Ring's Neighbors app removes footage requesting for local police #shorts #ring #privacy
The short version: Ring is ending the Neighbors feature that let police directly request video from users, a small but real check on the request-based surveillance pipeline SafeWise flagged in this short.
Our Take
Credit to SafeWise for flagging this one, even in short form: Ring quietly killing the "police can request your footage" button inside the Neighbors app is a rare instance of a surveillance-adjacent company walking back a feature instead of adding one. For years, that request tool turned millions of doorbell owners into an informal, opt-in camera network that police could tap without a warrant — normalizing the idea that private video is just a request away from becoming an investigative tool.
Don't mistake this for Ring getting out of the surveillance business. The cameras, the facial-adjacent AI, and the corporate-police partnerships that made Ring a household name in American driveways aren't going anywhere. And removing one request feature does nothing to slow down the bigger fish in this pond: networks like Flock Safety's ALPR cameras, which don't ask homeowners for permission at all — they're bolted to poles on public roads, logging plates automatically and feeding that data straight into shared police databases, often with far less public debate than a doorbell app ever got.
That's the real lesson here. A single feature removal from one company is a footnote; the infrastructure of automated tracking is the story. If you want to see how much of that infrastructure already exists in your own neighborhood, check our camera map, and if you're ready to push back on it locally, our take-action page is a good place to start.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of Safewise.com, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.