Warning: *privacy not included with this product
Ring Security Cams
Amazon
Wi-Fi
Amazon Ring's indoor and outdoor security cameras have all the usual--HD video, night vision, motion activation--to put your house under 24-hour surveillance. Monitor the video through an app on your phone or your Amazon Echo Show home hub. Ask Alexa to show you what's happening in your backyard, and boom, there it is. Just beware, even though Amazon Ring did address some of our privacy concerns with updates earlier in 2020 like adding mandatory two-factor authentication, these cameras still have some noted potential privacy issues that worry us. Ring gives law enforcement access to video captured through Ring cameras through its Neighbors Public Safety Service. This still raises a host of concerns around public safety and racism.
What could happen if something goes wrong?
This product raises a few red flags for us. Ring, owned by Amazon, has a history of not protecting users' privacy. At one point they stored customer data--including video recordings--unencrypted on an Amazon cloud server and employees could access any of this data. They have gotten more transparent in their privacy and data deletion practices, which we appreciate. And Ring, in response to the Black Lives Matter movement, has come out and stated they will not sell facial recognition technology to law enforcement. This past year Amazon's Ring has been pushed hard to change by Mozilla and others and we are happy to see them moving in the right direction. And while Amazon says they are distancing themselves from law enforcement access to users' video, they are still facilitating that access with this product and that leaves us concerned. All in all, these security video camera still raise questions about public safety and racism, in our opinion and we feel could come with *Privacy Not Included.
mobile
Privacy
Security
A.I.
Security
A.I.
Can it snoop on me?
Camera
Device: Yes
App: Yes
Microphone
Device: Yes
App: Yes
Tracks location
Device: Yes
App: Yes
What can be used to sign up?
Yes
Phone
No
Third-party account
No
What data does the company collect?
Personal
Name, email, phone number, address
Body related
Video and voice recordings
Social
Neighbors app network
How does the company use this data?
How can you control your data?
What is the company’s known track record of protecting users’ data?
According to a Forbes article, Amazon's workers viewed video clips from one of its home CCTV services to improve its AI analytics. While Amazon said that the clips were offered voluntarily by the customers, a Bloomberg article mentioned that the clips in question are not the kind that homeowners would want to share. Some video clips included obscene content and private moments of homeowners. Ring improved its security measures in January 2020 after reports of hackers accessing Ring cameras in December 2019 to harass people in their own homes.
Can this product be used offline?
User-friendly privacy information?
Links to privacy information
Does this product meet our Minimum Security Standards?
Encryption
Videos are encrypted in storage and during transmission. Ring is offering end-to-end encryption.
Strong password
Two-factor authentication is now mandatory after major pressure from Mozilla and other groups.
Security updates
Manages vulnerabilities
Amazon has a bug bounty program, which means that anyone who finds a security issue and discloses it responsibly may get paid. https://hackerone.com/ring
Privacy policy
Although Ring has a privacy policy, there is a general lack of transparency around Ring's privacy practices.
Does the product use AI?
Ring cameras use camera-based motion detection to start recording. A leaked survey allowing Beta testers to rank features included "face detection." Ring doesn't currenty use facial recognition technology, but things could always change.
Is this AI untrustworthy?
What kind of decisions does the AI make about you or for you?
Is the company transparent about how the AI works?
Does the user have control over the AI features?
News
Amazon’s Ring is the largest civilian surveillance network the US has ever seen
In a 2020 letter to management, Max Eliaser, an Amazon software engineer, said Ring is “simply not compatible with a free society”. We should take his claim seriously. Ring video doorbells, Amazon’s signature home security product, pose a serious threat to a free and democratic society. Not only is Ring’s surveillance network spreading rapidly, it is extending the reach of law enforcement into private property and expanding the surveillance of everyday life. What’s more, once Ring users agree to release video content to law enforcement, there is no way to revoke access and few limitations on how that content can be used, stored, and with whom it can be shared.
Ring's new privacy and security features prove that hardware isn't the only important thing
Smart home device maker Ring has been one of my biggest challenges as a product reviewer to date. It certainly isn't alone: Facebook, I'm looking at you. But testing Ring doorbells and security cameras has raised so many additional questions for me about a reviewer's role in recommending -- or not recommending -- a product.
Amazon's helping police build a surveillance network with Ring doorbells
If you're walking in Bloomfield, New Jersey, there's a good chance you're being recorded. But it's not a corporate office or warehouse security camera capturing the footage -- it's likely a Ring doorbell made by Amazon. While residential neighborhoods aren't usually lined with security cameras, the smart doorbell's popularity has essentially created private surveillance networks powered by Amazon and promoted by police departments.
Poll: How Americans Feel About Nextdoor, Neighbors, and Police Partnerships
The United States is in the midst of a reckoning with racism and policing. At the same time, an array of neighborhood-based social platforms — like Nextdoor and Neighbors by Ring — purport to keep American neighborhoods safer by partnering with local police. But often, these platforms and partnerships deepen division rather than quelling it.
Ring, 2FA, and a Win for Consumers
Today, Amazon announced that two-factor authentication (2FA) is now mandatory for all Ring users. In recent months, several stories have emerged about Ring users being hacked, harassed, and spied on. This extra layer of security will help prevent further episodes.
Amazon’s Ring Is a Perfect Storm of Privacy Threats
Doors across the United States are now fitted with Amazon’s Ring, a combination doorbell-security camera that records and transmits video straight to users’ phones, to Amazon’s cloud—and often to the local police department. By sending photos and alerts every time the camera detects motion or someone rings the doorbell, the app can create an illusion of a household under siege. It turns what seems like a perfectly safe neighborhood into a source of anxiety and fear. This raises the question: do you really need Ring, or have Amazon and the police misled you into thinking that you do?
Inside the Podcast that Hacks Ring Camera Owners Live on Air
A blaring siren suddenly rips through the Ring camera, startling the Florida family inside their own home. "It's your boy Chance on Nulled," a voice says from the Ring camera, which a hacker has taken over. "How you doing? How you doing?" "Welcome to the NulledCast," the voice says.
Ring Doorbell App Packed with Third-Party Trackers
Ring isn't just a product that allows users to surveil their neighbors. The company also uses it to surveil its customers.
An investigation by EFF of the Ring doorbell app for Android found it to be packed with third-party trackers sending out a plethora of customers’ personally identifiable information (PII). Four main analytics and marketing companies were discovered to be receiving information such as the names, private IP addresses, mobile network carriers, persistent identifiers, and sensor data on the devices of paying customers.
Ring doorbells to send live video to Mississippi police
Police in Jackson, Mississippi, are asking residents to connect their smart doorbells to a real-time surveillance centre, in an effort to fight crime. The mayor said the video streams would only be looked at if a crime was committed in the area. Amazon, which owns the best-selling smart doorbell Ring, said that it was not an official partner in the scheme
About the Advanced Motion Detection System Used in Ring Devices
Ring uses two different types of motion detection systems in its doorbell and security camera products. While both are very effective at what they do, they both work on different principles and are optimized for different purposes. This article will explain the differences between the two different types of motion detection systems and what products they are found in.
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