A privacy group is calling out video doorbell maker Ring over how the company's Android app will send customer data to Facebook and three other third-party companies. However, Ring says the data collection is merely meant to improve the app's performance.

On Monday, the Electronic Frontier Foundation published a report, examining the network traffic Ring's Android app will transmit over the internet. The research found the app will send off customer-related data to the various companies, which can include the user's name, email address, device information and IP address.

According to the EFF, the data collection risks opening the door for the third-party companies to track Ring customers, who are buying the company's video doorbell and camera products to improve their security —not to undermine it. "Ring isn't just a product that allows users to surveil their neighbors. The company also uses it to surveil its customers," the privacy group claimed.

However, Ring is framing the data tracking as all about making sure customers are happy with the software experience. "Like many companies, Ring uses third-party service providers to evaluate the use of our mobile app, which helps us improve features, optimize the customer experience, and evaluate the effectiveness of our marketing," the Amazon-owned company said in a statement.

For example, the EFF found the app will send the user's full name, email address and device information to a company called MixPanel, which helps app makers identify trends in how customers are using their product. According to its website, MixPanel's customers also include Uber, Twitter and Expedia, among others.

Ring's Android app will also send data, such as IP address, device model, and other information covering user interactions with the software, to two marketing companies called AppsFlyer and Branch, which both focus on helping app makers track customer activities, like whether they're adopting a new feature.

However, Ring's app will also send data to Facebook, even if you don't have a user account with the social network, according to the EFF. The transmitted data can include times zone information, device model, language preferences, screen resolution and a unique identifier. Ring hasn't said why this data is being sent, but Facebook does run one of the world's largest digital ad networks.

According to the EFF, the data collection is a problem because users have no idea it's occurring, nor can they opt out. "The danger in sending even small bits of information is that analytics and tracking companies are able to combine these bits together to form a unique picture of the user's device," the privacy group added. "This cohesive whole represents a fingerprint that follows the user as they interact with other apps and use their device, in essence providing trackers the ability to spy on what a user is doing in their digital lives and when they are doing it."

In its defense, the video doorbell maker said: "Ring ensures that service providers' use of the data provided is contractually limited to appropriate purposes such as performing these services on our behalf and not for other purposes."

The Ring app will also send data to a Google-owned service, called Crashlytics, which focuses on helping app makers pinpoint software stability problems and fix them.