Google Nest cameras just got an essential upgrade

Google delivers on its promise to bring web view to cameras and doorbells

Google Home Web View
(Image credit: Google)

Good news for owners of Google Nest Cameras and Google Nest video doorbells: Google has announced that this week, the home.google.com website is getting a big update that will enable you to view your Nest camera and doorbell feeds live on the web. 

The feature isn't rolling out to everybody simultaneously, but Google says that if you can't see it right away "continue to check back and let us know if you still don't have access next week."

How to use Google Home for web

Google Home for web is designed for desktop/laptop users and of course Google would rather you used Chrome, but any modern browser should be okay. Simply sign in with your Google Account – the same one you use for your Google Home app – and you should now see live streams from your cameras and the option to switch between single and multi-camera views (if you have multiple cameras). You can wake up battery-powered cameras remotely, turn cameras on or off and view their status in your browser.

According to Google, these are the Nest cameras and doorbells that are supported by the web-based app:

  • Nest Cam (battery) and Nest Cam (wired)
  • Nest Cam with floodlight (wired)
  • Nest Doorbell (battery), Nest Doorbell (wired), and Nest Doorbell (wired, 2nd gen)
  • Nest Cam Indoor and Nest Cam Outdoor
  • Nest Cam IQ Indoor and Nest Cam IQ Outdoor

Google has also created tutorials and tips for the web app on its Google Nest Help site here.

Carrie Marshall

Writer, musician and broadcaster Carrie Marshall has been covering technology since 1998 and is particularly interested in how tech can help us live our best lives. Her CV is a who’s who of magazines, newspapers, websites and radio programmes ranging from T3, Techradar and MacFormat to the BBC, Sunday Post and People’s Friend. Carrie has written more than a dozen books, ghost-wrote two more and co-wrote seven more books and a Radio 2 documentary series; her memoir, Carrie Kills A Man, was shortlisted for the British Book Awards. When she’s not scribbling, Carrie is the singer in Glaswegian rock band Unquiet Mind (unquietmindmusic).