Amazon covertly shares Ring data with US police

Amazon's Ring shared private video footage with US law enforcement without user consent on multiple occasions, raising significant privacy concerns. 

In a response (pdf) to an inquiry by Senator Ed Markey after the lawmaker and persistent Amazon critic had questioned Ring's surveillance practices, Amazon disclosed that it had provided police with user footage 11 times without permission or a court order.

In each case, the company did not let Ring owners know that the police had access to and used their video and audio data.

The disclosure raised concerns about how much Ring users know about how their data is used.

Amazon said it only shares footage with police without a warrant under emergency circumstances involving imminent danger of death or serious physical harm, and that emergency requests do not require the consent of the device owner.