--- title: "Ring Boasts About Power to Surveil Entire Neighborhoods" description: "Amazon's Ring Doorbell company just revealed a startling new feature meant to canvas whole neighborhoods to track down living things." date: "2026-02-11" modified: "2026-02-11" authors: - name: "Joe Wilkins" job_title: "Correspondent" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins" url: "https://futurism.com/future-society/ring-doorbell-surveillance-dog" categories: - "Future Society" - "Privacy" --- # Ring Boasts About Power to Surveil Entire Neighborhoods ![Ring ad showing an aerial view of a suburban neighborhood with multiple houses and streets, overlaid with blue circular digital effects indicating surveillance or search zones. Text says "Introducing Search Party."]() *Ring* When Ring's latest commercial came on over a Super Bowl ad break, it offered a service that seems like a no-brainer. Called "Search Party," it's a new function that lets Ring devices help canvas the neighborhood through its vast network of cameras to find lost pets. "One post of a dog's photo in the Ring app starts outdoor cameras looking for a match to help families find lost dogs," the company's Super Bowl ad enthuses. Yet beneath all that is a startling revelation: that Ring doorbells can now surveil living beings throughout every neighborhood the devices might be found. For those unfamiliar, Ring is Amazon's doorbell camera company — those ubiquitous gadgets mounted on front porches that record everyone who walks by. The devices have been the target of [widespread]() [privacy]() [criticisms]() for years at this point. However, their [latest data sharing agreement]() with surveillance company Flock has many activists up in arms, as *that* startup has no qualms with working closely with [federal agencies]() like Immigration and Customs Enforcement. With those kind of optics swirling around, the decision to highlight new dog-finding capabilities is a clever PR move for Ring. Who would say no to reuniting lost puppies with their families? At the same time, the new Search Party function represents a troubling development. Where the company's [Fire Watch system]() is said to index neighborhood devices to watch for signs of fire emergencies, the Search Party function means the company is capable of tracking living things as well. Who decides when and how to deploy that power is another story — but it's obvious that Ring has opened Pandora's box. As [*MS Now* columnist]() Hayes Brown observed: "there's no world in which finding lost dogs is the final end-use for this technology." "Ring's Search Party feature does what neighbors have done for generations — help reunite lost dogs with their families — just with better technology," a Ring spokesperson told us in a statement. "We built the feature with strong privacy protections from the start and camera owners choose on a case-by-case basis whether they want to share videos with a pet owner to support a reunion. Since launch, Search Party has helped bring home more than a dog a day." **More on surveillance:** *[AI Surveillance Systems Are Causing a Staggering Number of Wrongful Arrests]()* ## Author At Futurism, I focus on the intersection of technology and power — examining the economics, history, and politics behind today’s dystopian headlines. As a writer, I’m interested in topics ranging from AI’s impact on labor to startups nobody asked for. My prior work includes bylines in Jacobin, Verso, and Blue Labyrinths. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Forbes, The Guardian, MIT Technology Review, Time, The Nation, Mother Jones, The Verge, and Wired. I grew up in Michigan, attending Central Michigan University as well as Ball State University, where I earned a master of music. I now live in Brooklyn with my girlfriend and our cat Ziti. On weekends, you can find me hunched over a cold pint arguing geopolitics with the other transplants. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()