Has the community seen the report from the EFF on the spyware in the ring android app? https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/01/ring-doorbell-app-packed-third-party-trackers
I hope Ring will respond to this!
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Hi @SP11,
First and foremost, we want to remind you that at Ring, privacy is foundational - and guides every decision we make.
Like many companies, Ring uses third-party service providers to understand the use of our mobile app, which helps us improve features, optimize your customer experience, and evaluate the effectiveness of our marketing. We care deeply about providing our neighbors with the best possible experience and leverage these tools to help us do so.
We want to ensure you that these service providers’ use of the data provided is contractually limited to appropriate purposes, such as performing these services on our behalf, and not for other purposes. Ring is not in the business of selling customer information.For more information, please reference our Privacy Notice on Ring.com/privacy.
Thank you,
Chelsea
I too just saw the EFF article today. There are a couple posts about this scattered throughout the Ring community, so it seems as if most customers are not aware. As I was researching this, I came across this article from January 9, which I was not aware of either:
“Ring fires four employees for abusing access to customer videos”
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ring-fires-employees-for-abusing-access-to-customer-videos-2020-01-09/
Like many on this board, we have a lot invested in Ring products. I was avoiding Nest because it is owned by Google, and then to hear that Ring gave my data to Google AND Facebook…?!
This is the OPPOSITE of security and peace of mind!!!
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The only way to have peace of mind is not to connect anything to internet. Otherwise we are beeing exposed every minute of our life to algos. One way or the other.
Btw i got those news from google stories who massively put anti ring news for me to read because of course knows that i have ring app installed lol
Hey google i will stick with ring, will not change eheheh
hi Chelsea,
How is it OK to share personal data with thinrd party companies such as Facebook and Google? Why would you need to share my IP address, email address, full name, address, time zone, etc; with them?
How is this limited data? How?
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You are saying that Privacy guided you to share data with Facebook and AppFlyer. I fail to see how the core value of privacy leads to this policy. I fail to see how transmitting unencrypted data over the internet is motivated by the core value of privacy.
People and companies make mistakes and fail to live up to their own values. Perhaps this is the time to recognize this, fix the issue, and figure out how to ensure your values, which are great, are consistently upheld.
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This facile self-serving reply says nothing about the serious claims made here. I do not trust this app at all on iPhone, and I would NEVER use the Android version after reading this respected privacy advocate’s (EFF) report.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/01/ring-doorbell-app-packed-third-party-trackers
"Conclusion
Ring claims to prioritize the security and privacy of its customers, yet time and again we’ve seen _ these claims not only fall short, but harm the customers and community members who engage with Ring’s surveillance system _. In the past, we’ve illuminated the mismanagement of user information which has led to data breaches, and the attempt to place the blame for such blunders at the customers’ feet.
_ This goes a step beyond that, by simply delivering sensitive data to third parties not accountable to Ring or bound by the trust placed in the customer-vendor relationship. _ As we’ve mentioned, _ this includes information about your device and carrier, unique identifiers that allow these companies to track you across apps, real-time interaction data with the app, and information about your home network _. In the case of MixPanel, it _ even includes your name and email address _. This data is given to parties either only mentioned briefly, _ buried on an internal page _ users are unlikely to ever see, or not listed at all."