What Does the SimpliSafe App Do?

The SimpliSafe Home Security app is one of our favorite home security apps because you can easily share videos from your SimpliCam or SimpliSafe Video Doorbell Pro on social media. You can also use it to arm your system, watch live video from your security cameras, and unlock your SimpliSafe Smart Lock without getting out of your chair.

We liked the SimpliSafe app overall for its easy-to-use, glitch-free features. Here’s what we found during testing.

After you download the app, setting it up is easy:

1. Open the app and tap Create Account.
2. Use the email you used to order your SimpliSafe system and choose a password.
3. Click on the link in the email from SimpliSafe to verify your account.
4. Tap Set Up Now if you’re in the process of setting up your SimpliSafe security system. Otherwise tap I Already Set Up My System.
5. Follow the on-screen instructions to finish.

Once that’s done, it’s important to set up app security to prevent the wrong people from accessing your SimpliSafe system if you ever lose your phone:

1. Tap on the menu.
2. Tap on your email address to open the dropdown menu.
3. Choose Configure App Lock.
4. Enter a four-digit PIN that will be used to unlock the app.
5. Choose whether to enable your phone’s biometric access to unlock the app.

The SimpliSafe Home Security App lets you arm and disarm the system while you are at home, work, or anywhere else. This is a big win for those of us with terrible memories.

You’ll never have to hurry back home to arm your security system again. We also love that you can use your phone to disarm the SimpliSafe security system before your hands get full carrying groceries, kids, or fur babies inside.

You can use the SimpliSafe app without monitoring, but we don’t recommend it. Without a monitoring package, the app will do a limited number of functions.

Without a monitoring package you can:

• See if the security system is set to Off, Home, or Away
• Watch live video feed from cameras
• View and change system and device settings
• Lock and unlock the SimpliSafe Smart Lock
• Receive push notifications
• Arm or disarm your SimpliSafe security system

Now that you know what you can do, here’s what you can’t do with the app if you skip monitoring:

• Get police, medical, or fire dispatch
• Use video verification 
• Receive SMS, and email notifications
• Download video footage from the app
• Save video footage
• Get arming reminders
• Use smart home integrations
• Use cellular backup

We’ve already talked about arming and disarming, but there are a few other things you can do with the SimpliSafe app:

• Send real-time system alerts to you through phone notifications, text messages, and emails
• Unlock or lock doors with a SimpliSafe Smart Lock or August smart lock
• Watch live and recorded footage from SimpliSafe cameras
• See a timeline of events, like when motion sensors were triggered or when the system was armed or disarmed

The app is missing some features. For example, SimpliSafe’s doorbell camera technically has person detection, but the app doesn’t tell you when a person is detected. It only says “motion” on the alert, which makes person detection like every other motion alert. It does tell you when the doorbell is rung instead of just alerting you that it detects motion though, so at least you know when someone wants you to come to the door.

We also wish it had built-in AI like the Vivint app to sense when you’re home and automatically adjust your thermostat and turn lights on and off.