Ring says it’s not giving ICE access to its cameras | The VergeSkip to main contentThe homepageThe VergeThe Verge logo.The VergeThe Verge logo.TechReviewsScienceEntertainmentAIPolicyHamburger Navigation ButtonThe homepageThe VergeThe Verge logo.Hamburger Navigation ButtonNavigation DrawerThe VergeThe Verge logo.Login / Sign UpcloseCloseSearchTechExpandAmazonAppleFacebookGoogleMicrosoftSamsungBusinessSee all techGadgetsExpandLaptopsPhonesTVsHeadphonesSpeakersWearablesSee all gadgetsReviewsExpandSmart Home ReviewsPhone ReviewsTablet ReviewsHeadphone ReviewsSee all reviewsAIExpandOpenAIAnthropicSee all AIVerge ShoppingExpandBuying GuidesDealsGift GuidesSee all shoppingPolicyExpandAntitrustPoliticsLawSecuritySee all policyScienceExpandSpaceEnergyEnvironmentHealthSee all scienceEntertainmentExpandTV ShowsMoviesAudioSee all entertainmentGamingExpandXboxPlayStationNintendoSee all gamingStreamingExpandDisneyHBONetflixYouTubeCreatorsSee all streamingTransportationExpandElectric CarsAutonomous CarsRide-sharingScootersSee all transportationFeaturesVerge VideoExpandTikTokYouTubeInstagramPodcastsExpandDecoderThe VergecastVersion HistoryNewslettersExpandThe Verge DailyInstallerVerge DealsNotepadOptimizerRegulatorThe StepbackArchivesStoreSubscribeFacebookThreadsInstagramYoutubeRSSThe VergeThe Verge logo.Ring says it’s not giving ICE access to its camerasComments DrawerCommentsLoading commentsGetting the conversation ready...NewsCloseNewsPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All NewsGadgetsCloseGadgetsPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All GadgetsTechCloseTechPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All TechRing says it’s not giving ICE access to its camerasThe company’s partnership with Flock is under new scrutiny amid concerns over who can access users’ footage.The company’s partnership with Flock is under new scrutiny amid concerns over who can access users’ footage.by Jennifer Pattison TuohyCloseJennifer Pattison TuohySenior Reviewer, Smart HomePosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All by Jennifer Pattison TuohyJan 22, 2026, 8:30 PM UTCLinkShareGiftIf you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.Ring video doorbells and cameras are not sending footage to ICE, according to the company. Image: AmazonJennifer Pattison TuohyCloseJennifer Pattison TuohyPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy is a senior reviewer with over twenty years of experience. She covers smart home, IoT, and connected tech, and has written previously for Wirecutter, Wired, Dwell, BBC, and US News.Ring’s partnership with Flock is sparking renewed online backlash this week, with influencers calling for people to smash their Ring cameras and claiming the company is part of the surveillance state amid heightened concerns over ICE actions.Flock is an AI-powered surveillance camera company that has reportedly allowed government agencies — including ICE — to access data from its nationwide camera network. Amazon-owned home security company Ring announced a partnership with Flock last year as part of its new Community Requests tool. This allows local law enforcement agencies to request footage from nearby Ring users when investigating an active case.“Ring has no partnership with ICE … and does not share video with them.”According to reporting from Futurism, activists are pushing a grassroots campaign across social media, including TikTok and Bluesky, telling Ring users to get rid of their cameras to prevent footage from being used by ICE. However, Ring spokesperson Yassi Yarger told The Verge in an email that “Ring has no partnership with ICE, does not give ICE videos, feeds, or back-end access, and does not share video with them.”Yarger also said that the Flock integration in question, which was announced last October, is not yet live. Meaning Flock does not have access to Community Requests.“As we explore the integration, we will ensure the feature is built for the use of local public safety agencies only — which is what the program is designed for,” she said. According to Ring’s support site, local agencies are limited to city and county organizations.Still, once footage is in the hands of local authorities, it’s out of Ring’s control. Ring founder Jamie Siminoff has told The Verge that he believes widespread cameras can prevent crime. But once deployed, the potential for such a large-scale local surveillance system to be used for other purposes is very real.Since returning to the company last year, Siminoff has leaned into his belief that more cameras lead to safer communities, launching Community Requests last September.This is essentially a rebrand of Ring’s controversial Request for Assistance feature, which was discontinued in 2024. Only, instead of direct partnerships with law enforcement, Community Requests works through integrations with “third-party evidence management platforms,” such as Flock and Axon, a Taser and body-cam company.Any local agency partnered with either company can request users’ footage through the Ring’s apps. According to Yarger, currently, only the Axon partnership is live.According to Ring, Community Requests sends a request from the local agency to both the Ring Neighbors app and the Ring app’s Community Feed. The request appears to all users in the area of an active investigation, and a user can choose to share footage or ignore the request. Ring says no one will be notified if you ignore a request.How to disable