Ring Cancels Planned Flock Safety Integration After Ad Backlash
Ring said on Feb. 12 it canceled a planned October 2025 integration with Flock Safety after a Feb. 8 Super Bowl ad raised privacy concerns.
SalonWhy Ring’s feel-good Super Bowl ad freaked people out
One America News NetworkRing cancels partnership with Flock after concerning Super Bowl Commercial
ARS TechnicaRing cancels Flock deal after dystopian Super Bowl ad prompts mass outrage
BBC NewsAmazon's Ring ends deal with surveillance firm Flock after backlash
Overview
On Feb. 12, Ring said it canceled a planned integration with Flock Safety and said the work would require significantly more time and resources, and that no Ring customer videos were ever sent.
The decision followed backlash to Ring’s Feb. 8 Super Bowl commercial for its Search Party feature, which privacy advocates including the ACLU and the Electronic Frontier Foundation said envisioned intrusive surveillance.
Flock said the cancellation was mutual and that the decision lets both companies best serve customers and communities, and Senator Ed Markey urged Amazon to strengthen privacy protections.
The partnership had been announced in October 2025 and Flock operates camera and license-plate reader networks in over 5,000 U.S. cities and says its systems capture billions of license-plate photos each month.
Ring said it will continue to evaluate future partnerships while keeping Community Requests core, Amazon still partners Community Requests with Axon, and activists had planned a protest outside Amazon’s Seattle headquarters.
Analysis
Center-leaning sources frame the story around privacy concerns and public backlash, foregrounding critics and evocative language while acknowledging company denials. Editorial choices — frequent words like "backlash," "dystopian" and "creepy surveillance state," prioritized quotes from the EFF and lawmakers, and leads emphasizing the Super Bowl ad — steer readers toward surveillance risks.
FAQ
The integration was for Ring's Community Requests tool, allowing law enforcement to request video footage from Ring users via Flock Safety's platform, with voluntary participation by residents.
Both companies stated the integration required significantly more time and resources than anticipated; the decision was mutual to best serve customers, following a comprehensive review.
A February 8 Super Bowl ad for Ring's Search Party feature raised privacy concerns from advocates like the ACLU and EFF, who criticized it as promoting intrusive surveillance, though the ad was unrelated to Flock.
Flock Safety provides license plate readers and public safety technology used by law enforcement in over 5,000 U.S. cities, capturing billions of license-plate photos monthly.
