Ring video doorbells can now share video footage with the police

Ring has just announced a new partnership with Axon which allows its video doorbell and security camera users to share relevant video footage with the police. Designed to help law enforcement solve crimes faster, there’s still minimal details about this upgrade, but here’s what we know so far.

Despite this being a recent announcement, this Ring feature was available previously, but it was discontinued after concerns regarding privacy. In January 2024, Ring removed the ‘Request for Assistance’ button from the Neighbours app, so law enforcement couldn’t request or receive footage except in the case of emergencies.

The main reason Ring discontinued the feature was due to privacy concerns and breaches, but following its recent partnership with Axon, this request feature is back. If you own a Ring video doorbell or security camera, police and law enforcement can now request relevant footage from you to solve crimes quickly and better protect your neighbourhood.

Once police request video footage, Ring users can decide whether they want to share their footage or not. If they agree, the video is encrypted and securely added to a case file. Both Ring and Axon claim that Ring won’t share any information about users who have shared their footage in order to maintain privacy.

The main difference with this feature and its original one that was discontinued is that the video footage is shared via Axon’s digital evidence management system. There isn’t any news yet of whether this will appear in the Ring Neighbours app, but already this partnership and feature update seem more secure than before.