Cameras keeps detecting spiders and cats as "people"

I set up my motion zones and have them only send me alerts at night- this is important because once my ring actually caught a guy trying to break into my car and the push notification alerted me. But like 99% of the time the push alerts, which wake me up at night on vibrate, say “person detected” when it’s just a spider, or a cat. Is there anyway to fix this? What’s the point of this feature if it thinks all motion is a person? My heart sinks every time I see “person detected” and have to wait a full minute for the ring to open and show me that it’s anything but a person. I don’t want to turn the notifications off, as it did actually catch someone attempting to break into my car. But it’s making me so anxious the rest of the time. I saw a clip of a ring video once that showed an alert for “package detected” but I can’t find that setting anywhere, seems like it would be useful. Any tips??

Hi @Sarahhjaneyy. I would recommend adjusting two Motion Settings to see if it helps. First, would be to check that Person is the only option turned on in your Smart Alerts. Second, lower your Motion Sensitivity. Keep in mind that even with these adjustments, the Camera can still detect other objects at times, like bugs that are close to your Camera. It will help make it so that it does not happen as frequently. As for Package Alerts, this Help Center article here has more information on the feature. I hope this helps.

It’s set all the way to the left for sensitivity, to minimum. Smart alerts was set to record and alert person, only record other motion, no alert. I would expect a bug next to the camera to be “other motion” and not a “person” alert, but that’s not the case.

Also, I went to that link and tried smart alerts for my doorbell camera, but there is no package option.

Hi @Sarahhjaneyy. The Smart Alerts are designed as an option to help neighbors cut down on the amount of motion notifications they receive, since it provides options such as person alerts, but it may not be the best option for everyone. When bugs or other animals come close to your Doorbell, that motion is likely to be detected. Package Alerts are only available on the following Video Doorbell models:

  • Video Doorbell
  • Video Doorbell 2
  • Video Doorbell Pro 2
  • Video Doorbell 3
  • Video Doorbell 3 Plus
  • Video Doorbell 4

If you have a Video Doorbell model that is not on the above list, then you will not see the Package Alerts feature available in the Ring app. You can verify the model of Doorbell you have by checking the original packaging or the Device Health page in the Ring app.