Google is buying a stake in home security provider ADT to help it sell more Nest devices.
Google will pay $450 million to acquire a 6.6 percent stake in ADT, which will allow it to enlist ADT’s network of 20,000 professional technicians to sell and install Nest cameras and smart displays to customers across the US.
The partnership also promises to pave the way for tighter integration between ADT products and Google’s Nest services. Each company is committing another $150 million for marketing, product development, and employee training.
Google Nest Hub Max
ADT agents are set to begin offering Nest devices, including the Nest Hub Max smart display, later this year. In 2021, the companies plan on expanding the product integration, which will involve making Nest devices the “cornerstone” of ADT’s smart home offerings.
“The goal is to give customers fewer false alarms, more ways to receive alarm events, and better detection of potential incidents inside and around the home,” Google said. “It will also provide people with more helpful notifications that make everyday life more convenient, like package detection.”
In addition, ADT customers will get access to Nest Aware, which can digitally store the video recording history from security cameras for up to 30 days. The same system will also send “intelligent alerts” when your cameras detect a person or noise.
In 2014, Google bought Nest Labs, which was later folded into the company's Google Home business. Nest products now include dozens of different devices, including a video doorbell and indoor/outdoor cameras, which can be controlled with Google's voice assistant.
However, today's partnership may represent a double-edged sword for ADT, which serves over 6 million customers: On the one hand, the company is getting greater access to Google technologies. But on the flip side, some consumers may have concerns about ADT partnering with a tech giant that relies on consumer data collection to serve ads.
That said, Google’s privacy policy for Nest products says the company never uses customers’ home security-related data for ad targeting. Data shared with third-party services will only occur if the owner gives explicit permission to do so.
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