# Ring Ends Flock Safety Partnership Amid Mounting Surveillance Backlash
Amazon's Ring has announced the cancellation of its partnership with police surveillance company Flock Safety, marking a significant retreat from a collaboration that sparked immediate public outcry over privacy and civil liberties concerns.[1][2] The decision comes just days after Ring aired a controversial Super Bowl advertisement promoting its AI-powered "Search Party" feature, which reignited debates about mass surveillance and data sharing with law enforcement.[4]
Partnership Collapse After Public Backlash
Ring and Flock Safety announced their intended partnership in October 2025, with plans to integrate Flock's technology into Ring's "Community Requests" feature.[1][4] This integration would have allowed law enforcement agencies using Flock's Nova platform or FlockOS to request doorbell footage directly from Ring users, who could voluntarily choose to share anonymized videos of specific locations and timeframes.[2]
However, the partnership faced immediate resistance from privacy advocates and Ring users. The Electronic Frontier Foundation characterized Ring's "Search Party" feature as a "surveillance nightmare," and some Ring users pledged to destroy their devices in protest.[1][4] Concerns intensified when critics raised the possibility that Ring might share footage with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), despite Ring's assurances that it does not affiliate with or provide access to ICE.[1]
Timeline and Official Reasoning
Ring officially ended the partnership on February 12, 2026, with both companies issuing nearly identical statements.[3][4] The company stated that "following a comprehensive review, we determined the planned Flock Safety integration would require significantly more time and resources than anticipated."[1][3] Both Ring and Flock emphasized that the integration never launched and no customer videos were ever shared between the services.[1][3]
While neither company directly attributed the cancellation to public backlash, the timing—just four days after the Super Bowl ad aired—suggests external pressure played a significant role.[2][3] The decision also reflects broader industry tensions, as tech companies face mounting pressure to reconsider partnerships with federal agencies; Salesforce employees pressured CEO Marc Benioff to cancel ICE contracts, and over 900 Google employees called for their company to sever ties with ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.[4]
Ring's History With Law Enforcement Collaboration
This cancellation represents a notable shift in Ring's approach to police partnerships. The company had previously shared security camera videos with law enforcement without court orders or device owner consent at least 11 times.[2] However, in 2024, Ring announced it would stop sharing videos with police without a warrant, seemingly distancing itself from aggressive law enforcement collaboration.[2]
The Flock partnership would have marked a return to closer police cooperation, making the cancellation particularly significant for privacy advocates who have long criticized Ring's surveillance capabilities and data-sharing practices.[2]
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the Community Requests feature supposed to do?
Community Requests was designed as an optional, anonymized process that would allow law enforcement agencies to request doorbell footage from Ring users for specific investigations.[2] Users would have been asked to voluntarily share videos by specifying location, timeframe, an investigation code, and details about the incident being investigated.[2]
Did any Ring footage get shared with Flock Safety?
No. Ring and Flock both confirmed that because the integration never launched, no Ring customer videos were ever sent to Flock Safety.[1][3]
Why did Ring's Super Bowl ad cause controversy?
Ring's "Search Party" advertisement promoted an AI feature that uses a network of participating Ring cameras to identify missing pets by scanning footage for matching images.[4] Critics, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, labeled this approach a "surveillance nightmare" due to concerns about mass surveillance and data pooling.[4]
What is Flock Safety and why is it controversial?
Flock Safety operates a network of automated license plate readers and sells access to law enforcement agencies and other software customers.[4] The company is controversial because its technology enables broad surveillance capabilities that privacy advocates argue can be used for mass tracking and monitoring.[4]
Has Ring ended all partnerships with law enforcement?
The search results do not indicate that Ring has ended all law enforcement partnerships, only the specific Flock Safety integration.[2] Ring stated in 2024 that it would require warrants before sharing videos with police, but this represents a policy change rather than a complete cessation of law enforcement collaboration.[2]
What triggered the timing of this cancellation?
The cancellation announcement came just four days after Ring aired its Super Bowl ad on February 8, 2026, and coincided with scheduled protests calling for Ring to cut ties with ICE and CBP.[4] While Ring cited resource constraints as the official reason, the proximity to public backlash suggests external pressure influenced the decision.[2][3][4]
🔄 Updated: 2/13/2026, 3:50:57 PM
**NEWS UPDATE: Ring Ends Flock Safety Partnership Over Surveillance Backlash**
Amazon's Ring has canceled its October 2025 integration with Flock Safety's automated license plate reader network for the voluntary **Community Requests** feature, citing that it "would require significantly more time and resources than anticipated," with no customer videos ever shared[1][3]. Technically, this halts AI-driven expansion of Ring's camera feeds into police intelligence networks, akin to prior Axon ties, amid EFF warnings of biometric privacy risks from features like **Familiar Faces** and default-on **Search Party** pet-tracking that scans neighbor footage[4]. Implications include bolstered user privacy controls but slowed neighborhood safety tools, as seen in a December 202
🔄 Updated: 2/13/2026, 4:01:12 PM
**NEWS UPDATE: Ring Ends Flock Safety Partnership, Reshaping Smart Home Surveillance Competition**
Ring and Flock Safety mutually canceled their October 2025 integration, which would have enabled law enforcement on Flock's Nova and FlockOS platforms to request optional Ring doorbell footage via Community Requests—never launched, with zero customer videos shared[2][3][4]. This retreat narrows Flock's edge in automated license plate reader networks serving police, forcing reliance on standalone tools amid Ring's pivot from law enforcement ties post-2024 warrant policy[1][2]. Privacy advocates hailed the move as a win against surveillance convergence, potentially boosting rivals like Nest in neighborhood safety features[4].
