Affordable security cameras and video doorbells have their benefits—from catching porch pirates and keeping tabs on pets to...helping the police solve crimes?
That last one has been a cause for concern among privacy advocates ever since Amazon-owned Ring confirmed that it partnered with at least 405 police agencies across the US so officials could more easily access video footage captured by its doorbell cameras. Using Ring's Neighbors app, police departments could request footage from Ring owners via a portal.
Amid pushback from civil liberties groups, however, Ring today announced that requests for footage will now have to be made publicly.
“Beginning next week, public safety agencies will only be able to request information or video from their communities through a new, publicly viewable post category on Neighbors called Request for Assistance,” Ring says. “Public safety agencies can use these posts to notify residents of an incident and ask their communities for help related to an investigation.”
Those who want to share footage can click on the link in an individual post “to share videos securely with the agency,” Ring says. Posts will also include agency contact information if you’d prefer to send it directly rather than share via the Neighbors app.
These requests can only be made by “verified” public safety agencies, according to Ring, which says it has “guidelines in place to prevent overly broad requests.” Those requests will be viewable in the Neighbors feed and listed on the agency’s profile.
Ring camera owners can opt out of seeing these Requests for Assistance. Those who already opted out of receiving requests for footage won’t see them.
Ring stressed that public safety agencies do not have direct access to camera feeds, and they can’t view videos unless a customer shares them.