Ring’s battery-powered video doorbells and the Ring Video Doorbell 4 now operate with end-to-end encryption of video and audio. Ring finally obtains end-to-end encryption to its flagship video doorbells.
Ring is now delivering end-to-end audio and video encryption on its battery-powered video doorbells and security cameras, over a year after it counted the chance to its hardwired and plug-in gadgets.
End-to-end encryption allows users of the company’s video cameras to hold their footage locked, making it accessible only on their iOS or Android device. Ring also makes it more comfortable to save recorded videos when an owner deals or disposes of a Ring device.
Only the camera’s owner can access recorded footage with end-to-end encryption enabled. So even if law enforcement requested Ring, or its parent company Amazon, for the video, they couldn’t provide it. So instead, only the enrolled mobile device can open the video.
Ring encrypts video and audio recordings when uploaded to the cloud and kept on Ring’s servers. End-to-end encryption ups the decks of security, providing only the device owner pass to and control their footage on one selected device and with a passphrase only they possess.
When Ring first previewed end-to-end video encryption in January 2021, the Ring Pro 2 and Ring Elite were the only video doorbells it operated on, leaving its most famous battery-powered devices — like the Ring 4 and Ring Video doorbell — out of the private party. It was also an alternative on all its wired and plug-in cameras — having the Ring Floodlight cam — but not over the battery-powered alternatives like the Ring Stick Up Cam (battery).
Now, end-to-end encryption is open on all of Ring’s currently sold cameras and doorbells, with the only exception existing the Ring Video Doorbell Wired — its lowest-priced buzzer. In addition, Ring has a manual on its website with pedagogy for enrolling.
The battery-powered Ring Stick Up Cam enters its wired and solar-powered siblings with the option of end-to-end encryption. But, the increased privacy protections arrive with caveats. For example, with end-to-end encryption turned on, users forfeit the ability to preview videos on the Ring app’s Event Timeline panorama and in rich notifications that deliver a snapshot of activity in the notice before opening the app.
Also, shared users of Ring devices can’t catch videos on their gadgets, and no user can view footage on Echo Show gizmos or any third-party apps or share videos from the Ring app. End-to-end encryption also incapacitates Alexa Greetings and Quick Replies – where a Ring video doorbell can automatically answer a visitor. Bird’s Eye View also won’t work – an alternative on some Ring cameras that shows the path a visitor has taken to the doorbell or camera. Disabling end-to-end encryption revitalizes all these functions.
However, most of these features are valuable conveniences — not essential to the core benefit of a security camera. For many users, the grown privacy protection will be worth the loss of some comfort.
This week, Ring also presented a new feature to make it more comfortable to save recorded videos when a user sells or disposes of a Ring device — for example, if they were marketing it to upgrade to a new model. Deactivated Device State lets a user select to save any videos to their account without having to download them manually (the only option previously available).
When they remove the camera or doorbell from the account in the Ring app, a new Remove Device option appears, allowing them to keep or delete events/videos from the device before removing it from their Ring Account.
The videos will be stored on the account as long as the user has a Ring subscription. If they cancel the subscription, they’ll need to manually download any videos they want to keep to a phone or computer.