Overview
- Search Party lets users post a lost‑dog photo in the Ring app, prompting nearby participating outdoor cameras to scan for matches via AI, with clip sharing decided by each camera owner; Ring says it does not scan human faces.
- The Super Bowl LX commercial prompted bipartisan social media criticism that labeled the concept dystopian and likened it to an on‑demand neighborhood surveillance grid.
- Ring recently expanded the feature so anyone in the U.S. can initiate a search through the free app without owning Ring hardware, and it is turned on by default with per‑camera opt‑out controls.
- Amazon and Ring defended the rollout, citing 99 dogs reunited in the first 90 days, training on tens of thousands of dog videos, and assurances that users retain control over whether to share footage.
- Reporting revisited concerns over Ring’s past practices and its partnership with Flock Safety that enables police to request user videos, as multiple outlets published instructions to disable the feature or delete saved recordings.