Email notification format changes - removal of preview image.

[TheMegaMan]

So has the format of the motion notification emails changed to remove the preview image, intentionally?

If so, it's a really bad move. I get a lot of false notifications, and the preview image was an excellent way to help identify if I needed to look in more detail.

Without it, I've got to open and download each video clip in turn, taking a long time and increasing the load on your servers.

Can I suggest this change is reversed or maybe a user option?

Regards,
Adam

[Retired_Member]

The video snapshot in the email was its best feature, please put it back! Otherwise, in order to find out if the alert is something worth reviewing, I have to click the link and then re-login into the system because the session timeout is super short. I really loved getting snapshots in the email  😞

[Larry348]

The recent "update" to remove the preview image in notification emails makes Arlo almost useless.

After the "update", the email must be opened and a link clicked which opens the video in a browser window. With the current slow access to Arlo website, this adds considerable delay in viewing the image and when viewing from a phone, adds expense to the user for data usage charges downloading the video.

Before the update simply viewing the email preview was sufficient to indicate if any additional action was necessary - like notifying the police!

The update is about the dumbest thing that could have been done and should be reversed immediately.

[johnhuanvu]

Some of my friends who have Arlo have posted their discontent on https://www.facebook.com/arlosmarthome/. I also asked them to copy and paste the horrible response Arlo has been giving to all of us:

At Arlo, we strive to provide peace of mind and a consistent, seamless experience when using your security system. In an effort to maximize privacy and security, shared links and snapshots to your library content automatically expire after 24 hours. This also applies to snapshots within email alerts. We found that this caused confusion and frustration with many Arlo users, resulting in unnecessary troubleshooting in an attempt to restore expired email snapshots. To alleviate this frustration and maintain our existing privacy and security standards, we have removed snapshots from the email alerts feature.

---

This is to remind Arlo that we're their customers and shouldn't be talked to like some other individual who is not valued.

[grcArlo]

Exactly!  Why would they decide to remove their most useful feature?

[Mallez]

This was a very bad move by Arlo.

I understand they are trying to cut their costs as the snapshots cost money, but what it's done is made me go look at competitors for Arlo (the big ones).   If everyone writes bots to open the email links to stream the detection with each email, then it will cost arlo MORE.

The other issue is the time lag with the smart notifications.  There are times I can read email but cannot have the arlo app (as i can only have that on my personal phone).  Again, the snapshot was a feature that helped sell me on the entire package, including smart service.  If nothing else, it should be an option for paying smart service customers that have already paid for longer subscriptions, based on the "previous" functionality.  They should have provided enough lead time on the feature deprecation to provide me the option to renew with the "new" degradation of service.

And major competitor versions of "smart notifications", including email with snapshots, are really starting to be competitive with Arlo's smart service (including price, which is even more competitive with the 24x7 continuous recording).  Frankly, if it doesn't change back to include snapshots, at the end of my subscription period I will look to change systems, and just sell my current Arlo setup for a discount.

Thank you Arlo for providing me the need to look around, it's clear that there are serious competitors that will provide this important feature.

[melrush]

Have the same exact problem. Started on Monday morning. No pictures in any emails. This needs to be fixed.

[johnhuanvu]

I encourage all of you to please email, call, post on Facebook, post on community forums, post a review on Amazon or Costco or wherever you bought it, reach out to media outlets, and continue on this fight. I want to give Arlo one month before I cut ties with them.

[melrush]

I opened a support track. They are currently testing and having me test things. It seems like a disconnect from the message received on this thread and what support is doing.

[meizydavid]

FALSE ADVERTISING

So yesterday I went to the sales chat

and started a chat with the sales department

I asked about how am I notified about motion, was told email etc

I asked about the email notifications and was told there is a photo with the email (preview)

and was given this link https://kb.arlo.com/000056585/What-is-the-Arlo-Smart-rich-notification-feature

after I explained what was the issue, She was totally surprised that it was not there anymore.

they clearly are falsely advertising and are probably liable in some form for removing the feature

I did take pictures of the chat. so I have them

like 9 years ago I had purchased the original netgear camera system had 15 cameras

they were little gray cameras system worked good, but netgear made them obsolete and lost support

so I had to purchase a whole new system. I decide on Arlo Pro2 which was owned by netgear at the 

time. I eventually bought another whole system and put at another home

so I have 2 full systems with 20 cameras each (that's 40 cameras)

my brother has bought a Arlo Pro2 system also, and my son in law has a Arlo system

my nephew .....per my recommendation 

this is a horrible company and these issues have gone on for years

in january 2019 the iPhones quit working after a Arlo software update

and all Arlo would say it was Apples fault, and for a week we had no access via iPhone

suddenly Arlo came out with a fixed version of software.

