Ring’s AI-powered Search Party, originally designed to locate lost dogs, could have a much broader scope, according to a leaked internal email. The message, sent last October by Ring founder Jamie Siminoff to employees and obtained by 404 Media, suggests the technology could one day help deter crimes.
The news came after the Amazon-owned home security company faced criticism following a Super Bowl ad showcasing Search Party’s ability to scan Ring camera footage to find lost dogs. Privacy advocates expressed concern that the same tool could be used for mass surveillance.
“I believe that the foundation we created with Search Party, first for finding dogs, will end up becoming one of the most important pieces of tech and innovation to truly unlock the impact of our mission,” Siminoff reportedly wrote in the email. “You can now see a future where we are able to zero out crime in neighborhoods. So many things to do to get there but for the first time ever we have the chance to fully complete what we started.”
A Ring spokesperson defended the tool, emphasizing that Search Party “does not process human biometrics or track people.”
“We’re focused on giving camera owners meaningful context about critical events in their neighborhoods, like a lost pet or nearby fire, so they can decide whether and how to help their community,” they wrote. “Ring provides relevant context about when sharing may be helpful, but the decision remains firmly in the customer’s hands, not ours.”
Ring also recently launched “Familiar Faces,” a feature that uses facial recognition to identify specific people captured by doorbell cameras, and “Fire Watch,” which leverages AI to alert users about nearby fires.
I’m in the last quarter of this life, but in the future, cameras will be everywhere. NO matter how hard people try to stop it, they will be placed, and the public will accept them as a safety issue. I will go so far as to say that future generations will enter stores and be scanned to stop the threat of diseases and the like. You can fight the system, but future folks will say they did in the name of safety. The only thing that stops criminals is locking them away early in their careers, but I don’t see the courts getting tougher on law enforcement. We say, let’s build devices to try to protect the public.