It’s that time of year again, when a flood of packages arrives on your doorstep—but how can you keep all of those holiday gifts safe from porch pirates when you’re not home?
Here are 11 ways to keep porch pirates away from your holiday packages.
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- An electronic doorbell
A video doorbell serves as your front door’s eyes and ears. You can do more than just hear and see what’s going on outside with some of the best video doorbells, such as the Nest Doorbell (battery) and the Ring Video Doorbell (2020), because both of these doorbells are smart enough to send specific package delivery alerts to your phone. These alerts go beyond the standard motion alerts found on most video doorbells.
Google’s Nest doorbell is one of the most specific, alerting you when a package is delivered and when it’s no longer visible (which could potentially alert you to a porch pirate if no movement is expected). With the Nest Doorbell, the package detection feature is free for up to three hours at a time (battery).
Package deliveries can only be detected by certain Ring doorbells, such as the (2020) model and the Ring Pro 2. These two doorbells can also communicate with Alexa, allowing her to announce package deliveries through Echo speakers and smart displays.
- An outdoor surveillance camera
The Google Nest Outdoor Cam is one of the best outdoor security cameras for detecting packages.
The Nest Outdoor Cam, which has up to three hours of free video notification history, can detect package deliveries on your porch and people in your yard, depending on where you set it up. An outdoor security camera is a good companion for a video doorbell, as the two can work together to give you a complete picture of what’s going on around your property.
If you catch someone stealing a package from your front porch, you can record a video of the incident to share with others. When plugged into a nearby electrical outlet, the Nest Outdoor Cam can record continuously with a paid subscription to Nest Aware. The advantage of continuous recording is that if a notification is missed, you can scroll back through your camera’s video history to see what happened.
- An outdoor floodlight camera with an app
Package deliveries may occur after the sun has set (or rises, in some cases) during the holiday season, so proper exterior lighting is essential to keep your packages safe.
Smart floodlight cameras, such as the Eufy Floodlight Cam 2 Pro, can not only illuminate dark spots on your property, but also record, giving porch pirates the boot if they try to make off with your holiday packages around the sides of your home. - Postpone your deliveries.
Going on a vacation? You might want to have your holiday packages stored at your local post office or shipping store.
Some packages are small enough to fit in your mailbox and, as a result, are unlikely to be seen by a nearby video doorbell camera. Instead, you can use a smart sensor, such as the Ring Mailbox Sensor, which notifies you when your mailbox opens and closes. This can assist you in knowing when your smaller packages will be delivered.
Solar pathway lighting
When it comes to properly illuminating your exterior entryway and the walkway leading up to it with path lights, the more lights the better. The Philips Hue Calla White & Color Ambiance Outdoor Pathway Light Base Kit is another great smart lighting option from Hue to light up your front yard. To work, at least one light must be plugged into an outdoor outlet, but multiple units can be linked together for shared power.
The lights, which are made of weather-resistant materials, have a lifespan of up to 25,000 hours (or roughly 1,041 days of continuous use). They can show 16 million colours (which can also be used for holiday decor) and can be set to a timer in case your UPS, USPS, FedEx, or Amazon driver arrives after dark. The smart lights can also be controlled via voice with Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple HomeKit.
- Direct Amazon deliveries to an Amazon Hub Locker.
Instead of having Amazon packages pile up at your front door, have them delivered to a nearby Amazon Hub Locker. Your Amazon order(s) will be safely stored until you are ready to collect them. - Intelligent package delivery box
Instead of letting packages pile up on your front porch, a smart package delivery box is one way to keep porch pirates away from your holiday gift deliveries. The Eufy Security Smart Delivery Package Drop Box includes a built-in camera and can be managed remotely via the companion app, providing you with the most information about securing your packages while you’re away.
