Frequently asked questions

Incident Clips is incident video management software for security monitoring companies. It sits alongside your VMS and owns the workflow of clipping incident footage, packaging it as evidence, and delivering it to customers, police, and insurance — with code-gated access, expiries, and an audit trail of every open.

Security monitoring and remote video monitoring companies, central station operators, guard and patrol services, and multi-site security teams. Operationally, it tends to make sense for operations managing 25 or more customer sites or handling several incident clip requests per week.

No. The VMS (Milestone, Genetec, Avigilon, Hanwha, Exacq, Eagle Eye, and similar) records and stores footage from cameras. Incident Clips handles the layer above that — clip and still generation, packaging, code-gated sharing, and the customer-facing portal. The two are complementary.

It replaces the ad-hoc email and shared-drive workflow most security operations use today. That workflow is slow, produces no audit trail, leaks via stale public links, and forces operators to re-export from the VMS for every minor variant. Incident Clips makes the workflow structured and the artifacts auditable.

Drive and Dropbox are general file storage. They lack code-gated access, per-package audit logs, native clip and still generation, customer-facing portals, and per-tenant isolation across customers. For occasional one-off handoffs they're adequate; for ongoing operations they create real audit gaps. See our detailed comparisons for the specifics.

An operator uploads the exported footage from your VMS. Incident Clips processes it for streaming, the operator trims to the relevant window and pulls any stills needed, the operator assembles a package with notes, and the package is shared via a code-gated link with an expiry. Every step is logged.

Any VMS that can export to a standard MP4, MOV, or MKV — which covers essentially every modern platform (Milestone XProtect, Genetec Security Center, Avigilon ACC, Hanwha Wisenet WAVE, Exacq, Eagle Eye Networks, and others). There is no required integration; the workflow starts after the VMS export.

Standard video files exported from your VMS — MP4, MOV, MKV, and similar. If your VMS only produces a proprietary export format, most VMS export tools can also produce a standard MP4 alongside it. From there, Incident Clips handles the rest of the workflow.

No. Incident Clips works with exported clips, not live camera feeds. Live monitoring stays in your VMS; Incident Clips handles the workflow once a specific incident has been identified and a clip needs to be packaged and shared.

Uploaded clips are prepared for fast streaming playback on any device — phones, in-car tablets, laptops — without requiring a download. The original upload is preserved untouched. Any derivative (a trim, a still frame) is tracked back to the original with the operator and timestamp, which is what an audit trail and chain of custody need.

The Base plan supports up to 5 minutes per video, 250 MB per file, and 1-minute clip durations at 1080p. The Enhanced Video addon extends to 15 minutes per video, 750 MB per file, 3-minute clip durations, and 4K support. See pricing for current limits.

It's white-labeled — your logo, your colors, and on the Enhanced Branding addon, a custom domain (clips.yourco.com). Customers see your brand, not ours. They can request clips, view delivered packages, and submit follow-up requests through the same portal.

Yes. Customers submit requests through their portal with the time range and camera. Your team processes the request, packages the clips and stills, and shares them back through the same workflow. The Base plan includes 3 requests per customer per month; additional requests are billed at $1.50 each.

Recipients enter the access code, then see the clip, any included stills, and the operator's notes. Playback streams smoothly on phones, in-car tablets, or laptops without requiring a multi-gigabyte download. Download permission is off by default and can be enabled per-package if the workflow requires it.

They open the link and enter an access code you provide separately. No account is required, no Google or Dropbox login, no software install. The link plus the code grants access for the package's lifetime (date-based expiry, view-count limit, or until you revoke it).

Stream-only is the default. Download permission can be enabled per-package — useful when a recipient explicitly needs a local copy (forensic examiner, court exhibit). Download events are logged in the audit trail alongside opens.

From the package detail in your dashboard. Revocation is immediate — the link stops working for all recipients. The audit log retains the history of opens that happened before the revocation, which is what matters for chain of custody.

The link alone is not enough. The recipient also needs the access code, which you sent separately. If the link is forwarded, the new viewer can't open the package without the code. View-count limits provide a second layer of containment.

Yes. Every shared package can have a date-based expiry, a view-count limit, or both. You can also revoke access manually at any time. After expiry or revocation, the package remains in your dashboard and audit log; only recipient access is cut off.

Yes. All video is encrypted in transit (TLS) and at rest. Customer data and footage are isolated per tenant so one customer's data cannot be served to another's portal even by mistake.

Footage and application data are stored in secure, isolated environments with encryption in transit and at rest. Each customer's data is partitioned from every other customer's, so one operation can never see another's footage. Specific region or residency requirements can be accommodated on enterprise plans.