[GR2011]

Things definitely went downhill after Netgear and Arlo split last year. I don't see it getting better.

[rye_whiskey]

This is not the same thing.   This rich notification is available on a paid subscription, only on your phone.  This is not the email issue.

That being said, I don't currently have a paid sub so I couldn't tell you if this feature is gone from the phone.   It IS not what we're discussing here though.

[meizydavid]

it has nothing to do with paid subscription- its gone for all !

and per the sales chat it is the same thing

[rye_whiskey]

It is NOT the same thing.  I can't long press the notification on my phone and get this.  I DID get images in my email.   An email notification and the app notification are two different things. 

[meizydavid]

that's correct if you don't pay a subscription you probably cannot activate siren etc.

but it says

Rich notifications allow you to see alerts from your lock screen that include images of what caused the camera to record. 

[LookOver]

Arlo Pro 2.  Until 4 days ago I got email alerts with a picture attached.   IOS Catalina.  Signed up for two-step verification.

Old post from 2019 refers to this and is since closed.  Would have to open about 100 alerts per day rather than view the preview picture.  When will it return?

[rye_whiskey]

Can you still?  You confused the sales person by saying that no longer works.  We're talking about email notifications here, not notifications on your phone app.

[dcfox1]

There are several threads about this for other models, Arlo announced yesterday they got rid of it so it not coming back. Not sure why it took them days to do announce it. 

[nizmoz44]

Yeah, we are talking about no email notification with preview.

[PaulP-]

@JessicaP - Please ask Arlo to reconsider this functionality. 

Add an option where you configure the service to send an email when motion is detected.  That option could say

"- Check here to include preview image in email notification.  Note Preview image is only valid for 24-hours after email is sent."

If a person had privacy or security concerns, they would not have to select this option.

[grcArlo]

Fully agree that this would be a potential solution if they cannot just put back the original functionality to include the preview picture in the e-mails.

[rye_whiskey]

I did find that our home automation system (Wink) has a notification function that I had never used.   Wink integrates with Arlo so in that motion detection notification, I get a screen grab.  It's small but there but only on my phone.  For those without paid subs, this could be an option.

I'd still rather have the big screen grab in the email but at least I have something for now.

[johnhuanvu]

@JessicaP , I like the idea @PaulP- .

Could you please work with Arlo to allow email notifications to have the snapshots again OR give us the option?

[cncmarquez]

Up until recently, I would get an email from my cameras of a person/motion on my iphone. A snapshot of the person or motion would be in my email.  Now, the snapshot picture does not come along with the email notification. I'm instructed to go to Arlo.com to view the video.  I would like the snapshop picture to be view instantly before deciding to delete or go to Arlo.com for further investigation.

How do I re-establish this snapshot?

[grcArlo]

@JessicaP  I also would appreciate your help to either restore this functionality or make it an option for us.

[Mallez]

I just received a formal answer to my ticket, as you can see below from Arlo.

It's a cost issue for Arlo.  They don't want to pay for the picture to be included in the email.  It has nothing to do with privacy/customer issues or complaints.   One of their bean counters ran the numbers of how much money they will save monthly based on the smaller email size. 

They are just saying suck it up, we're removing it to save us money, whether you're a paying SMART notification paying subscriber or not.  They want us to use their smart notifications through their app, which is a poor customer experience due to lag and network latency (compared to other providers and even email).

If the customer uproar is high enough, and customers actually start leaving, or continuing to provide feedback at scale, they might revisit it.

I do believe that the "free" service provides them more flexibility than paying customers, who bought services based on what was offered at the time.

We'll see if they really want to be competitive with competitors or not.

<formal response from Arlo>

"...Thank you for contacting Arlo E-mail support. We sincerely apologize for the delayed response. Based on your concern, you are having issues with receiving the thumbnail picture from your email. I have checked the link from the community that you have provided and I am sorry to inform you that the said feature has been removed from the email alerts feature. It was posted 15th of this month from one of our moderators. Here is what it says: "At Arlo, we strive to provide peace of mind and a consistent, seamless experience when using your security system. In an effort to maximize privacy and security, shared links and snapshots to your library content automatically expire after 24 hours. This also applies to snapshots within email alerts. We found that this caused confusion and frustration with many Arlo users, resulting in unnecessary troubleshooting in an attempt to restore expired email snapshots. To alleviate this frustration and maintain our existing privacy and security standards, we have removed snapshots from the email alerts feature." - Arlo Team You may contact us at 408-638-3750 between 5 AM – 6 PM Pacific Standard Time or chat us and refer to your case number..."