the issue as a “jailbreak.” It argued that many of the same vulnerabilities could be discovered using other publicly available models, including GPT 5.5. Some security researchers appear to back the company’s interpretation. Katie Moussouris, the founder and CEO of LutaSecurity posted on BlueSky that “I’ve seen the paper. It’s not a jailbreak.” Former Commerce Department official Kate Koren speculated to the WSJ that the White House’s dislike of Anthropic may have influenced the decision.

Anthropic and the Trump administration have been at odds for some time over the company’s refusal to allow its AI to be used for mass surveillance of Americans or to power lethal autonomous weapons. In February, Trump instructed federal agencies to stop using Anthropic’s AI. And just hours later, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth designated the company a supply chain risk.

The government and the company seemed to have made amends, and the two had worked together to expand access to Mythos. However, now the two seem destined to clash again.

#Amazon #security #research #reportedly #led #White #Houses #Anthropic #Fable #banAI,Amazon,Anthropic,News,Policy,Politics,Security,Tech

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