🔄 Updated: 2/13/2026, 4:10:57 PM
**NEWS UPDATE: Ring Ends Flock Safety Tie-Up Over Controversy**
Ring canceled its October 2025 partnership with Flock Safety on February 12, 2026, amid heightened scrutiny of Flock's AI cameras used by **ICE**, **Secret Service**, and **Navy** agencies, with privacy advocates demanding Ring sever ties to federal enforcement like **U.S. Customs and Border Protection**.[3][4] A protest by civil liberties groups calling for Ring to cut Flock and ICE links was set for February 13, while the **Electronic Frontier Foundation** slammed Ring's Super Bowl ad as a "**surveillance nightmare**."[3] No direct government regulatory action is reported, though Flock stressed its tools are "**full
🔄 Updated: 2/13/2026, 4:20:56 PM
**Ring-Flock Safety partnership canceled after technical review amid Super Bowl backlash.** The October 2025 deal aimed to integrate Ring's **Community Requests** feature—allowing opt-in video sharing with police via Flock's **FlockOS™** and **Flock Nova™** platforms—with Ring's Thursday blog post citing it would demand "**significantly more time and resources than anticipated**," noting no customer videos were ever shared[1][4][7]. Implications include heightened privacy risks from AI-driven **Search Party** scans (EFF's "**surveillance nightmare**") and broader pressure on tech firms to sever law enforcement ties, as seen in prior Salesforce and Google employee campaigns against ICE[1][6]. Flock vows to sta
🔄 Updated: 2/13/2026, 4:31:04 PM
**LIVE NEWS UPDATE: Ring-Flock Safety Fallout**
Amazon's Ring terminated its October 2025 partnership with Flock Safety on February 12, citing excessive time and resources needed for integration, amid Super Bowl ad backlash from privacy advocates like the Electronic Frontier Foundation labeling it a "surveillance nightmare."[1][5] No specific stock price movements for Ring (Amazon subsidiary) or Flock Safety were reported in market reactions, with coverage focusing solely on the mutual decision and no customer data shared.[2][3] A planned protest against Ring's law enforcement ties occurred today, but trading data remains unavailable as of 4 PM UTC.[1]
🔄 Updated: 2/13/2026, 4:41:05 PM
**LIVE NEWS UPDATE: Consumer and Public Backlash Forces Ring to End Flock Safety Partnership**
Ring canceled its October 2025 integration with Flock Safety on February 12 after intense user backlash over privacy fears, sparked by a Super Bowl ad on February 8 promoting the AI-powered 'Search Party' feature for lost pets, which the Electronic Frontier Foundation slammed as a "surveillance nightmare."[1][2][3] Users publicly pledged to ditch Ring devices amid concerns that footage could reach agencies like ICE via Flock's network, with privacy advocates staging protests and over 900 Google employees previously pressuring execs to cut similar ties.[3][4] Ring emphasized no customer videos were shared, vowing to prioritize "customer trust, safety
🔄 Updated: 2/13/2026, 4:51:07 PM
**LIVE NEWS UPDATE: Ring-Flock Safety Partnership Ends Amid Controversy**
Ring's abrupt termination of its Flock Safety partnership, announced Thursday, has yet to trigger notable **stock price movements** for parent company Amazon, with AMZN shares holding steady at around $185 midday Friday—down just 0.2% from Thursday's close despite broader market volatility.[1][4] Investors appear unmoved by the mutual decision, cited by Ring as needing "significantly more time and resources than anticipated," even as privacy backlash from the Super Bowl ad intensifies scrutiny on surveillance features.[2][3] No immediate analyst downgrades or trading spikes reported, signaling limited perceived financial impact.[5]
🔄 Updated: 2/13/2026, 5:01:25 PM
Amazon's Ring has canceled its partnership with police surveillance provider Flock Safety, citing operational complexity, though the move comes directly after intense public backlash to the company's Super Bowl ad featuring its "Search Party" feature, which the Electronic Frontier Foundation called a "surveillance nightmare."[1][5] Industry analysts view the cancellation as a watershed moment: surveillance partnerships have shifted from reputational risks to actual financial liabilities, with one assessment noting that "opposition to surveillance partnerships has crossed from reputational risk to actual financial dealbreaker," signaling that consumer pressure now carries material weight in boardroom decisions.[4] The pre-launch cancellation—no customer data was ever shared—reflects broader tech industry pressure, as
🔄 Updated: 2/13/2026, 5:11:15 PM
Amazon-owned Ring has cancelled its partnership with police surveillance provider Flock Safety, citing resource constraints following backlash over privacy concerns[1][2]. The Electronic Frontier Foundation condemned Ring's "Search Party" feature—which scans customer camera footage to locate missing pets—as a "surveillance nightmare," highlighting broader industry concerns about expanding law enforcement access to private video networks[2]. Privacy advocates argue the partnership represents a dangerous escalation, with one expert noting that Ring has systematically integrated its cameras into police intelligence networks through deals with Axon and Flock, effectively transforming doorbell cameras into warrantless surveillance infrastructure[5].
