Stumbled on a stat about my Ring doorbell that creeped me out

I was just reading an article on The Verge last Tuesday while eating lunch, and it said that Ring shares video footage with police without user consent in like 11 states. That hit different because I literally have a Ring doorbell I installed 3 months ago after my neighbor got his package stolen. The article said over 2,000 police requests were fulfilled by Ring in 2023 alone without warrants. I never thought about it that way. I just wanted to see who rang my bell, not hand over a live feed of my front porch to law enforcement. Has anyone else checked their own doorbell's privacy settings after reading something like this?

2 comments

2 Comments

averywright22d ago

Wait, isn't it more than 11 states? I remember reading somewhere that Ring shares footage with police in 35 states without requiring a warrant, not 11. That's a huge difference if true. But your main point still stands, it's creepy how much access they give law enforcement without you knowing. I actually checked my Ring settings after a similar story came out last year. There's a toggle in the app called "Neighbors Public Safety Service" that you can turn off to block police requests. You should definitely go look for that setting right now. It's buried in the privacy section and it's not obvious at all. Most people probably don't even know it's there.

charlesanderson22d ago

Did your neighbor ever mention getting a knock on the door from a cop about something on their Ring? My buddy had that happen last month, said the officer just asked to see footage of a package thief without showing any paper. He let them look, then felt weird about it after. That toggle you found is gold, I just turned mine off.