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Ring doorbells are collecting way more data than you think

The detailed look into the kind of information Ring is collecting comes as privacy and digital rights groups have raised alarms about the devices.

Photo of Andrew Wyrich

Andrew Wyrich

Ring Doorbell Recording Movements

Ring, the smart doorbell owned by Amazon, tracks every motion detected by the cameras, including when someone presses the doorbell button, according to a new report.

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BBC News made a Data Subject Access Request under the GDPR in January to learn more about what kind of information Ring doorbells collect. The news outlet found that the doorbells detect motions and catalog that action when the button is pressed by a visitor, or when someone activates the live video and audio to talk to someone in front of the doorbell.

The company also logs when its app was opened, if a user zoomed in on footage, and when a user starts and ends a live view, among other things.

The detailed look into the kind of information Ring is collecting comes as privacy and digital rights groups have raised alarms about the devices.

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Late last year, nearly 40 groups asked members of the public to demand Congress investigate Amazon’s “surveillance empire.” The groups have also pointed out a string of instances of the devices being hacked and a vulnerability that exposed WiFi passwords.

Last month Ring said it was making two-factor authentication mandatory when logging into its app.

Some members of Congress have probed Amazon about Ring’s relationship with law enforcement and its data security practices. Sen. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) last year found, among other things, Ring allows police to keep videos they request from users indefinitely.

You can read all of the BBC report here.

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