Amazon's Ring cancels partnership with Flock amid privacy concerns

The video doorbell company scrapped plans to integrate Flock's license plate reading technology into its Community Requests feature.

Published on Feb. 14, 2026

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Ring, the Amazon-owned video doorbell company, has canceled its planned partnership with technology firm Flock Safety after weeks of backlash over privacy concerns. The partnership would have integrated Flock's license plate reading cameras into Ring's Community Requests feature, allowing law enforcement to request video footage from Ring users for investigations. Ring cited the partnership requiring significantly more time and resources than anticipated as the reason for the cancellation.

Why it matters

The termination of the Ring-Flock partnership comes amid growing concerns from privacy advocates and customers about the potential for expanded surveillance and law enforcement access to video footage from Ring devices. There were fears the partnership could enable immigration enforcement agencies like ICE to access Ring user videos, though both companies denied having any relationship with ICE.

The details

Ring previously planned to integrate Flock's license plate reading technology into its Community Requests feature, which allows law enforcement to request video footage from Ring users for investigations. However, Ring said the planned integration would require more time and resources than anticipated, leading to the mutual decision to cancel the partnership.

  • On February 13, 2026, Ring announced it was canceling the partnership with Flock Safety.

The players

Ring

An Amazon-owned video doorbell company that has faced criticism over its relationships with law enforcement.

Flock Safety

A technology firm that makes cameras for reading license plates, which was previously planned to be integrated into Ring's Community Requests feature.

Josh Thomas

The chief communications officer of Flock Safety.

Thomas Allison

A longtime Ring customer who canceled his subscription after a viral social media post falsely claimed ICE could access Ring cameras.

Emma Daniels

A Ring spokesperson.

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What they’re saying

“We determined the planned Flock Safety integration would require significantly more time and resources than anticipated. As a result, we have made the joint decision to cancel the planned integration.”

— Ring (Ring's website)

“That flyer made it sound like Ring signed an agreement that (ICE) could access your cameras. That really disturbs me.”

— Thomas Allison, Ring customer (CNN)

“Ring has no partnership with ICE, does not give ICE videos, feeds, or back-end access, and does not share video with them.”

— Emma Daniels, Ring spokesperson (CNN)

The takeaway

The cancellation of the Ring-Flock partnership highlights the ongoing privacy concerns surrounding smart home devices and their integration with law enforcement. It underscores the need for greater transparency and oversight around how these technologies are used and the potential for misuse or abuse, especially when it comes to vulnerable communities.