Community Requests and enable E2EIf you don’t want to participate in Community Requests, you can disable it in the Ring or Neighbors app. Go to the app’s settings page, find the Neighbors Settings, then scroll down to Neighborhood Settings, click Feed Settings, uncheck Community Requests, and click Apply.You can opt out of Community Requests without disabling your device. Screenshot Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The VergeHowever, Ring — like many security camera companies — may provide footage to law enforcement without a warrant in what it deems an emergency.To prevent anyone from accessing your Ring footage, you can enable end-to-end encryption (E2E) in the Ring app.While your footage is still stored in Ring’s cloud, with E2E turned on, only the mobile device you set up the camera with can view the video; it cannot be accessed by Ring or used for Community Requests.Enabling E2E means you lose several features, including person detection, rich notifications that show a snapshot of activity, and Ring’s new AI-powered descriptions, all of which rely on the cloud.While most cloud-based security cameras encrypt footage in transit and at rest, they need to access it in the cloud to analyze it and enable those features.Alternatives to cloud-dependent camerasIf you want to avoid cloud-dependent cameras entirely, there are several other options for keeping your camera footage private and secure.As mentioned, Ring cameras use the cloud to process footage for features like person detection; however, some security cameras can process video locally and fully encrypt it before sending it to the cloud. Generally, this requires a hub to process the footage.If you are an iPhone user, Apple’s HomeKit Secure Video service is fully E2E encrypted. Video analysis is done locally on a home hub, such as a HomePod or Apple TV, and stored in your iCloud account. It requires compatible cameras, including models from Eve, Aqara, and Eufy.Anker-owned Eufy is another company that offers local storage and video processing for its wide selection of cameras and video doorbells. The company had some serious security breaches involving the cloud in 2022, but its newer HomeBase hardware can run locally.TP-Link’s Tapo, Aqara, and Reolink recently launched local hubs for storage and processing of footage from their cameras, and these companies also offer cameras and video doorbells with onboard local processing and local storage via microSD cards.The new Matter standard now supports security cameras, which could open more options for local, secure storage and processing of camera footage.Ultimately, any camera connected to the internet comes with the risk that it could be accessed by someone other than you, no matter what the company says. So it remains important to think carefully before adding any type of surveillance to your home or your neighborhood.Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.Jennifer Pattison TuohyCloseJennifer Pattison TuohySenior Reviewer, Smart HomePosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All by Jennifer Pattison TuohyCamerasCloseCamerasPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All CamerasGadgetsCloseGadgetsPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All GadgetsNewsCloseNewsPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All NewsSmart HomeCloseSmart HomePosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All Smart HomeTechCloseTechPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All TechMost PopularMost PopularClaude Code is suddenly everywhere inside MicrosoftWhat a Sony and TCL partnership means for the future of TVsEveryone can hear your TV in their headphones using this transmitterSony announces its first turntables in yearsHow much can a city take?The Verge DailyA free daily digest of the news that matters most.Email (required)Sign UpBy submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.Advertiser Content FromThis is the title for the native adMore in NewsSubstack is launching a TV app, and not everyone is happyFable is coming to PS5 when it finally launches this fallForza Horizon 6 launches in MayXbox Developer Direct 2026: the biggest games and announcementsSony announces its first turntables in yearsGoogle Search AI Mode can use Gmail and Photos to get to know youSubstack is launching a TV app, and not everyone is happyMia SatoTwo hours agoFable is coming to PS5 when it finally launches this fallJay PetersTwo hours agoForza Horizon 6 launches in MayJay Peters6:18 PM UTCXbox Developer Direct 2026: the biggest games and announcementsAndrew WebsterAn hour agoSony announces its first turntables in yearsJohn Higgins5:00 PM UTCGoogle Search AI Mode can use Gmail and Photos to get to know youJess Weatherbed4:00 PM UTCAdvertiser Content FromThis is the title for the native adTop StoriesTwo hours agoThe state attorneys general are as mad as you are6:55 PM UTCIs this the end of Epic and Google’s feud?5:00 PM UTCClaude Code is suddenly everywhere inside Microsoft4:45 PM UTCWhy nobody’s stopping GrokVideoJan 21What a Sony and TCL partnership means for the future of TVsJan 19It’s worse than it looks in MinneapolisThe VergeThe Verge logo.FacebookThreadsInstagramYoutubeRSSContactTip UsCommunity GuidelinesArchivesAboutEthics StatementHow We Rate and Review ProductsCookie SettingsTerms of UsePrivacy NoticeCookie PolicyLicensing FAQAccessibilityPlatform Status© 2026 Vox Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved

