Ring canceled its partnership with Flock Safety following public backlash over a Super Bowl ad promoting its Search Party feature. The collaboration, announced in October 2025, would have allowed police to request footage from Ring doorbell users via Flock’s platform. However, Ring cited “unexpected resource demands” as the reason for termination, mutualizing the decision. No customer data was ever shared with Flock during the partnership’s brief existence.

Under the agreement, law enforcement using Flock’s Nova platform or FlockOS could submit anonymous requests for video via Ring’s Community Requests tool. Officers would provide investigation codes and incident details, which Ring would forward to users for voluntary compliance. This marked a reversal for Ring, which had previously distanced itself from police collaborations after facing criticism for sharing footage without warrants 11 times between 2019 and 2024. The company had pledged in 2024 to only cooperate with law enforcement upon receiving court orders.

Flock Safety, known for its license plate reader database used by ICE for immigration enforcement, would have centralized Ring’s footage into a searchable system accessible to police without warrants. Critics argue such partnerships enable mass surveillance, particularly after Ring’s Search Party ad—which used AI to identify lost pets—sparked privacy concerns. Users disabled the feature en masse, fearing misuse for tracking individuals.

The fallout highlights growing unease over smart device surveillance. While Ring frames the partnership’s end as a logistical setback, the controversy underscores public resistance to tech companies facilitating law enforcement access to private data. Privacy advocates warn that even optional systems risk normalizing intrusive policing practices.