Ring doorbells have always been advertised as an Internet of Things device that improves home security and convenience. Equipped with a camera and a two-way intercom system, you can see and communicate with anyone at your front door from inside the house or anywhere. The product is a good idea, but unfortunately has many drawbacks that stem from it being an Internet connected device. This article explains how the Ring app for Android has been tracking the users in many unsettling ways. It was discovered that the app has been gathering the user’s IP address, device information and sensor data, hardware IDs, and even personal information such as name and address. The Ring app then submits this data to third party companies for ad revenue purposes and data mining. This has been unknown to the user until now. The reason Ring and other companies do this is to offset cost and allow their product to be sold at a lower cost. Unfortunately, most people are unaware of what goes on in the background and just think they are getting a good deal. In the end, you get what you pay for. The most cost effective solution is to use a standard doorbell which costs less than any ring product and is guaranteed to not be tracking any user activities as it has no internet or network connection.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/01/ring-doorbell-app-packed-third-party-trackers
LIS 4022 Spring 2020 