HomeKit If I use a HomeKit Secure Video camera, can I ignore the manufacturer's cloud storage subscription?

[SW3029]

I apologize if these are stupid questions but I know nothing about home security cameras or HomeKit Secure Video, so I was hoping some of you could help me out.

I am thinking of buying several indoor security cameras for my house. I was thinking of going with Amazon cameras, but I don't think they work with Apple's HomeKit Secure Video. Now I am looking at some Eufy cameras.

My questions are:

1) I would like a HomeKit Secure Video camera because I believe if you use iCloud to store your recorded footage it is end-to-end encrypted so not even the camera manufacturers can see the footage. Is that correct?

2) If I want to set up Eufy cameras, can I completely bypass their app/software and set up the cameras in the Home app using HomeKit Secure Video (I have a 2TB iCloud plan)?

3) If I am going to use my iCloud account to store the recorded footage via HomeKit Secure Video, does this mean I don't need to sign up for whatever cloud storage subscription offerings the camera manufacturer offers?

4) So basically, I want to know if I can just buy the Eufy cameras and then set up everything (including video storage) via iCloud HomeKit Secure Video?

Thanks a lot for any guidance. Totally confused by this stuff.

 

[StumpyBloke]

Yes ignore

 

[iStorm]

It depends on the model with Eufy. Some cameras can be set up directly in HomeKit, and others need to be set up with their app first before adding it to HomeKit. You can then turn off/disable the camera in the app and it'll still work in HomeKit.

One of my cameras is the Pan & Tilt one. I left that one enabled in the app because HomeKit doesn't support pan/tilt controls, nor does it let you talk through the camera's speaker.

How to Setup HomeKit for HomeKit-Enabled Security Devices - eufy Support

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