Ring's new feature helps neighbours share local alerts and safety updates – and it's entirely free

Ring has launched Neighbours in the UK, a community-powered forum within the Ring app that's designed to bring local communities together. More importantly, you don't need to own a Ring device or pay subscription fees to use it.

You'll be able to create your own neighbourhood by setting a radius around your home, with the option to go up to five miles. You can also customise your notifications so you're not bombarded with updates that aren't relevant to you.

Neighbours will launch in the UK in October, making the UK the first country outside the US to get the feature. If you're already a Ring customer, Neighbours will appear directly in the Ring app. If you're new to Ring, you can simply download the app and enter your address to set up your neighbourhood.

One of the first features coming to Neighbours in the UK is Search Party for Dogs, a tool that launched in the US last year to help reunite lost dogs with their owners.

Anyone can report a missing dog through Neighbours by uploading a photo or creating a Pet Profile with details about the dog and when it went missing. Ring customers with an active device can also start a Search Party, which allows participating outdoor Ring cameras in the local area to look out for the missing dog.

If a camera spots a potential match, its owner will be notified and can choose whether to share the footage with the dog's owner. Ultimately, it's up to the camera owner to decide whether footage is shared, and the owner of the missing dog can also choose to update the post when their dog has been found.

I'm personally a fan of the feature, particularly as Neighbours isn't limited to people who already own its cameras. Whether it actually becomes a modern version of the neighbourhood noticeboard will come down to how many people start using it, but the idea of bringing local communities together in one place is something that could be really positive.