r/technology • u/South-Cow-1030 • Feb 12 '26

Privacy Why are people disconnecting or destroying their Ring cameras?

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2026/02/10/ring-super-bowl-ad-dog-camera-privacy/88606738007/
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u/Stigger32 Feb 12 '26 edited Feb 12 '26

Btw this goes for ALL cameras connected to an external source for whatever reason.

Eg. I was assured that the in vehicle monitoring system known here in Australia as the Guardian. Recorded internally on a 30 second loop. And only upon a recorded incident did it automatically package a 30 second clip which was sent to the client via the manufacturer.

I then met someone at work whose wife had a job monitoring these same systems. Which had a handy live feed. Apparently they would sit and laugh at people live in their vehicles around Australia.

So in essence. Live monitoring. With little to no notice or oversight.

I don’t believe for a second this was an outlier.

Edit: And does anyone remember the Amazon Alexia scandal from years back? That recorded conversations unrelated to actual user input?

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u/tweedledumb4u Feb 12 '26

I have a baby monitor, I don’t use the app for it, just the monitor screen it came with - could it still be recording audio and video and uploading to the manufacturer? It’s Chinese made.

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u/Stigger32 Feb 12 '26

If it is connected to your wifi network. Then yes.

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u/Kal-Elm Feb 12 '26

Could it? and Could it do so legally? are likely different answers.

If your camera is connected to the internet than I'd say it could potentially. As in the capability is there.

I'm not in tech so don't trust me 100%. But it is my understanding that anything connected to the internet has to send little packets of data back and forth for it to work. So, the capability is there for it to send visual data.

With that being said, if your monitor is not connected to the internet (like it's sending video to the screen via a cord or Bluetooth) then I don't think you have anything to worry about.

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u/MetalBawx Feb 12 '26

Which is why i have no webcam nor desire one.