Ring begins offering end-to-end encryption to (most) of its users

The announcement comes a few days late, as the Amazon-owned company said in September that E2E would arrive by the end of 2020. Currently, Ring encrypts content as it is downloaded or stored on its cloud servers. Once activated, data and videos will be encrypted at every part of the channel and can only be viewed by the user. Ring also allowed users to determine how long their videos are stored online before being deleted.

We hope that adding end-to-end encryption to its platform deflects criticism that Ring has played fast and freely with the security of its customers. In the past two years, advocacy organizations and security groups have said the Ring app for Android is riddled with third-party trackers. Other high-profile hacking attempts, in which malicious individuals gained access to doorbells, forced the company to double down on security. And, until 2020, the company has been focused on building user confidence.

This comes at a time when a number of Internet of Things devices have been exposed as less than secure, with video doorbells gaining attention. After all, they’re a crucial tool for many homeowners to both greet (and screen) visitors, as well as monitor activity on their doorstep. Two months ago, the British consumer organization Which? looked at a number of off-brand doorbells, finding them all dangerously endangered.

We hope that Ring’s announcement will encourage other manufacturers to take the security and privacy of their users more seriously. Although there are still many questions to be asked about the company’s proximity to certain law enforcement agencies in the United States, and the implications associated with it.