Amazon’s Ring will stop allowing police to request doorbell video footage from users
Amazon’s Ring will no longer allow police to request users’ doorbell video footage in its neighborhood watch app.
Amazon’s Ring will no longer allow police to request users’ doorbell video footage in its neighborhood watch app.
In a blog post on Wednesday, Ring said this week it plans to discontinue its “Request for Assistance” tool, which allowed law enforcement to submit requests for users’ footage in their communities through a publicly accessible post in its Neighbors app.
“Public safety agencies like fire and police departments can still use the Neighbors app to share helpful safety tips, updates, and community events,” Eric Kuhn, head of Neighbors, wrote in the post. “They will no longer be able to use the RFA tool to request and receive video in the app.”
Ring in 2021 made police requests for user footage public in its Neighbors app. Previously, law enforcement could message users privately to request clips from their smart doorbell cameras.
Police can still obtain Ring video footage using a search warrant or subpoena. In response to a 2022 letter from Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., questioning its police partnerships, the company disclosed that Ring may provide footage directly to law enforcement “in cases involving imminent danger of death or serious physical injury to any person.”
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