Alpharetta police partner with Ring on video doorbell data

Alpharetta police can request data collected by the Ring video doorbell system under a partnership agreement with the company. RING

Alpharetta police can request data collected by the Ring video doorbell system under a partnership agreement with the company. RING

The Alpharetta City Council has approved a partnership agreement with Ring that would give police access to data of the popular video doorbell system, provided customers agree to share their data.

The agreement is similar to that reached in recent months between other metro Atlanta cities and Ring, an Amazon company. It requires police to obtain residents’ permission to access their data through Ring’s “Neighbors Portal” when investigating crimes.

“The partnerships let police request the video requested by homeowners’ cameras within a specific time and area,” according to Ring. “Officers don’t receive ongoing or live-video access, and homeowners can decline the requests, which Ring sends via email thanking them for ‘making your neighborhood a safer place.’”

The agreement makes the Neighbors App available to residents, and the Neighbors Portal available to police, free of charge.