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Ring logs every doorbell press and app action:
Amazon keeps records of every motion detected by its Ring doorbells, as well as the exact time they are logged down to the millisecond.
The details were revealed via a data request submitted by the BBC.
It also disclosed that every interaction with Ring's app is also stored, including the model of phone or tablet and mobile network used.
One expert said it gave Amazon the potential for even broader insight into its customers' lives.
"What's most interesting is not just the data itself, but all the patterns and insights that can be learned from it," commented independent privacy expert Frederike Kaltheuner.
"Knowing when someone rings your door, how often, and for how long, can indicate when someone is at home.
"If nobody ever rang your door, that would probably say something about your social life as well."
She added that it remained unclear how much further "anonymised" data was also being collected.
"This isn't just about privacy, but about the power and monetary value that is attached to this data."
Amazon says it uses the information to evaluate, manage and improve its products and services.
(Score: 3, Funny) by Mojibake Tengu on Thursday March 05 2020, @02:03PM (2 children)
1. Build a robot able to press a button on Ring doorbell. Bonus for a spectacular robot face positioned on camera.
2. Properly register the Ring product at Amazon
3. Cut the bell off the product for silence
4. Run the robot pressing a button every now and then, forever
5. Tell friends to just knock on doors when visiting you
For better performance, wire the robot logic directly instead of a mechanical button.
Arduino FTW!
Respect Authorities. Know your social status. Woke responsibly.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 05 2020, @03:19PM (1 child)
Go a stage further, assemble a library of video clips of world leaders, pop and sport 'stars' etc. etc., set the target doorbell up with a monitor to watch, implement your plan but cycle through video clips on simulated doorbell presses...
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 05 2020, @03:33PM
As I've just switched the TV on, and, thanks to some new universal law, one of the Law and Order things is on, I've changed my mind.
Forget cycling through the collected video clips of celebs, politicians etc, make it just one person, Jerry Orbach, any press of the bell, it's Jerry Orbach...
Now arrange for people all over the planet to build similar rigs, and syncronize them all, all over the world, the omnipresent spirit of Jerry Orbach is out there, pressing doorbells globally at exactly the same moment......