What is the need for monitoring live viewers?
Verkada Command aims to be more transparent and informational on the actions taken by users in an organization. Being aware of the users currently online and viewing the camera's live feeds aligns with that vision and helps alert and inform admins about their user's streaming activity. It can also help in identification and prevention of abnormal camera video viewing to keep employees safe.
Live viewers are shown in the top right-hand corner of the live view of the camera. If the number of users is too large, then it condenses it to a single overflow icon with the number of users watching concurrently.
Note: Live viewers supplement the audit log providing quick controls and an intuitive interface enabling Org and Site Admins to detect anomalous viewing patterns and administrate their organization.
Tracking live viewers
Select a camera to view the camera's active live viewers. Live viewers will be shown in the top right-hand corner of the page.
Hovering over the icon you can see the live viewer as well as their profile and the IP address they are currently viewing from.
For viewers that are watching via cloud streaming, local streaming, mobile, or web browser here is the general user information shown such as IP address, the option to force logout (Only Organization Admins and Site Admins can perform this), their name, and email address.
For shared links and embedded streams, The user will be shown the link ID and the option to revoke the link (only for Organization and Site Admins)
Viewing stations displaying this camera will be shown as well with relevant information.
Organization and Site Admins can manage the viewing station on top of the device information.
Disable Live Active Viewers for the Organization
Organization Admins can disable the live viewer feature under the Admin section. Navigate to Admin > Cameras > Disable Live Active Viewers for All Users and you can toggle the feature off.
Common FAQ's
Are people viewing RTSP streams counted as live viewers?
Currently, RTSP streams are not tracked for live viewing.
Who can revoke permissions from live viewers?
Organization and Site Admins can revoke permissions or view user profiles of live action viewers.
Do people viewing historical footage count under live viewers?
No, this feature only accounts for people actively watching the live stream of a camera.
Which IP address is recorded for the user under this feature?
The public IP address of the user is displayed.
Will a stream running in the background be counted as a live stream?
Users running streams in the background or in another tab will not be counted as active viewers. It can take up to 90 seconds for the live viewer to drop out of the UI when the stream is running in the background.
How are live link viewers' IP addresses counted?
Since shared links are typically used to share video data outside an organization, we show all instances of viewers even if it is a repeated IP address.
How are regular users' IP addresses counted?
If a user views multiple streams of the same camera from the same IP address, those are counted as duplicates and consolidated into 1 icon shown in the UI.
What information can I see if I have a Site Viewer or Live-only Viewer permissions in Command?
Site Viewer and Live Only Viewer are shown the following information when getting access to the feature:
Registered Command Users: Name, email address, viewing duration, user IP addresses
Shared Link and Embedded link viewers: Viewing duration, user IP addresses
Devices (VX): Device name, viewing duration, device serial number, device IP address
Need more help? Contact Verkada Support.