People Power knows that you probably have a nice assortment of outdated (but still decently functional) iOS devices at home. And if they're just taking up space anyway, you might as well find a clever way to repurpose them.
So it developed Presence, an app designed to quickly convert your backup iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch into a quasi-security-camera.
Similar to the free Manything iOS app , Presence gives you the chance to set a spare device as your stay-at-home "camera" and the newer device as your on-the-go access point. That way, you can view live streaming, receive email notifications and push alerts, set rules, and have a better overall idea of what's going on at home. Presence is a solid way to ease into DIY security, but Manything's IFTTT channel and comparatively streamlined interface has a slight edge.
Presence works on iOS 6.1 or newer and is optimized for iPhone 5. Still, it will work on the iPhone 3GS and newer, iPad 2 and newer and iPod Touch 4G and 5G. I tried Presence out on an iPhone 5, an iPad 2 and a first-generation iPad Mini -- both as cameras and as on-the-go viewers.
It's similar to Manything in many ways -- here's a quick side-by-side comparison:
| Belkin NetCam HD+ | Dropcam Pro | Piper | Presence | Manything | |
| Price | $130.00 | $199.00 | $199.00 | Free | Free |
| Color | White | Black | White | N/A | N/A |
| Field of view (diagonal) | 95 degrees | 130 degrees | 180 degrees | iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch specs | iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch specs |
| Video quality | 1,280x720 | 1,920x1,080 | 1,920x1,080 | iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch specs | iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch specs |
| Cloud storage | Yes, $10/month or $100/year for 14 days | Yes, $10/month or $99/year for 7 days or $30/month or $299/year for 30 days | Yes, saves up to 1,000 clips at no extra cost | Yes, 50MB free, $2 for a 7-day pass, $5/month or $50/year for 5GB storage | Yes, 12 hours free, $5/month for 7 days, or $15/month for 30 days |
| Local storage | No, but you can download clips from the Web app | No | No | No | No |
| Glass lens | Yes | Yes | Yes | iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch specs | iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch specs |
| Night vision | Yes | Yes | No | Uses device flashlight, if available on model | Uses device flashlight, if available on model |
| Mobile app Yes, Android and iOS | Yes, Android and iOS | Yes, Android and iOS | Yes, Android and iOS | Yes, but iOS only | Yes, but iOS only |
| Web app | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Bluetooth | No | Yes | No | No | No |
| 2-way audio | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Motion and sound alerts | Motion only, and limited to email alerts unless you subscribe to Cloud+. | Yes | Yes | Motion only | Motion only |
| Protocol or third-party integration | No | No | Yes, Z-Wave | Some third-party integrations available through the Presence online store | Yes, IFTTT |
Presence and Manything are both limited by the devices you use and the last OS you downloaded, including whether or not a flashlight is an included feature (if not, night vision won't work). That means that you'll have the same resolution, field of view and so on -- areas that can make or break traditional Wi-Fi camera comparisons that simply aren't applicable here.
Still, the apps differ in a few key ways.
Presence doesn't have an IFTTT channel, but it does offer in-app rules. These came preloaded in the app and duplicated whenever I added a new device. One rule says, "If I come home, then make my iPad disable motion detection."
That rule sets up automatic Home and Away modes, a hands-free way to have the camera record motion-related security events when you're out of the house and stop when you return (so you aren't constantly triggering it yourself).
Discuss Presence (iOS)