Ring has a new search tool that allows you to easily search for videos

How Do You Know About Video Doorbells, Doors, and other Home Security Devices? Comments on the Razor During the March 2023 Firefight by Tim Hamren

Over the past decade, Ring popularized home security through its video doorbells and a growing line of other security gadgets. Millions of Ring users have been stuck with a massive library of footage, with little to no features to easily FlashScore the information within it. Hamren, a former Microsoft and Meta hardware executive who joined in March 2023, wanted to bring users insights without them having to fiddle around too much. AI made that possible.

Ring has a significant shift in their pitch to potential customers due to the reign of Hamren. The ads about the tough-on-crime program were no longer showing suspicious characters. She pulled back on partnerships with police, which had seen Ring develop tools for users to easily share videos with law enforcement agencies without them having to obtain a warrant.

Our searches for terms some may consider sensitive, including “Black,” “turban,” and “gun,” yielded no results despite there being footage matching those descriptions. People were back in wheelchairs, and mothers pushed strollers. Ring will now block searches for disabled due to the risk of misuse.

Ring blocks all searches for content that it deems to be offensive, inappropriate, or harmful, according to Hamren. She declined to elaborate beyond saying that names of weapons and “qualitative terms about people or situations” are among those barred.

The Rise and Fall of the Ring Security Camera Brand: Ongoing Research, Social Media, and TVWatching, and Why Netflix Is Not Necessary

Historically, the latter option required her to tediously swipe through a video timeline in Ring’s app to identify if and when the box was picked up and by whom. But in recent weeks, Hamren has been able to let AI do the searching. She types “package today” into the app and right away can see the clip of her husband completing his duty, assuming he has.

Ring cameras have changed a lot. Since the security camera brand launched 11 years ago, its video doorbells and cams have become vigilant, constant surveyors of patios, porches, and vestibules everywhere. Amazon now owns the company, and has ushered it through controversies over privacy concerns, security breaches, incidents of vigilantism, and the company’s cozy relationship with law enforcement. The drama has not slowed growth; over 10 million Rings have been installed, and the cameras have been covering our urban and suburban landscape.

Read Paresh’s story about Ring’s AI updates. Read WIRED’s guides to the best indoor and outdoor security cameras. Read about Ring’s collection of user data and why we stopped recommending Ring cameras for two years.

Paresh recommends getting a subscription to watch live sports. Mike recommends searching for decoy security cameras you can install if your landlord requires you to put up a security camera. Lauren recommends the streaming shows Nobody Wants This and Killing Eve. Both are on Netflix.

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Paresh Dave can be found on social media. Lauren Goode is @LaurenGoode. Michael Calore is on social media. Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. The show is produced by a man. Our theme music is by Solar Keys.

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