Amazon and Ring have terminated a planned partnership with Flock Safety, a surveillance technology company, following public criticism sparked by a Super Bowl advertisement for Ring’s “Search Party” feature. The cancellation, confirmed Thursday, comes after concerns were raised about potential privacy implications of the collaboration.
The partnership, initially announced in October, would have allowed Ring users to share video footage with law enforcement through a program called Community Requests, according to Amazon. The program was never launched. The planned integration would have enabled police to request video from Ring doorbells within a specific location and timeframe, with users voluntarily choosing whether to share their footage. Amazon stated that the decision to cancel was mutual, citing the need for “significantly more time and resources than anticipated” for the integration.
The controversy was fueled by a Ring advertisement aired during the Super Bowl on Sunday, which promoted the Search Party feature – designed to assist locate lost dogs. While presented as a community safety tool, the ad drew criticism from privacy advocates and online users who expressed concerns that the same technology could be used for broader surveillance purposes. Senator Ed Markey (D-Mass.) publicly criticized the commercial, labeling the technology “creepy” in an open letter to Amazon.
Flock Safety is a company that provides license plate reader technology and other surveillance tools to law enforcement agencies. The potential for integration with Ring raised concerns about the expansion of surveillance networks and the potential for misuse of personal data. Some users noted that Ring cameras can be paired with facial recognition technology, amplifying those concerns.
Amazon emphasized that the planned integration with Flock Safety never became operational and that no user video footage was ever shared between the two services. A spokesperson for Amazon stated that participation in the Search Party feature was “always voluntary” and that users retain “complete control over whether to respond to a Community Request and what you share.”
The cancellation of the partnership follows reports of existing law enforcement access to Ring camera footage through other channels. A recent post on Reddit highlighted concerns that Ring cameras are already accessed by law enforcement and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
