Ring Neighbors Is the Best and Worst Neighborhood Watch App

Security cameras and doorbell cameras can make people feel safer, but they also raise privacy concerns. Over the past few years, a rash of news stories have focused on Neighbors, a feature that’s part of the Ring ecosystem. Specifically, the internet has been abuzz over Amazon’s decision to work with law enforcement, which allows agencies to push emergency information out to users via Neighbors, but also can provide a direct feed of public user activity to connected police departments. We share our readers’ concerns and skepticism over some of the company’s practices and claims. We thoroughly investigated Ring’s policies and partnerships, and spoke with Ring officials as well as several partners from across the country to vet Neighbors’s and Ring’s policies, and we will continue to keep up with them. Since this article was first published, Ring has responded by making substantial changes to Neighbors works, specifically how police and the public interact. Here’s what we still consider to be the good, the bad, and the questionable practices surrounding Neighbors and Ring, which currently hold top spots in our home security systems guide and our smart outdoor lighting guide.