If you want to ensure the security of your data, you could use a secure managed file transfer solution with strong encryption. There are two primary mechanisms used for transferring the data: FTPS and SFTP.

Applies to: All Reolink products that support FTP.

As you know, FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is a network protocol for transmitting files between computers over Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) connections. Within the TCP/IP suite, FTP is considered an application layer protocol. There are two significant parts of FTP, an FTP server and an FTP client. The FTP server is the place where files could be stored, and you can use an FTP client to upload files to or download files from the FTP server.

FTPS ( File Transfer Protocol Secure)  is an extension of the popular File Transfer Protocol that supports Transport Layer Security (TLS) and Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). When using FTPS to transmit data and files, you can use either explicit FTPS (implicit FTP is not supported by Reolink products yet). On the Windows operating system, you can use transmitting software such as FileZilla to enable FTP over TLS for your FTP server.

SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol) is a file transfer protocol that uses SSH encryption to transfer files between systems securely. SFTP allows users to choose the level of authentication they want to use when transferring files. Users can transfer files using SFTP with no added authentication, using a combination of a user ID and password, or using a pair of SSH keys.  Due to the encryption/decryption technology involved, the transmission of data is more secure but with much lower efficiency compared with FTP.

Generally speaking, FTPS is an enhanced FTP that still uses an FTP server with the TSL/SSL protocol enabled. SFTP was developed as a more secure alternative to FTP. Even though they share some similarities, SFTP is a subsystem of SSH and is separate from FTP.

Among Reolink cameras that support FTP uploading, those cameras with hardware version IPC_523...support FTPS, and you can set it up by referring to How to Set up FTP via Reolink App.

If you find your camera does not support FTPS uploading, please upgrade the firmware of your camera to the latest one. Contact our support team if FTPS still fails after upgrading the firmware.

Note: Currently, Reolink cameras do not support SFTP.