Canary User Reviews

Customer Experience

Positive experience32.7% of reviews
Neutral3.3% of reviews
Negative experience64.0% of reviews

~ Based on 611 written reviews from the US App Store.

What users say

Is Canary Safe?

Canary - Smart Home Security appears mostly safe based on user ratings. AppsHunter Safety Score for Canary is 84/100.

This assessment is based on 5,417 user ratings, with an App Store average of 4.2/5.

Safety Analysis

81.1% of ratings point to a safe experience
2.2% of ratings suggest some concerns
16.7% of ratings point to a risky experience

~ Based on 5,417 App Store ratings for Canary.

Is Canary Legit?

Canary - Smart Home Security appears to be a legitimate app. AppsHunter Legitimacy Score for Canary is 93/100.

Based on 93 of 100 points across 7 verification signals from App Store and developer data.

Top reviews

Turning into garbage by the minute

I had 3 canary cameras. Some for more than 6 years. Started with access to live view and historical events
for 7 days free. Where do we stand today? I pay a subscription, can only see 25 seconds of live view, and god forbid there is an emergency because the amount of impossible to click out Temu spin the cheap garbage products wheel is persistent and it just keeps on popping up! So go to hell Canary! Hope your business goes to hell just like my relationship with your company!
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Desperate company

Keeps seeing ads or I need to pay $25 per month. That’s insane. While I paid $169 for the device, There is no way this company ever get successful while you can get much better service from Google nest or Amazon , they need to restructure completely. What is the point of showing ads how much money are you making vs getting your customers upset. Also keep getting fake alerts while I am home saying it sew something and can’t turn it off since I don’t have pay subscription anymore.
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Stupid adverts pop-up

The app is basic and surely can’t cost much to manage. The cameras are not cheap, yet they Plaster the app in adverts of which you can’t even close without restarting the whole app. The desperation for a little extra income through in app advertising is pathetic and low.

Fixed the Issue Quickly

Customer Service responded promptly, clearly explained the issue I was experiencing, and resolved it quickly. The individual was knowledgeable, professional, and made the entire process easy.

This thing is TRASH

This is the worst camera and app of all time. It’s really the software that’s the problem - the hardware is decent enough but when you need to check on your dogs in your RV in the middle of a heat emergency, be prepared to wait for EXTREMELY LONG (and laggy) ads for trashy pay to pay phone games for AGES before being able to check if your pets are in danger. There is no way to exit out until at least a full minute or more has passed and not until
You’ve tapped into the App Store 2 or 3 times by being forced to look at the advertised game app in the store before being able to finally move on to see your camera. Usually the app has enough juice in it to show you the ads no problem, but the second it tries to load the camera it just crashes out. What an absolute piece of trash nightmare. Worst thing I’ve ever bought.
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Its a trap

Avoid this scam. They have punished there early adapters by changing to a subscription model after promoting a change to the typical business model by being a free after buying the device service. Nothing but ad’s now.

Edit: The app is almost completely useless. Between the ads and just how it functions if you do not pay for a monthly subscription, you basically would have to be looking at the app 24/7 to see anything. By the time you check the app to see what any notification was about, it is either gone, as they do not save them, or what ever trigger the alarm is not in frame anymore. Then you respond with a giant ad that does not address any issue. At least the device holds doors open quite well, the only feature you do not have to pay for monthly.
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Non functioning app

This app crashes when opened. Literally non functioning app. I feel bad for the poor saps who buy this atrocious product.

Awesome app

Great app, but lots of ads

Crashes on Launch

The app crashes on launch on my iPad Pro and my iPhone Air. I cannot access the Canary View at all. I messaged Customer Support and was told to do a password reset. I did, to no avail. I then asked to delete my account, but was informed the app was the only way to do so. Eventually, I bought another company’s camera since the Canary software would not work. As for the hardware, it became for me obsolete e-waste destined for Apple’s recycling program. This camera once was the workhorse of my smart home security system (and I am grateful for what it offered then), but unfortunately the developers turned the app into a clunky, unpleasant experience where a “free” 30-second view of your home arrives between ads. Even if I could tolerate the ad-based “free” experience to access my Canary View (and I was willing to accept that bargain, at least initially), the broken app forced me to move on.
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Worst security camera company

Their app is so dumb. If yiu enable face id, you also have to put passcode. Why. It should just work on your face id. Their showing the ads in free model is absolute terrible. These are > 1 min ad you have to sit through. No wonder with these types of functions they have trouble making sale. I will never buy their device again.
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Never works anymore

Canary is great when it works. But now my camera doesn’t connect and the app crashes instantly when I try to open it.
I’ve offloaded. Redownloaded. Nothing.
I’ve always had issues with these camera. They just stop working.

Beware of automatic subscription fees

The app and camera products work fine. Be very careful of the annual premium subscription renewal. It automatically renews and has increased by almost $100 every year. They will not refund the subscription fees unless you cancel before the renewal date. They clearly are desperate for the subscription fees.
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Don’t waste your money

After having canary for years. The price became ridiculously inflated, compared to other similar home cameras (ring). After cancelling my premium subscription I’ve had nothing but problems.
It won’t even do the basics. Bit of malice I suspect.

Great support

Canary can be frustrating but once you get to the right person it becomes a great experience . I found support to be professional and friendly and there was a genuine willingness to persist until the problem was fixed

App Breaking Ads

Full screen ads pop up with no way to dismiss them, even after waiting several minutes. The only way I found to get back to the app was to completely quit the app and relaunch it. Other apps had dark patterns to mislead the user. Unusable.

