Amazon’s Ring doorbell update allows opt out of all video requests

After a wave of bad press involving police partnerships, hacking, and other privacy violations, Amazon’s Ring doorbell has released an update. 

On Friday, the smart device’s mobile app rolled out a new control center that grants users more authority over their privacy and security settings. You’ll now be able to add and remove shared users on an account, restrict third-party access, view two-factor authentication settings, and (perhaps, most importantly) opt out of all video request notifications from law enforcement.

Uncovered in reporting by Motherboard and Gizmodo in 2019, the scale of Amazon’s Neighbor Portal program is much larger than originally believed — and its various affiliations with law enforcement has raised alarming ethical questions. 

In the new update, users will be able to see an “Active Law Enforcement Map” clarifying which local institutions are part of the Neighbor Portal network. They will also be able to disable requests for video from officials, whether or not they have received one in the past. (This feature was available previously, but an account had to have received one request for the opt-out option to appear.) 

That said, Ring is suggesting users allow video request notifications — citing specific instances where such evidence helped solve criminal cases. Due to its relationship with police, Ring has been accused of promoting the false belief that criminal activity is on the rise nationally (it’s not), as well as exacerbating racial stereotypes.

According to Ring’s official press release, the control center update will be made available to all Android and iOS users within “the next few days.” Per the same release, this is the first of numerous security and privacy updates planned for the system.

“We take these matters seriously, which is why this is just the beginning,” the statement reads. “Future versions of Control Center will provide users the ability to view and control even more privacy and security features.”