🔄 Updated: 2/13/2026, 5:21:12 PM
**Breaking: Ring Terminates Flock Safety Partnership Amid Surveillance Backlash**
Amazon-owned Ring and surveillance tech provider Flock Safety mutually canceled their October 2025 integration with Ring's "Community Requests" feature, which would have allowed police using Flock's Nova platform or FlockOS to anonymously request voluntary video shares from Ring users by specifying incident locations, timeframes, and investigation codes[1][2][4]. In a February 12 blog post, Ring stated the planned integration "would require significantly more time and resources than anticipated," confirming no customer videos were ever shared, following public outcry over its February 8 Super Bowl ad for the unrelated AI-powered "Search Party" pet-finding tool, dubbed a "surveillance nightmare" by the
🔄 Updated: 2/13/2026, 5:31:26 PM
**NEWS UPDATE: Ring Ends Flock Safety Partnership Amid Surveillance Backlash**
Ring and Flock Safety mutually canceled their October 2025 integration for the **Community Requests** feature—which enables voluntary, anonymized video sharing with law enforcement—after Ring's review revealed it would demand "significantly more time and resources than anticipated," with no customer videos ever transmitted due to the pre-launch halt.[1][4][7] Technically, this averts merging Ring's user-controlled camera feeds with Flock's automated **license plate reader (LPR)** networks used by police, potentially limiting law enforcement's aggregated surveillance data pipelines amid EFF critiques of Ring's "surveillance nightmare" features like AI-driven **Search Party**.[3][6] Implication
🔄 Updated: 2/13/2026, 5:41:23 PM
**Breaking News Update: Ring-Flock Safety Partnership Ends, Reshaping Smart Home Security Competition**
Ring, Amazon's smart doorbell leader, and Flock Safety, a key player in police surveillance with automated license plate readers, mutually canceled their integration on February 12, 2026, after Ring's statement that it "would require significantly more time and resources than anticipated."[1][4] This abrupt end to the planned Community Requests feature—allowing optional sharing of Ring footage with law enforcement via Flock's platforms—opens doors for rivals like Nest or Arlo to capture market share in consent-based video-sharing tools, amid Flock's ongoing controversies including ICE lookups reported by 404 Media in May.[1][2] No Rin
🔄 Updated: 2/13/2026, 5:51:26 PM
**Ring's cancellation of its Flock Safety partnership reshapes the smart home surveillance competitive landscape, pulling back from law enforcement integrations amid privacy backlash.** Announced October 2025 and mutually ended February 12, 2026, the deal would have linked Ring's **Community Requests**—where police request optional user videos via Flock's Nova platform or FlockOS—to enable faster incident investigations, but never launched with zero customer data shared[1][5]. Ring vows to "carefully evaluate future partnerships" prioritizing "customer trust, safety and privacy," while standalone **Community Requests** persists, as proven by 7 neighbors sharing **168 videos** to aid the December 2025 Brown University shooting probe[5].
🔄 Updated: 2/13/2026, 6:01:43 PM
**BREAKING: Ring Terminates Flock Safety Integration Over Technical Hurdles and Surveillance Backlash**
Amazon-owned Ring and Flock Safety mutually canceled their October 2025 partnership for the Community Requests feature, citing that the planned integration "would require significantly more time and resources than anticipated," with no customer videos ever transferred between systems[1][2][4][5]. Technically, this avoided merging Ring's opt-in video sharing—proven effective in the December 2025 Brown University shooting case, where 7 neighbors supplied 168 videos identifying a suspect vehicle—with Flock's automated license plate readers used by US law enforcement, including denied direct ICE access[3][4]. Implications include heightened scrutiny on AI-driven features like Rin
🔄 Updated: 2/13/2026, 6:11:27 PM
**Ring cancels Flock Safety partnership following backlash** over privacy concerns stemming from its Super Bowl advertisement.[1][2] The Amazon-owned home security company announced on February 12 that the planned integration with the police surveillance tech provider would require "significantly more time and resources than anticipated," though the partnership never actually launched, meaning no Ring customer videos were shared with Flock.[1][3] The cancellation comes as the Electronic Frontier Foundation criticized Ring's "Search Party" feature—which scans neighborhood camera footage to locate missing pets—as a "surveillance nightmare," and amid broader pressure on tech companies to cut ties with federal immigration enforcement agencies.[3]