Did you catch the Super Bowl ad showcasing Ring Search Party and feel as clueless as most users? Me too. As it turns out, Ring’s using your cameras to help search for missing dogs. I love the idea, but I’m not too keen on the privacy risks.
Wholesome Ring Ad Leads to Internet Backlash
The Ring Search Party feature isn’t brand new. It launched late last year, but it launched quietly. Most users had no clue it even existed.
What was supposed to be a wholesome Super Bowl ad encouraging more Ring users to help their neighbors find missing dogs turned into an epic Internet backlash. I don’t blame people.
Ring basically told us our cameras are being used for other purposes, even if we had no idea about. There wasn’t much explanation either. Users just discovered the feature was turned on, without any prompting from them.
Yes, that raises some red flags around privacy. It’s hard not to question how else our security footage is being used without our knowledge.
I’m not against using my Ring doorbell or outdoor camera to help my neighbors find their missing pets. I have pets myself, and I’d want everyone helping me if mine went missing. I would just want my neighbors to feel safe doing so. For many users, this feels more like a surveillance state situation than anything helpful.
How Search Party Works
I think the biggest misconception is users think Search Party is scanning for animals 24/7. That’s not true. Instead, it’s only active when a neighbor in your area posts a missing pet alert. Even non-Ring users can download the app to upload missing pet notifications.
I see these notifications regularly. The user posts a picture (hopefully) and a description. You tap Contact Author to let the person know if you’ve seen them. Everything is kept as anonymous as possible with no phone numbers or addresses shared unless you share them yourself.
Now, with Search Party, you’ll get a notification if your outdoor Ring doorbell or camera records the missing pet. Naturally, Ring uses AI to scan your saved videos for any matches.
When you get the notification, share the video with the author or just contact them to let them know your camera picked up their pet.
No videos are shared with the pet’s owner automatically. You have full control over when and what to share. Though, I obviously encourage you to let the owner know if you’ve seen their pet.
If you’re like me, when you get an event notification, you check it. So, if you’re already getting missing pet notifications in your area and event notifications too, Search Party seems redundant. You can already notify the pet owner if you see their pet even with AI-powered surveillance.
Disable Search Party if You Want
The first mistake Ring made was enabling Search Party by default. I pay for the device and the subscription. Shouldn’t I decide which features to use?
The good news is this isn’t a mandatory feature. Just disable Search Party if you don’t want it.
Open the Ring app, tap the hamburger menu at the top left, and tap Control Center. Scroll down and tap Search Party. From here, tap the blue pet icon to view which of your cameras are compatible and currently enrolled in Search Party. Disable the feature for any or all cameras.
If you don’t have a Ring subscription to save videos, Search Party isn’t an option for you at all.
Helpful, But Ridden With Privacy Risks
I’ll always do whatever I can to help find a missing pet. They’re family and it’s terrifying when they go missing.
What I don’t love is the privacy risks. Suddenly, Amazon’s using AI to scan my saved videos. Supposedly, this is only when an alert is active and it’s restricted to Ring cameras in a small geographical area around the pet owner’s home.
My question and the question many others have is what else is happening with our videos? If saved footage is scanned for missing pets, could it also be used to search for people without our knowledge? Ring already hands over your footage to law enforcement without your consent as long as there is a valid warrant.
With video footage stored in the cloud, it could easily be analyzed by AI for nearly any purpose. The problem is AI makes mistakes. What if your video gets flagged by AI for something illegal or the wrong person is incorrectly identified as a suspect?
Another privacy risk is using your video footage to analyze your habits. This could be used to create a profile around when you leave and come home, where you shop based on shopping bags or deliveries, what car you drive, who your neighbors are, and much more.
Yes, using any security camera with cloud storage poses privacy risks. But, Ring Search Party showcases how this data could be used without anyone even opting in.
I do have Search Party on. But, I regularly delete my saved videos for better privacy. I’m sure there are backups, but it does give me more peace of mind. Open the Ring app, tap the hamburger menu, choose History, tap the Pencil icon at the top right, and select what to delete or delete everything.
Any smart home devices, including security cameras, come with privacy risks. Locking down your devices as much as possible and opting out of features that make you feel unsafe is key to maintaining balance between privacy and convenience. If you’re looking for an alternative to Ring, consider Blink, which offers local storage options.
