Ring to stop police from requesting doorbell cam footage
The short version: Ring is killing its police video-request tool, a small privacy win that shows public pressure works—but Flock's automated plate readers keep expanding with far less scrutiny.
Our Take
Credit to NBC Montana for flagging this one: Amazon's Ring says it will stop letting police departments send public requests for doorbell footage through its app. That feature, long criticized by civil liberties groups for turning millions of private cameras into an informal surveillance network cops could tap without a warrant, is finally going away. It's a real win, and it didn't happen by accident — it happened because people kept asking uncomfortable questions about who gets to see your front porch and why.
But don't let this story lull anyone into thinking the surveillance tide is turning. Ring pulling back on one voluntary, opt-in program is a far cry from the automated, always-on plate-reading networks that Flock Safety and similar vendors are quietly installing on public roads in thousands of towns. Nobody has to ask your permission for those. There's no toggle to switch off. The cameras just log every car that passes, timestamp it, and hand the pattern of your life over to whoever has a login — police, HOAs, sometimes private buyers.
If Ring's retreat proves anything, it's that companies change course when enough people push back. So push back on the systems that matter most right now. Check our map to see what's tracking your street, and hit up take action for concrete ways to make your city council actually answer for it.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of NBC Montana, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.