Ring Doorbell has scrapped its ‘dystopian’ partnership after Super Bowl ad caused outrage

Ring Doorbell has scrapped a planned partnership with Flock Safety after huge backlash surrounding a controversial Super Bowl advert sparked debate about privacy and surveillance.

During last week’s Super Bowl, where commercials reportedly cost brands up to $10 million, Ring introduced a new AI feature called “Search Party”. The tool was designed to help owners track down missing pets by uploading a photo, allowing participating Ring cameras to scan footage for animals matching the description.

Although the campaign aimed to feel wholesome, people reacted negatively, calling the concept unsettling and even “dystopian”, raising concerns about how widespread camera networks could be used.

The controversy arrived after Ring, owned by Amazon, revealed plans to collaborate with Flock. The proposed integration would have allowed law enforcement agencies using Flock’s license-plate-reading camera network to request footage directly from Ring users through a community tool.

Ring later clarified that Flock had nothing to do with the Search Party feature itself. The planned integration, which never launched publicly, has now been abandoned entirely.

In a statement shared with NBC News, an Amazon spokesperson confirmed the decision, saying the integration was canceled after a review found it would require far more time and resources than expected.

“We can confirm that Flock’s intended integration with Community Requests has been cancelled.

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“This integration was never live, and no videos were ever shared between these services. Following a comprehensive review, we determined the planned Flock Safety integration would require significantly more time and resources than anticipated.

“We therefore made the joint decision to cancel the integration.”

Flock issued a similar statement, saying the project never went live and that canceling the collaboration would allow both companies to focus on serving their communities independently.

According to CNBC, Flock’s surveillance systems have reportedly been adopted in thousands of communities across the US, with agencies including ICE and Customs and Border Protection said to have accessed footage. Flock has disputed claims that it shares data with ICE or any sub-agency of the US Department of Homeland Security.

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Featured image credit: Ring Doorbell, Amazon