Ring is denying ICE access to its cameras, sparking renewed controversy surrounding its Community Requests program. The company, owned by Amazon, stated in an email to The Verge that it has “no partnership with ICE” and does not share video with them. However, this assertion comes amidst escalating concerns fueled by influencers and activists who are urging Ring users to dismantle their cameras, alleging they’re contributing to a broader surveillance state and particularly, facilitating ICE’s actions.

The core of the issue revolves around Ring’s partnership with Flock, an AI-powered surveillance camera company. Ring launched its Community Requests tool last year, designed to allow local law enforcement agencies to request footage from nearby Ring users during active investigations. This program operates through integrations with third-party evidence management platforms like Flock and Taser manufacturer Axon. While Ring maintains the program is solely intended for use by city and county organizations, the potential for wider access remains a significant point of contention.

Currently, the Axon partnership is live, meaning local agencies can request footage through Ring’s platforms. Ring insists that no one will be notified if a request is made, reflecting a strategy designed to minimize user awareness. However, this opacity fuels distrust and amplifies fears about the potential for misuse.

Influencers and activists have taken up the cause, launching campaigns—primarily on platforms like TikTok and Bluesky—calling for Ring users to remove their cameras, arguing that they are unwitting participants in a surveillance network. The movement emphasizes the vulnerability of widespread camera deployments to authoritarian entities like ICE.

Ring’s founder, Jamie Siminoff, has previously expressed a belief that widespread cameras can deter crime, yet the unfolding situation highlights the inherent risks associated with large-scale surveillance systems. The shift to “Community Requests” is, in essence, a rebrand of Ring’s previous “Request for Assistance” feature, discontinued in 2024. This updated approach, utilizing third-party integrations, expands the potential avenues for footage access.

To mitigate these concerns, Ring offers users several options. They can disable Community Requests via the Ring or Neighbors app, limiting access to Neighborhood and Community Feeds. Alternatively, users can opt for "end-to-end encryption" (E2E), which, while securing the footage from Ring’s cloud servers, also disables features such as person detection, rich notifications, and AI-powered descriptions – all functionalities dependent on cloud access.

Recognizing the inherent vulnerabilities of cloud-based security cameras, Ring acknowledges the possibility of unauthorized access. To address this, Ring offers alternatives – solutions that process footage locally and encrypt it before sending it to the cloud. Options include Apple’s HomeKit Secure Video (which performs local analysis via a HomePod or Apple TV) and partnerships with companies like Eufy and TP-Link, all of which offer local storage and processing capabilities. Furthermore, the emerging Matter standard promises to unlock more options for localized, secure storage and processing of camera footage.

Despite assurances of safeguards, the fundamental concern remains: any camera connected to the internet is susceptible to potential misuse, regardless of the company’s stated intentions. The situation underscores the necessity for careful consideration before deploying surveillance technology, particularly given the evolving landscape of data security and the potential for its exploitation.