Two roles, one sign-in
On one phone, usually the retired one, the app runs as the camera. On your everyday phone or in the browser on a computer, the viewer runs. Both sign in with the same account, there is no further setup. The camera may run with its screen off and only needs a charging cable.
What you can do from a distance
You can listen in live, look at a regularly refreshed still image or switch to live video. A level bar shows you how loud it is in the room. With a talk button that you hold down, you speak into the room through the camera phone: “It's all right, I'll be there in a moment.” So that nothing happens by accident, the button is protected against mis-taps, and only one person can speak at a time.
If you need some light in the dark, you switch on the camera phone's flashlight remotely. The camera can brighten the picture automatically if you like, and the orientation follows the position of the phone.
A single photo in full resolution
The live picture is deliberately small so that it is fast and economical. If you want to look closely, tap “HQ photo”: the camera takes a single high-resolution photo (about 12 megapixels), with the flashlight briefly switched on if you wish. After a few seconds it opens full screen, you can zoom in, download it or save it in the HQ archive with one tap. If you do not save it, it is deleted after 20 minutes at the latest. The archive holds up to 100 photos, is stored encrypted on the server like all recordings and can be emptied at any time. A photo uses about 2 to 6 MB of data on the camera phone, so it is best done on Wi-Fi. The HQ photo is available from Extended; it is included during the trial.
Video call with a dimmed display
Sometimes a voice is not enough: the child should see mum or dad. If you tap “Video call” in the viewer, your face appears on the camera phone, but the screen stays almost black, as dark as the device allows. You can only sense that something is running, and the room stays calm. You set how dark with a slider; to light the scene you add the flashlight or the display light: the screen then glows warm in five steps from night light to full, and your face stays visible. You keep seeing the child in the live picture. Speaking works as before with the held talk button. The camera phone switches the screen on and off by itself for this; you allow “Display over other apps” once. Your picture is only passed through and not stored, the call ends when you hang up, after 10 seconds without a picture and after 30 minutes at the latest. The video call is part of the Complete plan; it is included during the trial.
Night view: dark and only operable with a PIN
The camera phone should not glow at night and should not be ended by curious little hands. If you set a four-digit PIN in your account, the phone turns completely black after 10 seconds without input, at the lowest brightness the device can do. A tap only shows a dark number pad; only the right PIN opens the interface. Anyone who types wrongly three times triggers an alert with a photo and is locked out for 60 seconds. Ending the camera on the device only works with the PIN. There is deliberately no button to end it remotely, so that the camera cannot be switched off by accident while you are out. In addition, Android can pin the screen so that Back and swiping do not lead out of the app either. If the connection drops unexpectedly, for example because the battery is empty or someone switches the phone off, VintageCam tells you “Camera unexpectedly offline” after about 30 seconds; an intended stop does not trigger an alert. After a restart the camera starts again by itself as soon as the phone is unlocked. Night view is part of every plan; in advanced mode it can be switched off.
Let someone watch briefly, via WhatsApp link
The grandparents should take a quick look, or you want to show someone a picture without them needing an account? Tap “Share” and choose: the current still image as a snapshot or Watch live (the still image keeps updating, without sound and without controls). The link is valid for 5, 15 or 30 minutes and can be sent via WhatsApp, copied or passed on with the share menu. You see who is watching right now and can end any link immediately. An HQ photo can be shared this way too. Links are available from Basic; they are included during the trial.
Always see how the camera is doing
In the viewer you see the battery level, whether the phone is charging and how warm it is. If it gets too hot, you get a notification and the camera works more sparingly. A counter shows you how much data the connection uses. If you want to be left in peace, you mute notifications with one button for 30 minutes up to three hours.
What you need for it
The camera app runs on Android 8 and newer. The viewer works in any browser, including on the iPhone, and as an app on Android. Which features you can use depends on the plan: still image and live listening come with Basic, live video and talking back with Extended. For the first 14 days everything is free.