How to activate Ring’s new end-to-end encryption

Ring it right end-to-end encryption addedn (E2EE) to a number of its smart cameras, protecting videos recorded by your Ring devices with an added layer of security. It still doesn’t make us thrilled with Ring devices, exactly, gave it all The problems the Platform at experimented, but it’s a feature worth knowing if you are already using a Doorbell Ring or camera.

Ring videos are encrypted when uploaded to Ring’s cloud servers, but this new feature keeps them secure with an additional layer of 128-bit AES encryption that can only be decrypted and viewed on a mobile device enrolled in Ring’s E2EE program. (To learn more about Ring’s E2EE policy, see a recently published white paper on the feature.)

E2EE can prevent strangers from intercepting and viewing videos while they are being recorded or sent to your devices; not even Ring will be able to decipher them. However, Ring’s E2EE also disables a handful of features on the user side, including motion verification and the ability to watch live streams from the Ring camera on an Amazon Echo Show or Fire TV device. Your recorded videos will be more secure, but you will lose real-time viewing and cloud-based monitoring features that can be as important as the extra layer of encryption added by E2EE.

If you are cool with the Compromised, activating Ring’s new E2EE is easy, as long as you have the right hardware. E2EE is only available on a handful of devices at launch:

• Video Doorbell Pro
• Elite video doorbell
• Floodlight Cam
• Indoor camera
• Wired Spotlight Cam
• Projector cam bracket
• Stick Up Cam Plug In
• Stick Up Cam Elite

Additional support may be added in the future, but for now you will need one of these devices to use E2EE. You will also need the latest version of the Ring app on all android or iOS device You want to subscribe. If you meet these conditions, you can activate E2EE in the Ring app:

1. Open the Ring app.
2. Go to Control Center> Video encryption> Advanced settings.
3. To select “End-to-end video encryption.”
4. Tap the slider to activate the function, then tap “To start.”
5. Follow the instructions in the app to enroll your Ring account, mobile devices, and cameras in end-to-end encryption.
6. You can deactivate E2EE at any time by deactivating the “End-to-end video encoding” slide.

You will be prompted to generate a password during setup – don’t lose it! It cannot be recovered and any encrypted videos you own will be lost. You will need to start over with another mobile device to use E2EE again.