Google to reduce Nest camera quality to alleviate at home traffic surge

Google has begun notifying Nest camera owners in the United States that it will be reducing video quality and bandwidth over the coming days. In a report from The Verge, users of Nest Cameras are receiving an email from Google regarding the changes, and Google has confirmed that they will roll out over the next few days.

"To answer the global call to prioritize internet bandwidth for learning and working, in the next few days we're going to be making a few changes," Google said in a statement to The Verge. "We believe these changes have the potential to help make it easier for communities to keep up with school, work, and everything in between."

Google states that the reduction is aimed at helping to alleviate the additional strain that has been put on networks across the country over the past month. The upcoming reduction will only affect users whose cameras are set to higher quality and bandwidth settings than the default options.

No other camera settings are being changed, and users who wish to return to the higher video settings can do so after the change. Google also told The Verge that users of Chromecasts, and Nest displays may also see a reduction in image quality and rotation frequency for its Ambient Slideshow mode.