Ring, which has drawn ire in the past for sharing home security videos with the police without consent, will be updating its software in February 2024 with one particularly important change. As explained in a January 24, 2024 Ring blog update from the Head of the Neighbors platform, Eric Kuhn, the “Request for Assistance” tool, which police had previously used to ask for user footage, will be removed from the Neighbors app.
“Public safety agencies like fire and police departments can still use the Neighbors app to share helpful safety tips, updates, and community events,” the blog stated. “They will no longer be able to use the RFA tool to request and receive video in the app. Public safety agency posts are still public, and will be available for users to view on the Neighbors app feed and the agency’s profile.”
