SimpliSafe's New Doorbell Comes With a Real Human Watching

DIY home security company SimpliSafe just launched a $199 video doorbell that adds something unusual: a real human being who can watch your front porch and talk to whoever is standing there. It's called the Video Doorbell Series 2, and it pairs with the company's Active Guard service, which costs at least $49.99 a month on top of the hardware. The idea is simple — AI flags suspicious activity, and a live agent steps in.

Here's how it works. The doorbell uses on-device AI, cloud vision, and facial recognition to spot things like loitering strangers or package thieves. When it does, a SimpliSafe monitoring agent can drop into the live feed, speak through the doorbell's speaker, and try to deter the person. A light glows amber when an agent is watching and blue when you are, so you always know who's looking. You can also build a library of familiar faces — your dog walker, for instance — so the agent doesn't scare them.

The hardware itself is a solid upgrade: 2K resolution, 10x zoom, a head-to-toe 150-degree view, two-way audio, a built-in siren, and smart alerts for people and packages. But the doorbell needs a SimpliSafe base station and keypad to work, so it's not a standalone buy. And Active Guard is opt-in — agents can only peek in when your system is armed and something has triggered it.

The catch is cost. At $199 plus $50 a month, you're paying roughly $800 in your first year. Ring offers a similar human-watching service for $99 a month, so SimpliSafe is the cheaper option. The Verge's reviewer notes that for most people this feels like overkill, though it's genuinely useful if you live somewhere where false alarms come with fines.