SSO/SAML sign-in is available on the Enhanced Security addon, alongside IP allowlisting and full audit logging. The Base plan uses email and password sign-in. Either way, recipients of shared packages never need an account — they enter the access code you provide.

Yes. Every package open is logged with timestamp, recipient identity where available, and access method. Operator actions — uploads, trims, package creation, share, revocation — are logged separately. The audit log is the foundation of the chain of custody record.

The original VMS export is preserved untouched. Every derivative (trim, still frame, transcode) is recorded back to its source with operator and timestamp. Every share is logged with recipient, access controls, and expiry. Every recipient open is timestamped. The full record can be exported for use in a deposition or subrogation.

We follow data handling practices appropriate for sensitive video, including encryption, per-tenant isolation, and access logging. Specific compliance attestations (HIPAA BAA, GDPR data processing agreements) are handled on enterprise plans — contact us for documentation and arrangements.

Default retention on the Base plan is 6 months. The Enhanced Support addon extends to 2 years with daily backups. Retention starts at upload and can be tagged to extend for footage under an investigation or litigation hold.

$149/month (or $119/month billed annually). Includes 25 customers, 3 incident requests per customer per month, unlimited clips per incident, 5-minute max video duration, 3 team seats, 1080p resolution, 6-month retention, and 72-hour email support.

Four addons: Enhanced Branding (white-label viewer, custom domain, branded emails, watermarks), Enhanced Video (15-minute videos, 750 MB files, 3-minute clips, 4K), Enhanced Security (SSO/SAML, audit logging, IP allowlisting), and Enhanced Support (4-hour responses, live chat, dedicated onboarding, 2-year retention, daily backups). Each is independently priced.

Yes — 7 days, no credit card required. Set up your first customer site in under 15 minutes. Convert to a paid plan when you're ready, or the account pauses automatically at the end of the trial.

Either. Annual billing saves roughly 20% across the Base plan and all addons. You can change between monthly and annual at any time; switching takes effect at the next billing cycle.

Additional customers are billed at $4 each per month beyond the 25 included in the Base plan. There is no hard cap — the plan scales linearly with your customer count.

Yes. The Base plan includes 3 team seats. Additional seats are billed at $5 each per month. Roles control what each team member can see and do — including per-customer scope for operations that need it.

The Base plan includes 3 incident requests per customer per month. Additional requests beyond that are billed at $1.50 each, or you can pre-purchase request blocks at a discounted rate. Overage requests on top of pre-purchased blocks are $2 each.

Yes. Cancel from your account settings at any time. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period — you keep access for the remainder of what you've paid for. Data export is available before account closure.

Credit card on monthly and annual plans. ACH and invoiced billing are available on annual plans for operations that prefer it. Contact us for procurement or PO-based arrangements.

No. The workflow starts after the VMS export. Operators upload the exported clip directly into Incident Clips. This makes Incident Clips VMS-agnostic and avoids the integration burden of a tighter coupling.

Yes, on the Enhanced Branding addon. Custom domain (clips.yourco.com) plus full white-label of the viewer, branded email templates, and custom video watermarks. Setup involves a DNS CNAME and is typically same-day.

Operators sign in with email and password by default — or SSO/SAML on the Enhanced Security addon. Customers sign into their branded portal the same way. Recipients of shared incident packages don't sign in at all; they just enter the access code you provide.

A public API is on the roadmap. Reach out via the contact form if you have a specific integration need — early integrations are sometimes possible for enterprise plans.

Most operations don't migrate historical footage — they cut over for new incidents and let the old workflow age out naturally. If you do need historical footage in the new system, upload it as standard MP4 files; the workflow treats it like any other ingestion.

Yes — anything you can export from your VMS or pull from your existing storage as MP4/MOV/MKV can be uploaded. Practical advice: only import footage tied to active or recent incidents. Bulk-importing every clip you've ever shared is rarely worth the storage cost.

Setting up the account, adding your first customer site, and uploading a test clip typically takes under 15 minutes. White-label setup with a custom domain takes longer (DNS propagation, typically same-day). Migrating a full operation is measured in days, not weeks.

Yes. The Base plan includes self-serve docs and 72-hour email support. The Enhanced Support addon adds 4-hour email responses, live chat during business hours, and a dedicated onboarding call to walk through your specific workflow.

The operator workflow is designed to mirror the export-trim-share pattern your team already runs through. Most operators are productive within an hour. For larger teams, the Enhanced Support addon includes a dedicated onboarding call covering role setup, customer site provisioning, and your specific clip request workflow.