Reports Suggest Ring Allowed Employees Unfettered Access to Customer Camera Feeds

I am almost numb to big companies spying on consumers, so I wasn't genuinely surprised at this, especially the insinuation that Amazon was involved. I was genuinely alarmed when Ukraine was mentioned. I realize that it is (ostensibly) an independent country, but you might as well have said that the lab was next door to the KGB Cyber Research Center.
 
At least with Wyzecam, they're cheap. But Ring, Arlo, Nest, Ring, etc. are all crazy expensive for what they are. Might as well buy a regular Amcrest IP cam and a NVR (or any other brand), and control your own data. It's really not that much more, especially considering no monthly subscriptions ever with an NVR.
 
adrianlondon said:
Brilliant idea. Ring employees can look around inside your house, watch what you do/use and then order you stuff they think would be useful from Amazon.
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This is not an issue because my floodlight cams audio suck. They will not be able to hear anything.
 
Why am I not surprised? Apple is one of the few consumer technology companies that actually cares about your privacy and to the extent that it hampers things like Siri I’m fine with it. I don’t believe that alone explains how far behind Siri is from it’s competitors but I do believe that is a part of it. That is why I remain a loyal customer. You get what you pay for. The bitterness of low quality remains long after the sweetness of a low price.
 
We put 24/7 video and audio listening devices in our homes and are shocked by this? You think it's purely for convenience?
 
This makes me think about the main headline in the news here in Norway right now. A lady has been kidnapped and the kidnappers demand $10 million (yeah, the family is rich) in the cryptocurrency monero. Some security experts got interviewed and one of the main advices was to regularly change your schedules to prevent kidnapping.

So I think this incident with Ring isn’t only about privacy, but about how easily criminals can get hold of information that can be misused. I see some jokes here about videos of driveways but if videos of your porch or driveway can be bought that’s a bad thing. I sure don’t want criminals having an easy time doing research on what times our family members leave and return.

Not that I have to be paranoid about it, I have way to little money to be of any interest to kidnappers, guess that goes for most of us anyway;)
 
Rocko99991 said:
We put 24/7 video and audio listening devices in our homes and are shocked by this? You think it's purely for convenience?
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People don't get it.
The only thing that bugs me is T-Mobile, AT&T, et al selling data to people. This you have no control because they are using E911 and cell data. As far as devices listening to you. There is no way, I would put a Ring, Alexa, etc in my house. There is no way I will put an internet connected TV with a camera in my house. Devices with audio/video capability will never be permanently connected to my home network. Even my laptop has a cover over the camera.

Yeah, call me paranoid, but they are watching and listening.
 
Perhaps Apple should make one that works with Apple products and link it to their iCloud. Would one made by Apple be more secure?
What happens on your iPhone stays on your iPhone? Will what happens at your doorstep stay at your doorstep?
 
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What did we learn here?

If you're worried about people accessing your cams, then educate yourself on technology.

Maybe it's better to run your own webcams + NAS set up than to use a 3rd party cam service.
 
And people hem and haw about how far ahead Alexa and Google are than Siri and HomeKit. This is why they are “ahead.” Ridiculous (for sale) access to your life. Enjoy that! I’ll stick with HomeKit until you give me proof that my life is for sale there.
 
hobocamp456 said:
Again, wtf do you want cameras run by a company known to not give a **** about privacy all over your house?
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And yet I bet you still buy stuff from Amazon...

If you don't like it don't buy Ring and more importantly don't shop at Amazon. They will get the hint and either change or go out of business. Both of which are a net win for us all.
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BaltimoreMediaBlog said:
I was actually thinking of buying this. But now that I know this, I will alert everyone I know to avoid this like the Plague!
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Also put Amazon on your Do Not Shop list
 
Is anyone even surprised? If something has a camera or microphone, I just assume someone is hacking or abusing it, or it has bugs that allow these things to happen.
 
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