Ratings / Hardware
Critical Rating 1 / 5 · Critical — Active surveillance / serious risk.
Ring is a significant privacy threat due to a history of severe security failures and internal misuse of customer data. In May 2023, the FTC filed a complaint, leading to a $5.8 million settlement in June 2023, for allowing employees unrestricted access to customer videos and fai
Ring is a significant privacy threat due to a history of severe security failures and internal misuse of customer data. In May 2023, the FTC filed a complaint, leading to a $5.8 million settlement in June 2023, for allowing employees unrestricted access to customer videos and failing to implement adequate security, enabling hackers to take control of accounts. This followed an acknowledgment in January 2020 of employees improperly accessing customer videos, with one employee viewing thousands of recordings in 2017. Furthermore, in December 2019, over 3,600 account credentials were leaked after hackers exploited vulnerabilities. While Ring's privacy notice (S0) states it collects "video or audio recordings, live video or audio streams" and claims to "maintain administrative, technical and physical safeguards," these incidents demonstrate a failure to protect this sensitive data. A class-action lawsuit in June 2026 also alleges the "Familiar Faces" feature collects biometric data without consent.
The full methodological and legal context for this rating. This card is what we point to when asked to substantiate the claim.