Ring Security Cameras
Modes Update Concern
I received the Modes feature last night, and it appears that Modes is not a system wide setting, which leads to huge hassle (and privacy nightmare) if you have multiple users or devices with the app logged in. If you turn on Modes and have it disable your indoor camera when your alarm is in disarm mode, that setting DOES NOT transfer to any other users or devices. Problem - That means the camera is still recording clips and sending notifications to all other devices unless you repeat the same steps on ALL devices and ALL users. This also means, the software is simply disabling the app from sending notifications or viewing live, but does not actually turn off the camera or prevent streaming to the cloud. I'd consider this a big privacy miss, since I don't want my indoor cameras active while I'm home or Ring Alarm is in disarm. At any point any of the users could need to reinstall apps or change a setting on their phone and start triggering recordings again, uploading a massive number of clips to the cloud. Bad deal Ring, make these Modes system wide or they're useless. Also, the Modes needs to actually disable indoor cameras, not just prevent the apps from viewing the still active stream.
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11-12-2019 01:36:16
Responses (5)
- D
Agreed. I think the inability to securely turn off video AND audio recording or even live monitoring is what will make me return the Ring floodlight cam. Committing to having a camera on all the time whether you want it on or not, is NOT what I thought I was signing up for.
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13-12-2019 05:06:37
- B
Mode aside . . . I think indoor cameras are always going to be an issue, trusting any system to not record. The only way to trust an indoor camera is not recording is to cut the power. Amazon never could convince echo spot users (of which I was one) it was OK to have a camera on your nightstand (software turned off, sure), I put tape over mine, and now the new echo show devices have a hard shutter you can close over the camera. Consider putting a smart plug on all indoor cameras, then only turn the power on when you want. Yes, one more step when you enter or leave the house . . .alexa, turn on the cameras. But the only way you will really know. Outdoor cameras . . . I don't care, let some employee watch my driveway if they have nothing better to do.
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13-12-2019 06:48:55
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JGood idea and I agree with you about indoor cameras. I have all the shutters on my shows closed and I keep them that way. I would never have cameras indoors. I just don't trust them no matter what company makes them and I really see no need. I have a security system, and the outdoor cameras and I am home all day for the most part. And if they see outside of my house I really don't care. Maybe they'll see my carrying one of my guns and think twice. lol
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13-12-2019 08:40:08
- O
Absolutely. We need an easy and automatic way to turn motion recording **OFF** based upon the state of our system. Simply disabling the sending of notifications is **NOT** what any privacy-minded customer is asking for here.
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18-12-2019 11:48:57
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B> @OAW wrote: > > We need an easy and automatic way to turn motion recording **OFF** There is no way that Ring can cut the power to a camera and turn it back on (it will have no power). And cutting the power is the only way you really know the camera is off. I suppose Ring could have a electronic shutter cover that you could verify the lense is covered, but no one has that so I would not expect Ring to do it either. I stand by my earlier post in this thread . . .
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19-12-2019 05:29:09
OI don't think anyone ... certainly not myself ... is expecting Ring to automatically turn the **POWER** of its cameras on/off based upon the selected "mode". What we are asking for is for Ring to automatically turn **MOTION RECORDING** on/off based upon the selected "mode". And to **NOT** just disable notifications while continuing to record whenever someone walks into a room in the privacy of their own home. Now I have yet to see this feature despite Ring saying it would be available in Nov. 2019 .... so I don't know how it is actually going to work for myself. But the OP has indicated that it's simply disabling notifications while surreptiously continuing to do motion recording in the background. And that's a major privacy issue and simply not what we expect out of this feature. That being said ... if one is the type of person who puts tape over the webcam on their laptop then an indoor security camera is simply not the product for you. From Ring or any other company. For those of us who aren't taking it to those levels we simply want to have complete and automated control over the **MOTION RECORDING** functionality of these devices.
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19-12-2019 06:03:37
B> @OAW wrote: > > I don't think anyone ... certainly not myself ... is expecting Ring to automatically turn the **POWER** of its cameras on/off based upon the selected "mode". Would not be that hard. Using a smart plug when disarmed you could cut power to the smart plug (and therefore the camera). When armed power back up. A 'mode' could control that. You would just need a z-wave plug that could be controlled in the 'mode'.
