Amazon's Ring canceled its partnership with Flock, a company whose AI cameras share footage with law enforcement, after announcing the deal in October. The proposed integration would have allowed Ring users to send doorbell footage into Flock's network for investigative work. Flock cameras have been available to agencies including ICE, the Secret Service, and the Navy, while Ring has continued to support other ways for customers to share footage with police, TechCrunch reported on February 13th.

The cancellation followed a Ring Super Bowl advertisement in which an AI feature searched neighborhood cameras for a lost dog. The image was harmless enough to make the larger system easier to accept. A camera at a private door becomes a node in a public search when the company supplies the connection, the agency requests access, and the homeowner clicks permission. Ring says its Search Party feature cannot process human biometrics, yet the company also sells Familiar Faces, which identifies people who regularly visit a home. The boundary between a remembered guest and a searchable person is therefore set by product settings and corporate partnerships. The canceled deal removes one route into the network. The doorbell remains pointed at the street.