Google Nest cameras typically require a monthly subscription for long-term storage, otherwise videos are generally deleted after three hours. However, investigators in the Nancy Guthrie abduction case recently recovered doorbell footage from an unpaid account that was previously thought to be lost.
While Google Nest products are popular for home security, their cloud-reliant nature means that users who do not pay for a monthly subscription lose access to footage very quickly. The Home Premium service offers different tiers of storage for a fee, but those who opt for the free version only see three hours of event history before it becomes unavailable. Although newer models have a small amount of local memory to handle temporary internet outages, there is no permanent local storage option, and the company states that expired videos cannot be recovered by the user.
The abduction of Nancy Guthrie on February 1 initially appeared to leave no digital trail because her doorbell camera was not enrolled in a paid storage plan. Investigators originally reported that no footage of the crime existed, especially since the physical device was destroyed by the perpetrators during the incident. Despite these hurdles, a breakthrough occurred when authorities released clips on February 10 that were recorded during the early hours of the kidnapping.
The existence of this footage suggests that even when data is marked as deleted or inaccessible to the consumer, it may still reside on company servers for a period. Google maintains that once a video expires, it is gone, and they will not restore it even if a user decides to upgrade their account later. This case highlights a significant gap between what a user can see in their app and what might still be retrievable by law enforcement during a criminal investigation.
The recovered videos show a masked individual approaching Guthrie’s home and attempting to disable the security hardware. In the first clip, the person covers the lens with their hand and tries to rip the camera from its mounting bracket, which is secured by a specialized screw designed to prevent easy removal. A second clip shows the same individual attempting to obscure the camera's line of sight by draping a nearby plant over the device.
Both segments of footage are very brief, consistent with the automated event clips generated by the Google Home system when it detects motion. These snippets provided the first visual evidence of the suspect despite the camera being destroyed and the subscription being inactive. This development has raised new questions about data retention policies and the true lifespan of digital footprints in the cloud.
Source: Google Recovers “Deleted” Nest Video In High-Profile Abduction Case