Video history is Nest’s cloud-based video recording and storage service. Your Google Nest camera or doorbell automatically stores video securely to the cloud so that you can access it at any time. Use this article to learn more about how to access video history for your cameras in the Nest app.
The following Nest cameras need to be set up in the Nest app and have a Nest Aware subscription to get video history:
- Nest Cam IQ Indoor
- Nest Cam IQ Outdoor
- Nest Cam Indoor
- Nest Cam Outdoor
- Nest Doorbell (wired)
- Dropcam Pro
- Dropcam HD
Note: If you have a Nest Cam (2nd gen), Nest Cam (battery) or Nest Doorbell (battery), use the Home app to review video history instead.
You can also find recorded events for any Nest camera model that you have in the Home app in the Feed and home history.
Find your camera’s video history
Here’s how to access your camera’s video history:
- Open the Nest app.
- On the home screen, select your camera.
- Your camera’s video history will appear below the live video stream.
Switch between different views in video history
The video history timeline and event history are two different views of your Google Nest camera’s video history in the Nest app.
- In the timeline, you’ll get an activity track that’s marked with activity that your camera has picked up.
- In the event history, you’ll get a list of events that your camera has picked up.
To switch between these views, tap the timeline 
Review recorded video
Video history timeline
Whenever your camera detects sound or motion, the following happens in the video history timeline:
- A dot or bar on the activity track highlights when the activity was detected.
- A snapshot of what your camera captured at the beginning of the activity is shown.
Tap any dot, bar or snapshot in the timeline to jump to the beginning of the recorded event.
What different dots mean
- A dot usually means that your camera noticed a short event.
- A longer bar means that it noticed activity over a longer period of time.
- A grey dot or bar means that your camera detected motion or sound outside of your camera’s Activity Zones.
- A coloured dot or bar can mean different things:
- Your camera detected motion in one of its Activity Zones. The colour will match the one given to the Activity Zone when it was created.
- Your camera detected sound or motion it thought was important, like a person talking or walking into view.
Gaps with no activity
If you see gaps in your camera’s video history timeline, it will tell you whether it was because the camera was off or offline, or because there was no activity detected.
- If you have event video history (Nest Aware or Nest Aware Plus), you’ll see dark grey gaps in your camera’s timeline between events. This is normal.
- If you have a Nest Aware Plus subscription, after 10 days you’ll see gaps in your camera’s timeline. This is because the app will remove video that contains no activity, so you’ll only see video clips of activity.
- If you have a 1st gen Nest Aware subscription, you’ll only see gaps in your camera’s timeline if your camera was turned off or was offline.
Event history
Event history shows you an overview of what your camera has detected, like motion, sound or doorbell rings, so that you can easily review what has happened at a glance.
You’ll see a video snapshot, activity name and time that the event occurred.
If you only want to see certain kinds of events, you can set a filter:
- Open the Nest app.
- On the home screen, select your camera.
- If needed, switch from the timeline
. Note: The kind of events that you can filter will depend on the kind of camera that you have, the kind of activity that your camera has detected, and whether you have a Nest Aware subscription.
- Select the types of events that you want to see.
- Tap Done. There may be a short delay until events are filtered.
Useful camera options and tips
Create and save video clips
You can create and save video clips and timelapses from your video history in the Nest app.
You can share the video clips with friends and family on social media. You can also download clips to store them on your computer or send them to anyone in an email.
You can store up to three hours of video clips in the clip library of home.nest.com for as long as you like.Go live
appears when you’re reviewing your saved video. Tap it to switch to your camera’s live video stream.Talk and listen
When the live video stream is on for your camera, you can tap the microphone icon to talk to others near your camera. For more information on how this works, take a look at our Talk and listen with Nest cameras article.
Note: If you don’t see this button, Tap Go live and it should appear along with the live video stream.