HomeGlance Cam
Spare phone as a home camera
Only for iPhone
Free · In‑App Purchases · Designed for iPhone. Not verified for macOS.
iPhone
One app, two modes: an old phone becomes the camera, your everyday phone the viewer. Detection runs on the device, and video never passes through our servers.
HomeGlance turns a spare phone into a home presence camera, and your everyday phone into the screen you watch it on. A single app holds both roles: Camera mode runs on the old phone at home, Viewer mode on the phone in your pocket. Video, audio and recordings travel only between your own devices over an end-to-end encrypted, device-to-device connection, and never pass through our servers.
How it works
1. Install HomeGlance on both phones and choose a mode on each.
2. Camera mode shows a pairing QR code; scan it in Viewer mode to link the two.
3. Place the old phone and plug it in. The screen turns black and the camera keeps running.
4. Watch live, receive alerts and browse clips from anywhere.
Camera mode
• Person detection runs on the device with Apple Vision. It answers only whether someone is in view: no face recognition, no identification, no cloud AI.
• The screen stays black while the camera runs, so the phone draws little attention. Tap it to open settings, which close again after a short pause.
• Clips are recorded automatically when a person is detected, including a few seconds of pre-roll from before the event. Files stay on the camera phone and are pruned against a storage quota.
• A presence timeline records when someone was in view, day by day.
• In dim light the torch can briefly assist detection. Duration and conditions are configurable, and the feature can be switched off.
• Two-way talk with echo cancellation, or listening only.
Viewer mode
• Pair a camera by scanning the QR code it displays.
• Live 720p video from anywhere, direct between the two devices when a direct path exists and relayed when it does not. Encrypted either way.
• Push notifications with a thumbnail when a person appears, when a person leaves, and when a camera goes offline. Each alert can be switched per camera.
• Browse the timeline day by day, then play, delete or share that day's clips.
• Several viewers on one account can watch the same camera.
• Sign in with Apple, and delete your account from inside the app.
Privacy
Video, audio, recordings, snapshots and the timeline never reach our servers; they exist only on your own devices. Person detection runs entirely on the camera phone. Our servers handle your account, pairing, online status and push notifications, including event thumbnails, which are kept for seven days. There are no ads, no analytics and no tracking.
Requirements: Camera mode needs an iPhone 6s or later running iOS 15 or later. Viewer mode needs iOS 17 or later. Both devices need internet access, but they do not have to be on the same network.
Please note: Viewer mode needs a second phone running HomeGlance in Camera mode. The app does not connect to any other camera or service.
HomeGlance Pro
The free plan includes one camera and 60 minutes of live view per month. HomeGlance Pro adds unlimited cameras and live view, clips and the timeline, and saving snapshots to Photos.
Available as HomeGlance Pro Monthly (1-month auto-renewable subscription), HomeGlance Pro Yearly (1-year auto-renewable subscription with a 14-day free trial for eligible new subscribers), or a one-time Lifetime purchase. Prices for your region are shown in the app before you buy.
Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Privacy Policy: https://cycorey.github.io/homeglance/en/privacy.html
Ratings & Reviews
- This app hasn’t received enough ratings or reviews to display an overview.
The developer, 阳 曹, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Linked to You
The following data may be collected and linked to your identity:
- Contact Info
- User Content
- Identifiers
- Diagnostics
Data Not Linked to You
The following data may be collected but it is not linked to your identity:
- User Content
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More
Information
- Seller
- 阳 曹
- Size
- 25.2 MB
- Category
- Utilities
- Compatibility
Requires iOS 15.0 or later.
- iPhone
Requires iOS 15.0 or later. - iPod touch
Requires iOS 15.0 or later. - Mac
Requires macOS 12.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later. - Apple Vision
Requires visionOS 1.0 or later.
- iPhone
- Languages
English and 8 more
- English, Arabic, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish
- Age Rating
4+
- 4+
- In-App Purchases
Yes
- HomeGlance Pro Lifetime $79.99
- HomeGlance Pro (Yearly) $12.99
- HomeGlance Pro (Monthly) $1.99
- Copyright
- © 2026 Yang Cao