Amazon to launch Ring ‘neighbourhood watch’ app in UK amid US privacy fears

Amazon’s doorbell camera company, Ring, is set to launch a new community app called Neighbours in the UK, aiming to replace neighbourhood WhatsApp or Facebook groups. The app, available for free within the existing Ring app for UK users starting from 21st October, allows neighbours to post about safety, community matters, or lost pets.

Dave Ward, Ring’s managing director for international, explained that the platform aims to provide a more targeted and useful community information source compared to broad WhatsApp groups. Users can join the service by setting their address and a radius of between 0.1 and five miles to join their local community. Some features from the US, such as Neighbours Verified and Community Requests, will not be available initially in the UK due to privacy concerns.

The Neighbours service in the UK will feature basic anonymised posting in categories that must adhere to strict guidelines to avoid illegal content, discrimination, speculation, or other inappropriate posts. The posts will be moderated by both AI and human moderators before and after publication. Additionally, a feature called "Search Party for Dogs" will allow users to post about lost pets, and those with Ring cameras can opt-in to help find the lost pet by being notified if their camera detects a dog and determining if it is the correct one.

In response to privacy concerns, Ring has introduced a new default encryption mechanism called TAKE, which provides temporary encryption keys to camera footage, blocking access after 24 hours.