Say Goodbye to Spare Keys: ADT’s Trusted Neighbor™ Explained

When setting off for a long holiday or business trip, homeowners might find it useful to leave their home accessible to loved ones or neighbors in case of an emergency or to keep up with the housework. They might need someone to water their plants or make sure they turned off that appliance before leaving.

ADT’s Trusted Neighbor allows homeowners to share access to their home in a controlled manner, without having to compromise their home security system. Read on to learn how this service works.

Steps for using ADT Trusted Neighbor

Trusted Neighbor is a service provided by the home security company ADT that allows a homeowner to give trusted parties — friends, neighbors, family members — access to their home while they’re away.

The service grants temporary, secure access for a specific length of time or event, such as a holiday trip. It uses several multi-factor authentications to help ensure only the approved party can access the home protected by ADT.

For a home to be eligible for the Trusted Neighbor service, its homeowner must have ADT’s complete monitoring plan and compatible devices.

Step 1: Download the ADT+ app

To use Trusted Neighbor, the trusted individual must download the ADT+ app and allow it to send them notifications about the smart home access. The always-on location access must also be enabled. This will allow the app to verify the party’s identity in real-time and grant access to your home at the correct moment.

Step 2: Create or log into an ADT account

If the trusted individual does not have an active ADT account, they need to create one after accepting an invitation from the service. Please note that this invitation will only be valid for 21 days, after which another one will need to be sent.

The trusted person does not need to be a paying customer of ADT. However, they will need to accept the ADT+ Terms of Use as well as approve the permissions needed to run the service the first time they log in.

Step 3: View home through the app

Depending on what permissions the homeowner has approved, the trusted individual will be allowed to see the homeowner’s security camera stream through the ADT+ app. They will also receive notifications regarding burglar alarms, water leaks, package deliveries and motion sensor detection notifications.

It’s important to talk to the homeowner before becoming a trusted individual so you can gauge what their expectations are regarding your response to these notifications.

Step 4: Access home based on approved schedule

The trusted individual will receive notifications an hour before their scheduled access starts and 30 and 15 minutes before it ends. After beginning their visit, the neighbor will receive timely notifications asking if they are finished. Tapping “Yes, I’m done” will cause the security system to arm itself again.

The alarm system will also arm itself at the end of the scheduled time frame. The homeowner and the trusted individual should discuss the timetable so there is enough time to complete any agreed-upon tasks within the schedule.

Summary of ADT’s Trusted Neighbor

Trusted Neighbor is a service allowing homeowners to grant access to their home to friends and family. Neighbors can access the homeowner’s security system through ADT+’s app, which notifies the set times they can access the home. The service replaces the need for spare keys, providing access without compromising security.