Last checked: October 13, 2026.
Ring is Amazon’s doorbell and security camera brand and one of the most popular in the US. The company is rock solid. The question is how much you depend on its cloud and its subscription.
Why 86%
- Starting point94%A tech giant that is clearly staying in smart home.
- Track record−3Privacy problems, including a 2023 FTC settlement, but it has not switched off its devices.
- Works without the cloud−5Cloud-only, and saved recordings need a subscription.
- Our estimate86%
The good news: Amazon is not going to shut Ring down any time soon, and Ring keeps releasing new hardware every year.
The bad news: Almost everything depends on Ring’s cloud, and the most useful features sit behind a subscription. Ring has also had privacy trouble. It paid $5.8 million in 2023 to settle FTC claims over how it handled customer video, and in 2025 it brought back a way for police to request footage through its Neighbors app, now through a partnership with Axon. In February 2026, after a backlash to its Super Bowl ad, Ring cancelled a planned partnership with Flock Safety that would have shared camera searches with police.
If you own Ring
- Check whether you have a Ring Home plan. Without one, you get live view and alerts but no saved recordings.
- Look through Control Center in the Ring app, and turn off Community Requests if you do not want to see police requests for footage.
- If you want cameras that keep working without a subscription, look for models that record locally.