Here's how to disable Ring's creepy Search Party feature
Source: Engadget
Background
Ring aired a Super Bowl ad promoting its Search Party feature, which is intended to help reunite missing dogs with their owners. The feature works by turning individual Ring devices into a surveillance network: each camera uses AI to identify pets crossing its field of vision, and the feeds are pooled together to locate lost animals. While the goal is noble, the technology could theoretically be repurposed to track people.
The feature was first announced last year. According to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, it has helped find 99 lost dogs in its first 90 days of use. Approximately 10 million pets go missing in the United States each year, giving the feature an initial success rate of about 0.005 %. Critics worry that wider adoption could increase the potential for mass surveillance.
How to Disable Search Party
Disabling the feature in the Ring app is straightforward:
- Open the Ring app and tap the menu icon in the top‑left corner.
- Select Control Center.
- Scroll down to Search Party.
- Toggle the settings to Disable for both Search for Lost Pets and Natural Hazards.
- Repeat the process for each camera you own.
Quick PSA
If the Super Bowl commercial left you uneasy, you can turn off Search Party in just a few taps:
- Menu → Control Center
- Scroll to Search Party
- Toggle the blue icon to the off position
Additional Privacy Steps
If you want to further limit what Ring may share with law‑enforcement agencies, you can delete all saved videos:
- Tap the History icon in the app.
- Choose Delete All to remove every stored recording.