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19-12-2019 09:40:41
- O
@echelon I found this on the Ring website. It suggests there's a way to control the "Modes" feature **GLOBALLY** and at the **DEVICE** level. " **How do I configure Modes?** There are two ways to configure how your devices will behave. One is a **global** control that lets you configure all of your devices at once. To get to this control, follow these instructions: - Open the Ring app. - Tap the three-lined icon in the upper-right corner to open the side menu. - Tap **Mode Settings.** - Tap the mode you want to configure. - Set how you want your devices to behave in that mode **Note:** You can also disable modes completely using this control. **Note: ** If you configure “Live View disable” through the Modes settings, it will not disable Live View on Rapid Ring app or the desktop clients. **Each device also has mode controls that can be set individually, that can be accessed from the Device Settings screen**." [https://support.ring.com/hc/en-us/articles/360036107792-Control-All-your-Ring-Cameras-with-Modes](https://support.ring.com/hc/en-us/articles/360036107792-Control-All-your-Ring-Cameras-with-Modes) Perhaps you can give them both a try and let us know if it actually makes a difference?
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19-12-2019 08:10:55
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MThank you for this feedback neighbors! At Ring, we take your security very seriously. Modes is an in-app feature that simplifies how neighbors interact with their Ring devices while providing an added layer of privacy. The disarmed mode, by default, will indeed disable live view and alerts for yourself, and shared users, on the primary mobile application. Please ensure your app and any shared users' apps are up to date for these Mode changes to reflect. **Ring is always working to improve your experience with our features and be aligned across all apps.** Keep in mind also, our Indoor and Stick Up Cams feature a [Record Motion](https://support.ring.com/hc/en-us/articles/360022016591-Using-the-Motion-Record-Control-to-Disable-Recording) toggle to disable motion recording as desired.
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19-12-2019 09:10:34
O@Marley\_Ring I'm going to respond to your **EXACT WORDS**.... "The disarmed mode, by default, will indeed disable live view and **alerts** for yourself, and shared users, on the primary mobile application." And therein lies the problem! Right there you said the "disarmed" mode would disable **ALERTS**... not **MOTION RECORDING**. Basically what that says to me is that if my daugher was home alone with the system set to "disarmed" mode ... then came out of the shower and walked through a room with an indoor security cam installed ... the camera would still detect her motion and record her. But I just wouldn't get a notification about it. Oh gee thanks .... What you are describing is a major problem! Again simply disabling **ALERTS/NOTIFICATIONS** is not even close to good enough. Did your Product Manager fall and bump his/her head? What possibly makes them think any of their customers wants an indoor security camera surreptiously recording them whenever they are walking around in the privacy of their own home in various states of dress, undress, or whatever the case may be? Or recording private, family discussions just because someone walked into a room? Yes we have the **Record Motion** toggle. The problem is that requires us to turn it on/off **manually**. If the "Modes" feature does not control that toggle for end users **automatically** as we specify then it is utterly pointless. It needs to enable the end user to have **complete** and **automated** control over the **MOTION RECORDING** feature. Period. Full stop.
•2
19-12-2019 09:45:10
CI still don't hav the "Mode Settings" option in my Ring app - is this still rolling out? When will it be 100%. Also the web page above describes the modes in more detail: These three different modes are available to control the state of your home: - **Disarmed** : Select Disarmed Mode when you’re at home and want the freedom to go in and out of your house easily. You can, for example, turn off the motion detectors on all of your front yard cameras to avoid getting alerts while you’re at home. - **For Alarm users: ** When Disarmed, no Alarm sensors in your home will be armed and no alerts will be sent to the monitoring station, but the system will still be powered on and functioning. Fire and CO sensors (if they are attached to the system) will still be monitored. - **Home Mode** : Select Home Mode when you want the outside cameras of your house activated but want to be able to move freely around the inside of your home. - **For Alarm Users:** In Home mode, only certain sensors will be armed. You can control which sensors will be monitored in Home mode by visiting Mode Settings in the Ring app. - **Away Mode:** Select Away Mode to fully secure your house when you leave. You can set all of your cameras, both inside and out, to record your home in this mode. - **For Alarm users: ** When Away Mode is turned on, all of your sensors will be armed and an alert will be issued if any of them detect a security issue. Note that you can also control which sensors will be monitored in Away mode by visiting Mode Settings in the Ring app.
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20-12-2019 03:07:58
OIt definitely isn’t just you. I’ve seen a few different Ring employees say it would be “slow rolled out” to all customers this month. But even with the 5.2.1 release on 12/31/19 there’s still no sign of it. Just the latest example of Ring making promises to its customer base that it does not keep.
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31-12-2019 10:18:00
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Echelon
Well, two days without a reply pretty much tells me what Ring thinks about my privacy.
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13-12-2019 04:32:24
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