How did the FBI get Nancy Guthrie's Google Nest camera footage if it was disabled — and what does it mean for your privacy?

News
By published

Residual data in backend systems proved to be incredibly useful in the case

A smartphone showing images captured by Nancy Guthrie's video doorbell next to Nest Doorbell (battery) mounted outside a home
(Image credit: Credit: Brandon Bell/Getty/Tom’s Guide)

There’s finally been a breakthrough in the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie after the FBI managed to recover footage from the video doorbell outside her home. However, without an active Nest Aware subscription, questions have been raised as to how this footage was recovered in the first place and what this means for the privacy of other Nest users.

The mother of "Today" co-host Savannah Guthrie was reported missing on Sunday, February 1 after being dropped off at her home the evening before. Normally, footage from her video doorbell’s security camera would have been used to look for possible leads. In this case, not only was the power cut to her home before the kidnapping but she also didn’t have a paid plan that would have uploaded any recorded clips to the cloud.

Yesterday, 10 days after Nancy Guthrie was reported missing, the FBI has released new images from the camera outside her house. Here’s everything you need to know about how this lost footage was recovered and why cloud-based security cameras could be putting your own privacy at risk.

Stored but not saved

Nest Doorbell (battery) review

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

Before we get into how the security camera footage was recovered, a bit of background on Nancy Guthrie’s home surveillance system. Instead of having a few of the best outdoor security cameras positioned at key points around her property, the 84-year-old mother relied on a single video doorbell, not for surveillance but as a way for her kids to check that she got home safely and to see when packages and people arrived at her door.

With only a single camera though, there was no cross-coverage video for law enforcement to use in their investigation. Likewise, as Nancy is a widow that lives in a secluded neighborhood, there weren’t other security cameras nearby to help shine light on what happened. Law enforcement did unsuccessfully try to use Ring’s Neighbors app for additional insights into her disappearance.

According to the investigation, Nancy had a Google Nest Doorbell (2nd Gen) that was wireless. Due to this, it didn’t lose power when the suspect disconnected it. Unlike with older wired models that only upload to the cloud, this one has a small amount of on-device flash memory. The Nest Doorbell (2nd Gen) is designed to fall back to local storage when its Wi-Fi connection goes out, which is why it was possible to recover any video at all.

In a post on X, FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed that while the agency and the Pima County Sheriff’s Department had been working closely with private sector partners to recover images or videos from the video doorbell for the past eight days. On Monday, a video of the suspect was recovered from residual data located in Google’s backend systems.

Even without a Nest Aware subscription, the video doorbell in question saves around three hours of event-based video history for free before it’s deleted. Just like on your computer’s hard drive, when you delete something, it isn’t actually deleted right away. Instead, that data remains there until it’s overwritten. So while the clips from Nancy Guthrie’s video doorbell weren’t saved in the traditional sense, they were stored on Google’s servers pending permanently deletion by being overwritten.

Tom’s Guide has reached out to both Google and Nest for more information and we’ll update this story if and when we hear back. However, this whole situation raises serious privacy concerns regarding what is stored and accessible by both law enforcement and the companies themselves.

A bird’s eye view but at the cost of your privacy

Four home security cameras on an outdoor bench with green bushes in the background

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

Whether you live in a house or an apartment, a few of the best home security cameras are a worthwhile investment. Not only do they let you keep track of packages while deterring porch pirates but they also let you keep an eye on your home and can really come in handy in the event of an emergency or an incident like this one.

The problem, though, is that once security footage from your home is uploaded to the cloud, law enforcement can request and get access to it. This is the reason why companies like Eufy — which prioritize local over cloud storage — have become more popular in recent years. There are also closed, hard-wired home security camera systems like those from Reolink which are much harder for others to access.

Besides the convenience of being able to view your cameras and their footage from anywhere over the cloud, there’s another big reason someone might go with Nest, Ring or similar camera makers with subscription plans: the initial cost.

You will end up paying more over the long run for security cameras that require a monthly subscription to get access to all their best features, but when you’re shopping for your first security camera after moving into a new house or a break-in, their lower prices can be very enticing.

For instance, with Amazon’s Ring cameras, they often get heavily discounted during Prime Day or other sales events. They’re also more popular and come with extras like integrations with your existing smart home devices.

A Reolink PoE camera mounted to the side of a house

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

Eufy’s security cameras are priced similarly to those from Nest or Ring. However, you will need a local storage device like the company’s HomeBase 3 to store and access footage from your cameras.

As for closed, hardwired security camera systems like Reolink’s, instead of spending $50-$100 per camera, you often buy them in a full set for anywhere from $500 to $1,000 depending on the quality and how many cameras you get. On top of that upfront cost, you will have to hardwire your home to use them which adds to the expense and complexity of a system like this.

The choice is yours but both approaches have their benefits and downsides. If privacy is your main concern, then a closed, hardwired system might be best. However, if you want the convenience of wireless cameras from a more well-known brand and don’t mind adding another subscription to your list, then a cloud-based system might be a better fit.

Either way, investing in a few outdoor security cameras is absolutely worth it for the added peace of mind and to deter would-be burglars. But once you start recording video, just know that law enforcement could come knocking on your door asking for video clips if the need arises.

Google News

Follow Tom's Guide on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds.

More from Tom's Guide

Anthony Spadafora
Anthony Spadafora
Managing Editor Security and Home Office

Anthony Spadafora is the managing editor for security and home office furniture at Tom’s Guide where he covers everything from data breaches to password managers and the best way to cover your whole home or business with Wi-Fi. He also reviews standing desks, office chairs and other home office accessories with a penchant for building desk setups. Before joining the team, Anthony wrote for ITProPortal while living in Korea and later for TechRadar Pro after moving back to the US. Based in Houston, Texas, when he’s not writing Anthony can be found tinkering with PCs and game consoles, managing cables and upgrading his smart home. 

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.