Fury as Y-cam ends free securitycamera storage

Y-cam is to end free onlinestorage on its security cameras, angering many Computeractive readers who bought the devices because they came with a promise of free storage ‘forever’ (see screenshot of manual, online at www.snipca.com/26597).

Previously, customers could save their clips online for free for a rolling seven-day period. Under Y-cam’s new terms, this will end a year after the camera is set up, after which customers will be charged £2.99 per camera every month.

Customers can’t save their footage on other storage services, such as Dropbox and Google Drive, nor on their own networked hard drive.

Until recently Y-cam’s packaging contained the promise: ‘Free Cloud Storage. No Monthly Fees’. Its free storage was one reason we gave the cameras ‘Buy It!’ awards in the past.

In an email to customers the company said it could no longer afford to provide free storage. The email referred to the part of Y-cam’s terms and conditions allowing the company to change its offers with 14 days’ notice.

One reader emailed us to say that free storage was “the key factor” in choosing Y-cam, and he feels “cheated and ripped off”. Another told us he will “never again trust a word the company says”.

Y-cam defended its decision in a Facebook post ( www. snipca.com/26571), saying “companies are entitled to change their Terms and Conditions and do so all the time, especially in fast-moving industries like technology and data security”.