The Ring has been getting a lot of critical press lately, with concerns about local police and law enforcement potentially gaining access to surveillance cameras across the country. Anti-ICE activists have been calling for a boycott of Ring’s announcement that it will partner with Flock Safety, which has built a nationwide surveillance network used by police to track license plates. And it’s not like any of these concerns are really new. The ring has received heat for privacy concerns for most of its existence, though there has been renewed interest in how surveillance tech is being used in 2026 as federal agents search cities like Minneapolis, threatening anyone who isn’t white with deportation and killing bystanders on the streets.
It is against this backdrop of bad PR that Ring, an Amazon subsidiary, has expanded a feature that helps people find their lost dogs. And although the company praises this feature for helping to find almost one dog a day, an admirable success, undoubtedly celebrated by pet owners across the country, it comes at a time when every American is trying to weigh the pros and cons of covering the globe with cameras that watch all our movements.
“Ring has extended Search Party for Dogs, an AI-powered community feature that lets your Ring outdoor cameras help reunite lost dogs with their families, to anyone in the US who needs help finding their lost pup,” Amazon said in a press release posted online Monday.
I The Search Party feature allows Ring users to issue an alert to neighbors within the Ring ecosystem if their dog goes missing, similar to existing apps like PawBoost. And neighbors can opt in to have their own camera on the lookout for any dog that may look similar. The feature has been expanded to allow people without Ring cameras to download the app and send their lost dog in as well.
Everyone can get behind the idea of helping find lost dogs. But this feature feels like a PR move to draw attention away from the threat of universal surveillance in an apparently liberal society: the fact that all of America’s resources can be turned on them at a moment’s notice. If you don’t like it, well, I guess you like stray dogs.
Ring says federal law enforcement is not given access to features that allow authorities to request access to videos from Ring users. The company explains that local police must make a minimum request for photography in a specific area and a time-limited request within a 12-hour period. Police also need to provide an investigation number and describe what type of crime they are investigating, something users can search for when trying to decide whether to hand over their footage to the police. A Ring spokesperson told Gizmodo on Monday that they had not yet seen immigration-related requests and that if the company found a local police department was secretly providing an agency like ICE with security footage, it would cut that department off from access.
“Ring is not affiliated with ICE, does not provide ICE videos, feeds, or background access, and does not share video with them,” Ring spokeswoman Emma Daniels told Gizmodo in a statement.
But those protections may be cold comfort in a political environment where the US federal government doesn’t seem bound by any rules. A Minnesota judge recently noted that ICE violated nearly 100 court orders in the state during January alone.
Authorities can also obtain videos directly from Ring through a subpoena, and the company told Gizmodo that an executive warrant is not enough.
“Like all companies, Ring may receive lawful and binding requests for information from law enforcement, such as search warrants, subpoenas, or court orders,” Daniels said. “We do not disclose customer information unless required to do so by law, or in rare emergency situations where there is imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury. Outside of that legal process, customers control what videos are shared with law enforcement.”
Judicial warrants are issued by actual judges who are part of the judicial branch, as opposed to immigration “judges” who sit under the executive branch and the US Department of Justice. The distinction is important because administrative credentials are not sufficient to claim entry into a private residence. However, the New York Times reported last week that ICE has told its agents that administrative warrants are enough to raid any house they want.
All of this means that when breaking laws, it is important to pay attention to what private individuals and companies are doing. Will Ring really pull the plug if ICE tries to abuse their power or get access to footage through the local police department? We really don’t know. And since we’re all getting used to being constantly on video thanks to a combination of state surveillance and private cameras, it makes sense that a company like Ring would want to highlight the beauty of our global panopticon.
One good thing? It’s easy to help your neighbors find Fido. Unfortunately, it can also help the feds find your neighbor.
