Alexa update lets you watch Ring, Arlo, security camera alerts on your Echo Show

Amazon on Thursday announced in a blog post that Alexa-enabled security cameras from Ring, Arlo and August, along with Amazon’s own Cloud Cam indoor security camera, now work with the Cameras Recap API. 

This new API should make it possible for you to view a recorded video clip with the phrase, ‘Alexa, show the event that just happened at the back door/front door/whatever you named your camera.’ The Alexa skill works on the Amazon Echo Show, the Echo Spot, the Fire TV and Fire tablets. 

You can’t currently ask Alexa to show an event from a specific date or time.

Previously, you could only say things like, ‘Alexa, pull up the front door live feed’ to see what was happening in real time, but you couldn’t view saved clips. This feature is currently only available in the US, but it will be expanding to other countries.