The timestamp overlay

The date and time can be burned into the video itself, in any corner, so it survives copying and re-encoding.

Settings › Recordings › Timestamp shows a live preview beside the controls, so a change is visible immediately rather than something you find out by recording a clip:

• Content — date only, time only, or both in either order.
• 24-hour clock and tenths of a second — each only affects the stamp while time is part of it.
• Position and size, and whether to append the camera's name.

It's drawn as light text with a dark outline over a translucent background, so it stays readable against both a bright window and a dark room.

One detail worth knowing: the detector never sees the overlay. A clock changes pixels every single second, and if it were part of what's analysed it would trigger motion once a second forever. The stamp is added after detection and before encoding.

Is the time right? The stamp, clip names and every event's time come from the device's own clock. While a camera is on, it compares that clock with our server's about every half hour. If it's more than a couple of seconds out, a warning appears: on a Mac under the button that turns watching on, and on an iPhone or iPad on the camera screen. To fix the clock:

• Mac — open System Settings › General › Date & Time and turn on "Set time and date automatically".
• iPhone or iPad — open Settings › General › Date & Time and turn on Set Automatically.

The check sends nothing about you or your recordings. With no internet connection it simply waits and tries again later.

The small file saved beside each clip records the stamp's settings, exactly where it sits in the picture and how far off the clock was, so a video app can correct the time or remove the stamp.