Bait and switch

Full of ads. Barely functional. Video quality poor. Stay away.

Response from developer

Thank you for reaching out and sharing your concerns about the ads in our free service. I understand that this can be frustrating, and I appreciate your feedback. The ads help us sustain the service by offsetting the costs associated with ongoing engineering updates required to keep our app compatible with the latest iOS and Android releases. Unfortunately, a one-time hardware purchase does not cover the long-term expenses associated with maintaining and improving the app including security updates. We’re committed to providing a quality experience, and the advertising revenue allows us to continue offering Basic service for free. We also offer a Premium option that provides an ad-free experience, should you be interested. Your input is invaluable to us, and we continuously strive to improve our services. If you have any other questions or suggestions, please feel free to share. Out of the box, your Canary will have access to motion-activated notifications, Two-way Talk, Alexa and Google Home integrations and Watch Live, without any additional cost. What this means is that your Canary won’t capture footage of an empty room but will notify you when motion is detected for you to jump over the Watch Live feature in the app to see the motion as it happens. We’re excited to inform you of the latest Canary features, releases and updates to the Premium Service plan. These include many enhancements in response to our customer requests. Video Cloud Recording Extended to 60 Days: Starting in August 2025 — your full-length video recordings will be stored for 60 days, securely encrypted—double the previous 30-day limit—for even more peace of mind. Next-Level Smart Detections with Video Clip Previews: Enjoy more intelligence added to your Canary system to make notifications even more meaningful and stay ahead of what matters: Loud Sound Detection: Receive a video clip instantly when a loud sound is detected—whether it’s a glass breaking, baby crying or unexpected commotion in your home. Smoke & CO Alarm Detection: Receive a video clip instantly when a smoke alarm or carbon monoxide alarm is detected even when you’re not home — to further strengthen your home security. Package Detection: Launching in August 2025 — receive a video clip instantly when a package is detected and never miss a delivery again. Improved Person, Pet & Vehicle Detection: Smart detection is now better than ever—faster, more accurate, and more reliable—giving you extra confidence that you’ll only be alerted when it truly matters. 30-day Canary Pro HomeHealth: Enjoy an enhanced experience when viewing temperature, humidity, and air quality from your Canary Pro—now with 30-day history. New iOS & Android Widgets: Instantly check in on your home right from your phone’s home screen. The new widgets give you quick access to your Canary camera's live view, and recent events. These improvements come on top of the existing Premium Service benefits, which remain unchanged and continue to include: Full-Length Video Clips: Full-length videos begin when motion is detected until it ends. Motion Notification with Preview Image: Get mobile alerts with preview images when motion is detected. Motion Notification with Video Clip: Get mobile alerts with video clips when motion is detected. Person Detection: Receive a video clip instantly when a person is detected. Pet Detection: Receive a video clip instantly when a pet is detected. Vehicle Detection: Receive a video clip instantly when a vehicle is detected. Insurance Claim Evidence: Video and audio recording of an incident provides indisputable proof for quick and easy insurance claim. Activity Zone Masking: Set alerts for your camera to ignore, receiving only the clips that matter most. Unlimited Video Downloads: Download videos from the Canary app directly to your phone. One-tap to Police: Get instant access to local Police, Fire, and EMS. Auto Siren: Instantly deter intruders with a powerful alarm when it detects motion or a person. Personal Safety Button: Your mobile panic button when away from home—sends police to your exact location. Incident Support: Access our support team, trained to help following a security incident. Priority Customer Support: Get prioritized and faster access to our customer support team. Extended Device Warranty: Two-years from purchase date. Desktop Streaming: Watch live and access your video history from a desktop web browser. Custom Home/Away Modes: Configure recording and alerting when the system is disarmed (e.g. when you are Home or Away). Apple TV Support: Watch live from your Apple TV. Apple Watch App: Receive notifications on your Apple Watch. Expanded Alexa Support: View alerts on your Alexa device as they occur. Improved Timeline: Watch activity on your Timeline on our most powerful and accessible video player and timeline yet. Timeline Filtering: Filter by events, devices, dates, or modes. Effortlessly navigate through your Timeline, focusing on specific events that matter most to you. Select & Delete: View and manage your Timeline better than ever before. Now you can easily manage your Timeline by selecting entries and deleting them in a single action. Picture-in-Picture: Multitask on your mobile device while still keeping an eye on your live and recorded videos. Night Vision Control: Configure how your Canary sees in the dark. Enable auto night vision in the app, or disable it when not needed.

Don’t do it

App disconnects from the service too much… especially for a pay (premium) service. If you have the free service then maybe you can deal with it.

solid home security

Have had multiple Canary devices for years. They have consistently worked as expected, providing solid home security. The few times I needed to contact customer support, they were very responsive - quick replies and quick resolution to my issues.

Terrible

I've had this app for many years. 2-3 weeks I started having issues viewing even while inside my home let alone when I am out. No solution has been provided- deleted and reinstalled the app and same problem. I can't view video all I get is incorrect connection! Well I've had the same connection for numerous years.
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Terrible piece of garbage

Just so you know; when you need to check on your dogs in your RV in the middle of a heat emergency, you’ll be forced to watch 3 full minutes of ads for fake silicone boob chests on Temu before the camera will enable. This thing is the worst thing I’ve ever bought. The trashiest non stop ads when I’m just trying to use the device as intended.
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