Comparison

Guard Viewer vs Night Owl Connect

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Guard Viewer

Access and manage your surveillance products remotely. View live or recorded video from network cameras and NVRs, receive alarms, and control cloud devices directly from your mobile phone.

Highlights
  • Remote surveillance access
  • Live video streaming
  • Recorded video playback
  • Alarm notifications
  • Cloud device management
Read full description

Guard Viewer is a mobile surveillance client app. With this app you can access surveillance products(Network Cameras,Network Speed Domes,NVRs) through network and view live or recorded video, receive alarms and manage cloud devices using your mobile phone.

About

Night Owl Connect

Monitor your home or business remotely in real-time using your smartphone or tablet. Receive intelligent alerts for human detection and familiar faces. Easily share live video, images, and recordings with others.

Highlights
  • Real-time live video and audio
  • Push notifications for alerts
  • Save and share recordings/images
  • Video playback
  • Multiple user logins
  • Two-way audio
  • Human and face detection alerts
Read full description

Night Owl Connect helps you keep an eye on your world, from anywhere in the world. Monitor your home or business, in real time, on your Smart Phone or Tablet. Easily share images and recordings via your favorite social network or through email and text. Be smart, be safe, be connected! Night Owl Connect Features: Quick and easy mobile setup Live video and audio from your Cameras on Wi-Fi or 3G/4G LTE networks Easily configure push notifications from your Smart Device Save recordings directly to your Smart Device Save images directly to your Smart Device and share via text, email or social media Share important MP4 formatted videos via email or social media Video playback Multiple logins/users Two-way audio Google Integration (Limited devices) Fish Eye Camera Human Detection, Familiar Face, and Unfamiliar Face Alerts Night Owl Security Products is a leading innovator in the security technology industry. As the fastest growing manufacturer of security DVRs, NVR’s, and Cameras, Night Owl offers the best value on the market. This is accomplished by designing and engineering products that are high quality, user friendly, and affordable. Our video surveillance equipment is used by homeowners, businesses, federal and municipal organizations, retailers, dealers, distributors and integrators across the globe. Visit us at www.NightOwlSP.com for more information on all our products and services. Night Owl Connect is compatible with the following Night Owl Devices: WDB-20 WDB-20-V2 WG-20W-4 WCM-SD2POU-BU WCM-SD2PIN WCM-SD2POU-BU-V2 DVR-C20X-8 DVR-C20X-16 DVRH-C20X-8 DVRH-C20X-16 WNVR-C20-8 DVR-C50X-8 DVR-C50X-16 NVR-IC82-8 NVR-IC84-16 DVR-C50XFR-16 DVR-C80XFR-8 WCM-2FEIN WARNING: This application uses data to connect your Cameras to your Smart Device. When connected to a 3G or 4G LTE network, the live video feed from your Camera will be considered streaming data by your phone service provider and will contribute to any data or download limit your phone data plan may have. If you exceed your data plan limit, this may result in additional usage charges. It is highly recommended to contact your phone service provider to know the limit of your data plan before using this video streaming application.

Screenshots

Guard Viewer3 screens
Night Owl Connect3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Guard Viewer at 2.8 against Night Owl Connect's 1.7. Guard Viewer also leads on review sentiment (24% vs 2%) and update cadence (every 4 weeks vs every 2 months). Night Owl Connect's advantage is ratings volume (3K vs 261). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Guard Viewer holds the better App Store score, 2.8 against 1.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Night Owl Connect has 3K ratings behind it against 261, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 24% of Guard Viewer's written reviews are positive against 2% of Night Owl Connect's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Guard Viewer ships an update every 4 weeks, Night Owl Connect every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Guard Viewer versus Night Owl Connect: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGuard ViewerNight Owl Connect
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.8 (261 ratings) — better1.7 (3K ratings)
Positive reviews24.4% of reviews — better2.5% of reviews
Number of ratings2613K — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 weeks — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS8.08.0
Further details — not scored
Size102 MB139 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKeyLife International Technology LimitedNight Owl SP, LLC

Customer experience

Guard Viewer

All ratings216 ratings
Positive40.7%
Neutral6.0%
Negative53.2%
Written reviews176 reviews
Positive24.4%
Neutral11.4%
Negative64.2%

Night Owl Connect

All ratings2,672 ratings
Positive12.3%
Neutral4.3%
Negative83.4%
Written reviews323 reviews
Positive2.5%
Neutral3.4%
Negative94.1%

User reviews

Guard Viewer

From 261 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Works flawlessly
  • 🚀 Fast and responsive
  • 💡 Excellent camera control features
  • 🔒 Secure remote access

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and disconnections
  • ⚠️ Unreliable live streaming and playback
  • 🔌 Compatibility issues with recent iOS updates
  • 🤯 Confusing user interface

Night Owl Connect

From 3K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great camera quality
  • 🔒 Decent security features
  • 👍 Easy setup and installation

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy and unreliable app
  • 💤 Lack of app updates and support
  • 🔍 Limited playback and review options
  • 🔌 Connectivity issues and frequent disconnections
  • 🤖 Poor motion detection and notification reliability

Bugs and requests

Guard Viewer

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Login issues after recent update
  • Inability to delete user accounts
  • Time sync problems between app and NVR
  • Inconsistent camera detection

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add support for Apple TV
  • Improve notification system
  • Introduce bulk management of cameras
  • Provide more customization options

Night Owl Connect

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App crashes and freezes frequently
  • Unable to log out or log back in
  • Inconsistent push notifications
  • Recorded videos fail to load or play back

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add fast forward/rewind for video playback
  • Improve app stability and responsiveness
  • Provide more customization options for motion detection
  • Introduce landscape mode support
  • Implement cloud storage and remote access features

In-app purchases

None

Guard Viewer

No in-app purchases

None

Night Owl Connect

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Guard Viewer free?
Guard Viewer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Night Owl Connect free?
Night Owl Connect is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Guard Viewer or Night Owl Connect?
Guard Viewer is rated higher. Guard Viewer averages 2.8 out of 5 from 261 ratings, while Night Owl Connect averages 1.7 from 3K ratings.
Do Guard Viewer or Night Owl Connect have ads?
Neither Guard Viewer nor Night Owl Connect shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Guard Viewer or Night Owl Connect?
Guard Viewer ships an update every 4 weeks, and Night Owl Connect every 2 months. Most recently, Guard Viewer was updated on November 1, 2026 and Night Owl Connect on November 6, 2026.

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