How to recover Nest Aware video history after short lapse in account

[e5thst90063]

My Nest Aware account was started with a free trial, which was activated as a paid account about a day after the trial ended. I didn't realize the trial ended, but the video history suddenly disappeared, and I guessed that an account issue was most likely. After lots of digging and finally finding a way to speak with someone on the phone, I found out that Google permanently deletes the video history the moment the Nest Aware account lapses. There's no retention period, which is surprising and concerning. As a security-related product, it seems irresponsible for a cloud-based service to delete recorded content immediately at the end of a trial. I'm used to seeing a retention period on any cloud-based storage, unless the user intentionally permanently deletes something. Even then, there are normally warnings to avoid accidental permanent data loss. I'd be surprised to find that there aren't any laws that protect the customers ability to retrieve data for a reasonable period of time. Being someone who works with IT and smart home solutions, it's hard to understand how Google Nest's UX management could miss this detail. In fact, I suspect they didn't miss it at all. Maybe it's a technical (server?) issue related to the change from Nest to Google. Maybe it's a feature that another department crossed off the list of priorities. Whatever the case, it destroys the otherwise ok experience with the Nest cameras. In my opinion, it's an excellent reason to look elsewhere for an IoT camera solution. Maybe Arlo or Ring? Anyone have thoughts about this or experienced the same issue with a Nest Aware account?

[MplsCustomer]

@e5thst90063 

I've always assumed that Google Nest cannot and SHOULD not retain customer video history without the customer's permission in the form of a subscription. Otherwise, Google Nest would be secretly retaining our personal video history without our permission.

Google Nest's FAQs on the 30-day Nest Aware Trial says, under "What happens when your trial ends":

"If you don't purchase a Nest Aware subscription before the trial ends, you'll lose access to Nest Aware's premium features, including Familiar Faces, sound detection, and recorded video history...While you will still have access to any video clips or timelapses that you've saved, the rest of your recorded video history will be erased when the trial period ends."

https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/9248198?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DiOS#zippy=%2Cwhat-hap...

Ring also deletes video history after the end of a trial subscription:

"When the 30-day trial ends, videos will be deleted unless you’re already subscribed to a Ring Protect Plan for that location. To avoid losing access to your recorded videos and subscription features, make sure you subscribe to Ring Protect before your trial period ends....

My videos were deleted when my Ring Protect Trial ended. Can I get those videos back?
No. If the 30-day trial is allowed to expire, all recorded videos are immediately deleted."

Judging from posts on the Arlo customer forum, Arlo does the same thing. One customer's video history was deleted when they didn't try to renew their trial subscription until the day it expired.

[EdmondB]

Hello e5thst90063,

I'd like to jump in here and check if you've seen MplsCustomer's response. Let us know if you need more help by replying to this thread.

I appreciate the help, @MplsCustomer.

Best,
Edmond

[Alfred10]

It's understandable that you're frustrated with the way Google's Nest Aware handles video history, especially if it suddenly deletes data without any retention period. While I don't have information on any specific laws or regulations regarding this issue, it's essential to note that data retention policies can vary between different cloud-based services and companies. 

If data retention is a critical factor for your security needs, you might consider exploring other options, as you mentioned, such as Arlo or Ring. Different providers may have different data retention policies and pricing models that better suit your requirements.

[EmersonB]

Hi Alfred10,

Thanks for posting here in the Community and for sharing here your thoughts and ideas about the video history. Let us know if you have more information to share.

Regards,

Emerson

[EdmondB]

Hi bsloan128518, 

I'd like to jump in here and check if you've seen MplsCustomer's response. Let us know if you need more help by replying to this thread.

Thanks for the help, @MplsCustomer.

Regards.
Edmond

[bsloan128518]

Not only is it irresponsible that the history is deleted, but it also irresponsible that Google doesn't notify you that the free subscription is about to expire and what are my options!  If they sent an email, where does it go?  Why is it not through the app?  A total disregard for the consumer!

Ok, so I assume my free subscription ended?  How do you sign up and how much does it cost?  Do you know how long I've spent trying to research this topic, only to get to this point; another dead end! 

[MplsCustomer]

@bsloan128518 

I don't remember what Google Nest did to remind us of the expiration of our 30-day free Nest Aware trial subscription in 2019, except that we bought a paid subscription before it expired.

If Google Nest DID keep our history after the trial subscription expired, wouldn't that be keeping our personal video history without our permission?

You can buy a Nest Aware or Nest Aware Plus subscription on the Google Store:

https://store.google.com/product/nest_aware

This Google Nest Help topic itemizes what you get with each subscription:

https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/9681538

This Google Nest Help topic lists all the options for obtaining a Nest Aware subscription:

https://support.google.com/product-documentation/answer/12657252