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1.) When you buy the Ring system from Amazon, is there a form they want you to respond to saying something like "(Yes, I do)/No, I do not) give permission for police to access video from this product"?
2.) If police send you a request by email (as mentioned below) to access your video, and you never respond (say, because their request got diverted to your Spam folder), does this default to a "NO" response from you?
3.) When Amazon delivers its standard ad from its website selling you the Ring system, does it prominently describe the possibility of police accessing the video from your system?
4.) When Amazon delivers its standard ad from its website selling you the Ring system, does it offer both (a) a system that police can access, and (b) a system the police can't access; and offer you a choice?
Inquiring minds want to know.
With the way information gets casually leaked here and there from govt people, I consider the above questions very important.
The doorbell-camera company Ring has quietly forged video-sharing partnerships with more than 400 police forces across the United States, granting them access to homeowners' camera footage and a powerful role in what the company calls the nation's "new neighborhood watch."
The partnerships let police automatically request the video recorded by homeowners' cameras within a specific time and area, helping officers see footage from the company's millions of Internet-connected cameras installed nationwide, the company said. Officers don't receive ongoing or live-video access, and homeowners can decline the requests, which Ring sends via email, thanking them for "making your neighborhood a safer place."
The number of police deals, which has not previously been reported, is likely to fuel broader questions about privacy, surveillance and the expanding reach of tech giants and local police. The rapid growth of the program, which began in spring 2018, surprised some civil liberties advocates, who thought that fewer than 300 agencies had signed on.
Ring is owned by Amazon, which bought the firm last year for more than $800 million, financial filings show. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos also owns The Washington Post.
I've been in loss prevention/private security for about 25 years. I'm currently the owner of a consulting firm in those sectors. We are based in Southern California but will do forums/conferences/trade shows via video around the country.
We once had a partnership with Ring prior to them adjusting their business model to work with police departments. I personally ended the relationship, will never recommend associating with them in any form, and suggest running as fast away as you can with anyone who does do business with them.
That's all I have to say about what is going on in regards to the OP's inquiry.
I've been in loss prevention/private security for about 25 years. I'm currently the owner of a consulting firm in those sectors. We are based in Southern California but will do forums/conferences/trade shows via video around the country.
We once had a partnership with Ring prior to them adjusting their business model to work with police departments. I personally ended the relationship, will never recommend associating with them in any form, and suggest running as fast away as you can with anyone who does do business with them.
That's all I have to say about what is going on in regards to the OP's inquiry.
Make of it what you will.
That explains all those Ring videos with people going to the door....only to run away.
That explains all those Ring videos with people going to the door....only to run away.
LOL
The customers are the ones I would worry about. If you aren't a criminal yet then you will be once Ring and the local authorities are through with you.
Just an insider's perspective. Or a crazy internet guy.
Short of a subpoena, the cops only have access if it is granted by the homeowner. That's in the Ring agreement and it's even says that in the article. If they got it otherwise it might be grounds for a lawsuit and it would be inadmissible. Cops have been trying to give away free or reduced price Ring devices in some jurisdictions in return for pre-approved access to their devices in the neighborhood app. Amazon supposedly put a stop to that.
I have multiple Ring devices as does just about every house within two miles of me. Personally, I don't participate in the Neighbors app. I like it when the dog barks to tell Alexa to put up this cam or that on the big screen. It gives me the chance to **** and load before they break down the door.
The customers are the ones I would worry about. If you aren't a criminal yet then you will be once Ring and the local authorities are through with you.
Just an insider's perspective. Or a crazy internet guy.
A compromise: both.
A neighbor asked me to download an iphone app - Neighbors by Ring - to get my opinion about whether or not she should get a camera. Oh, my God - people are nuts. Video after video of 'this guy rang my bell - does anyone know who he is?' 'Why was this woman at my door?' 'This kid cut across my lawn but then went out of camera range. Did anyone else see him or pick him up on theirs?' 'Look at this adorable little guy my camera caught last night' - it's a racoon.
I told my neighbor, who was considering a Ring doorbell, to go to ebay and get an ADT sign and put that on her front lawn instead. I didn't even know Ring was part of Amazon at the time or I would have been more critical of it, without even knowing what's going on behind the scenes.
And anyone who owns an echo or any other such device is out of their damn minds.
You gave up your privacy when you bought a computer, smartphone, alexa/echo device, a remote door bell, a Nest thermostat, GPS system, etc. This is the way of life you selected to be too lazy to get up to change a channel, walk to a wall phone, turn on the lights, go to the door, manually set the temperature, turn on the music. Being a couch potato with a electronic device attached to your hand has its price. Live with it.
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I'll pass. Hard.
