Ring's end-to-end encryption rolls out globally

Ring has today announced that end-to-end encryption (E2E) has exited technical preview stage and is now available for many Ring users across the globe. Once activated, the footage captured by those doorbells is only viewable on the user’s enrolled mobile device, reducing the ability for third parties to see the clips. The news follows the rollout of a US-only technical preview from the start of the year, although it remains limited to the more premium versions of Ring’s connected doorbells.

At the same time, the company is rolling out support for third-party authentication apps for two-step verification. Similarly, users will now be greeted by CAPTCHAs when logging in to both the Ring app and Neighbors in order to further deter malicious types from trying to gain access. Plus, Ring is making it easier for you to sell your doorbell on by automating the system to transfer hardware within the app. 

The move comes shortly after the company announced a shift in how it dealt with requests for footage from law enforcement agencies. Rather than the previous system, officials now have to ask users in the vicinity of an incident to submit footage via a public feed. It comes in the wake of news that the company has partnerships with more than 2,000 fire and police departments, and that its Neighbors app was briefly publishing precise locations of people’s homes.