While SecuritySpy has a dedicated iOS app that provides a great remote access experience on iPhones and iPads, we currently do not produce a dedicated Android app. This is because, since SecuritySpy is a macOS application, the vast majority of our users are within the Apple ecosystem, and very few use Android devices.

At this time, the best solution for viewing live video from your SecuritySpy system on an Android device is the tinyCam Monitor app. This app is inexpensive, easy to use, and has a built-in profile for SecuritySpy that helps to simplify the setup. Here’s how to set it up.

1. Set up access to your SecuritySpy system

If you need to access SecuritySpy only over your local network, all you need to do is to enable the HTTP web server under Settings > Web, and add a user account for password protection.

Additionally, for access over the Internet, follow the setup steps outlined here: SecuritySpy Installation Manual – Remote Access.

Your SecuritySpy server should now be set up for local and/or Internet access. Verify this by going to Settings > Web > Access Info; a panel pops up that shows access addresses for local and/or remote connections:

For local access, find the one that starts with “http” and ends with “.local” – in this example it’s “M1-mini.local”. For remote access, you will use the “name.viewcam.me” address that you configured in SecuritySpy’s web settings.

2. Download tinyCam to your Android device

Open the Play store on your Android device and search for tinyCam. Here you will find a free version (“tinyCam Monitor”) which displays ads, and a paid version (“tinyCam Monitor PRO”) which is ad-free. We recommend using the paid version: it’s only a few dollars, and the ads in the free version are very annoying! Download either app to your device.

3. Configure tinyCam

Some welcome screens will be displayed; skip through them, making sure to uncheck the “Assign random cameras” option that will be presented to you:

The app will then direct you to add camera: tap the plus button, and then tap the option to “Add IP camera, NVR/DVR”:

On the following screen, you will need to enter the details of one camera in SecuritySpy. The set of details on the first screen are for local-network access, as follows:

• Camera name: you can choose any name here, though it makes sense to choose the same name as set in SecuritySpy
• Camera brand: Mac
• Camera model: SecuritySpy
• Protocol: Server push (MJPEG)
• Web port number: 8000
• Use HTTPS: leave this turned OFF (encrypted connections are not needed for local access)
• Login settings: enter the username and a password of a web account that you have set up in SecuritySpy.

Next, if you also want access from the Internet, tap the “Advanced settings” item at the bottom and enter the following details:

• Remote hostname/IP address: enter your “name.viewcam.me” domain
• Remote web port number: 8001
• Use HTTPS: turn this ON (secure connections should be used for remote access)

Under the Advanced settings, you must also select a “Channel number” that corresponds to the camera number in SecuritySpy. Camera numbers are shown in the Camera Info window in SecuritySpy (available from the Window menu), like this:

In tinyCam, you must select the camera number plus one as the channel number. So if the camera number in SecuritySpy is shown as 15, select channel number 16 in tinyCam.

4. Test the connection

At the top of the configuration panel, tap the “Camera status” option, and a panel pops up that tests the connection to the camera. If all is well, you should see the camera’s image here along with some information about the video stream. If you don’t see this, something is wrong with your configuration, so go back and check all settings described above.

5. Live camera panel

Tapping the back arrow from the configuration screen in tinyCam takes you back to the “Manage Cameras” screen. From here, tap the menu icon (top-left), and select the “Live view” option:

Here, the camera you just added should be visible in tinyCam’s Live view panel:

6. Repeat for additional cameras

Now you have one camera added successfully to tinyCam, simply repeat the above steps to add additional cameras. Each camera should be set to a different channel number, which refers to the camera numbers shown in SecuritySpy Camera Info window.