Ring
What the default settings do
Ring doorbells and cameras record a clip whenever they detect motion or someone presses the doorbell. Most models record sound as well as video. With a Ring subscription, those clips are stored in Ring’s cloud.
Encryption changed in September 2026
On 26 August 2026, Ring announced a new default called TAKE (“Throw Away the Key” encryption), rolling out in phases from September. Ring notifies you when your account can switch. Here is how it works, according to Ring:
- Each video is encrypted with keys that change about every five minutes.
- Ring’s cloud keeps a copy of those keys for up to 24 hours, so it can run features such as Smart Alerts, Video Search and video descriptions. After 24 hours Ring deletes its copy. Your own phones and devices keep theirs.
- Ring says that once its copy is gone, it can no longer decrypt the video, including in response to a warrant.
TAKE is not end-to-end encryption, because Ring can still read your video during that first day. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has pointed this out, and also notes that outsiders cannot yet check how the system works beyond Ring’s white paper.
Full end-to-end encryption is still available as an option. With it, only your devices hold the keys and Ring never can see the video, but you lose many features. Ring’s original (“legacy”) end-to-end encryption has been switched off and replaced by a new version you can turn on per camera.
Features that look at your video
- Search Party uses AI on outdoor cameras to spot lost dogs reported nearby and, during wildfires, visible flames or smoke. It is on by default for outdoor cameras in the US. Ring says nothing is shared unless you choose to share it after a match.
- Familiar Faces (launched December 2025) recognizes people you have named. It is off by default, and not available in Illinois, Texas, Portland (Oregon) or Quebec because of local biometric laws. A proposed class action filed on 2 June 2026 in federal court in Seattle argues that it scans the faces of visitors and passersby who never agreed to it. The case has not been decided.
Police and Ring footage
Police can ask you for footage through Community Requests in the Neighbors feed, a program run with Axon. Sharing is always your choice. Ring cancelled a planned integration with the license-plate company Flock Safety in February 2026; Ring says it never launched and no video was sent to Flock. Separately, police can go to Ring directly with a warrant, or with an emergency request when someone’s life is at risk. See Can police get my Ring footage? for the details.
A reasonable privacy baseline
These settings are in the Ring app. Most are under the menu (☰), in Control Center or in each device’s own settings.
Encryption
Menu (☰) → Control Center → Video Encryption → Switch to TAKE when Ring offers it, or turn on End-to-End Encryption
TAKE keeps nearly every feature and limits Ring's access to the first 24 hours. End-to-end encryption shuts Ring out completely. It can be turned on per camera on compatible models and needs iOS 17 or Android 9 or later. Ring lists the features you lose with it, including Shared Users, Smart Alerts, Video Search, Familiar Faces, viewing on ring.com, and video on Echo Show or Fire TV. If you choose end-to-end encryption, save your recovery options carefully: without them, you cannot open your own videos.
Search Party and Familiar Faces
Menu (☰) → Control Center → Search Party → Turn off the pet and flame icons for each camera
There is no single switch, so go through each outdoor camera. With Search Party off, your cameras are no longer scanned for missing dogs or fire in your area. You can still post a lost-pet alert yourself.
Menu (☰) → Pro Features → Manage People → Leave Familiar Faces off, or delete profiles you no longer need
Familiar Faces is off unless you turned it on, and it needs a Ring subscription that includes it. If you use it, keep in mind that it builds face profiles of anyone your camera sees, including guests and delivery workers. Ring says unnamed faces are deleted after 30 days without a match.
What the camera records
Menu (☰) → Devices → [device] → Device Settings → Privacy Settings → Audio Streaming and Recording → Off
Clips and Live View will have no sound, so conversations near your door are not recorded. On some doorbells and cameras you can tap Activate Once to talk to a visitor; audio then switches off again when you hang up.
Menu (☰) → Devices → [device] → Device Settings → Privacy Settings → Add Privacy Zones → Block out areas you do not need to see
Privacy Zones black out parts of the picture, such as a neighbor's window or the sidewalk. You can set up to two per device. Ring notes that motion behind a Privacy Zone can still start a recording, so adjust Motion Zones too. If the camera moves, redraw the zone.
Menu (☰) → Devices → [device] → Motion Settings → Limit Motion Zones and sensitivity
Fewer areas and lower sensitivity mean fewer clips of passing people and cars, which is also less footage that could ever be requested.
Police requests
Menu (☰) → Control Center → Public Safety → Opt out of Community Requests emails
Requests also appear in the Neighbors feed, and answering one is always optional. Ring says the agency is not told who saw a request or who ignored it. If you do share, Ring automatically gives the investigator your home address and email along with the clips, and a shared video cannot be taken back.
No app setting → Warrants and emergency requests
You cannot opt out of legal process. Ring's law enforcement guidelines say it gives subscriber details for a subpoena, and video only with a search warrant, and that it normally tells you first unless it is barred from doing so. In an emergency involving risk of death or serious injury, Ring may share video without a warrant and notify you afterward. Ring says that for videos protected by TAKE or end-to-end encryption, it can only hand over account information and the encrypted files.
Shared users
Menu (☰) → Settings or Control Center → User Permissions → Review each user's level: Limited, Standard or Advanced
Limited users can watch Live View and recorded events. Standard and Advanced users get more control, up to managing other users. Remove anyone who no longer needs access, such as a former housemate. An installer's access ends on its own after 48 hours.
Trade-offs
- With audio off, clips show what happened but not what was said, which can matter for deliveries or disputes at the door.
- TAKE keeps most features but still lets Ring see video for up to 24 hours. End-to-end encryption closes that gap but turns off Shared Users, Smart Alerts, Video Search, Familiar Faces and Echo Show or Fire TV viewing.
- With end-to-end encryption, losing your recovery options means losing access to your own videos.
- Turning off Search Party means your cameras will not help find a neighbor’s lost dog or spot a nearby fire.
- Opting out of Community Requests emails does not change what police can get with a warrant or an emergency request.
- Limited shared users cannot change motion zones or other settings, so you will need to do that for them.
Who should not change these settings
- If several people in your home need to see clips, or you rely on Smart Alerts and Video Search, choose TAKE rather than full end-to-end encryption.
- If you live in a wildfire area or a neighborhood that often uses lost-pet alerts, you may want to keep Search Party on for at least one camera.
- If audio matters for your situation, for example to record what a visitor says, leave audio recording on and use Privacy Zones to limit what the camera sees instead.
- If you like helping with local investigations, keep Community Requests on. Each request is still your decision.
- If a co-parent or partner needs to manage devices and users, give them Advanced rather than Limited access.