Doorbell maker Ring partners with 400 US police forces to request videos video

Doorbell maker Ring, part of Amazon, has partnerships with 400 police forces in the US to share footage. Ring sees that as part of its mission to make neighborhoods and neighborhoods safer, the company says.

Corps can request footage afterwards via a portal based on location and time, writes The Washington Post. Ring has confirmed the information in the article. Users can decline, because Ring sends a thank-you email for making their neighborhood safer. It is unknown how many people refuse to share footage.

If those forces want footage, they can designate an area and time on a map in Ring’s Neighbors Portal, and an email will automatically be sent to all Ring doorbell owners in that area requesting permission to share footage. The police can add a message with an explanation of what it is for.

It is the first time that it is known how many police forces Ring is working with. The article says nothing about collaborations with police outside the US. The terms and conditions do state that Ring may share imagery if required to do so by law or if it is a reasonable request from a government agency.

In addition, Ring has provided police forces and municipalities with free cameras to give away or discounted if they subsidize Ring cameras. It is unknown how many of the 401 corps in the US went along. Amazon acquired Ring last year.