Guides
Watching a baby with the phone you already own
Honest, tested write-ups on turning a spare phone into a baby monitor — including the parts that don't work yet. No affiliate links, nothing dressed up as a medical device.
How to turn an old phone into a baby monitor
Which phones still work, how to position one safely, what the heat actually means, and the five things to check before you trust it through the night.
Baby monitors that don't send video to the cloud
Which parts of a monitor genuinely need the internet, how to tell whether a product's video leaves your house, and the honest cost of one that doesn't.
Can baby monitors be hacked?
Yes, but almost never the way people picture. The three real attack surfaces, and the short list of things that actually help.
How cry detection actually works
What the phone is listening for, why a good alert deliberately waits ninety seconds before firing, and what sound recognition cannot tell you.
Baby monitor apps without a subscription
What a monthly fee actually buys, what you lose without one, and how to spot hardware that is cheap up front because it is useless without the plan.
Phone-based baby monitor apps compared
Cloud Baby Monitor, Dormi, Annie and Bebrise on platforms, architecture and payment model — checked against each vendor's own site, including where ours loses.
Using an Android phone as a baby monitor with an iPhone
The most common real-world setup and the worst-served one. Which phone should be the camera, and the four things that stop it connecting.