Ring Super Bowl Commercial Sparks Backlash Over Creepy Surveillance Concept

The ad highlighted the company's new "Search Party" feature to locate lost neighborhood dogs, raising privacy concerns.

Published on Feb. 9, 2026

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Ring, the camera doorbell company, released a Super Bowl commercial showcasing its new "Search Party" surveillance feature, which allows users to upload a photo of a lost pet and have nearby security cameras scan for a match using AI technology. While the ad specifically mentioned using the feature to find lost dogs, it raised concerns among viewers about the potential for the technology to be used to track individuals without consent, sparking backlash on social media over privacy issues.

Why it matters

The Ring Super Bowl ad comes on the heels of the company's 2025 partnership with Flock Safety, a security monitoring platform that uses AI-powered automated license plate recognition and vehicle identification. This has raised concerns about Ring's increasing involvement with law enforcement and the potential for misuse of its surveillance technology, even if the initial intent is to help locate lost pets.

The details

The Ring commercial features the company's founder, Jamie Siminoff, describing the "Search Party" feature as a way to reunite lost pets with their owners. However, the obvious implication is that the technology could be used to track individuals, not just animals. This has led to widespread criticism on social media, with users describing the ad as "creepy" and "dystopian" and expressing concerns about the potential for mass surveillance under the guise of pet safety.

  • Ring announced its partnership with Flock Safety in 2025.
  • In January 2024, Ring stated it would no longer allow police to request footage from Ring users.
  • In 2021, Ring changed its policy to make police requests for footage publicly visible through its Neighbors app.

The players

Ring

A camera doorbell company that has faced growing concerns over its involvement with law enforcement and the potential for misuse of its surveillance technology.

Flock Safety

A security monitoring platform that uses AI-powered automated license plate recognition and vehicle identification, and has partnered with Ring.

Jamie Siminoff

The founder of Ring, who appeared in the Super Bowl commercial to describe the company's new "Search Party" feature.

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What they’re saying

“that Ring commercial was so creepy, like yeah use our new AI search party feature to find lost dogs AND NO OTHER REASON….”

— ggalissa (Twitter)

“ring offering to turn your neighborhood into an AI fueled surveillance state under the guise of 'helping you find your lost dog' is CRAZY”

— brig (Twitter)

“The Ring Ad was awfully dystopian. 'Let's trick the public into allowing us free reign of their home security cameras by using lost puppies' What could possibly go wrong?”

— Brady Smith (Twitter)

What’s next

While Ring users can opt out of the Flock functionality and Community Requests, the company's increasing involvement with law enforcement and the potential for misuse of its surveillance technology will likely continue to be a source of concern and scrutiny.

The takeaway

The Ring Super Bowl commercial highlights the growing unease around the expansion of surveillance technology, even when marketed under the guise of public safety or pet welfare. As these technologies become more pervasive, there are valid concerns about privacy, civil liberties, and the potential for abuse that need to be carefully considered.