07/31/2025
From Amazon’s Ring is once again allowing police access to users’ doorbell footage, reversing a major privacy decision from 2024. The company is teaming up with Axon—maker of police tech like body cams—to relaunch its “Request for Assistance” feature through Axon’s platform. This lets law enforcement request short clips from users during investigations, with users opting in voluntarily.
The footage is encrypted and shared only with consent, and Axon says it won’t disclose who declines. Ring says the goal is safer neighborhoods, but critics warn this could increase surveillance and misuse, especially with AI alerts potentially amplifying bias.
Ring had previously shut the program down after backlash and a $5.8 million FTC settlement over past privacy abuses and employee misconduct. Some Ring employees remain skeptical of the change, worried that users may not fully grasp the implications of sharing their videos with police.
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