Fact check: Can ICE use Ring doorbells as mass surveillance tools?
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA: Last October, doorbell camera company Ring and security technology company Flock had a partnership to integrate Ring's community requests feature, allowing local law enforcement agencies to request video from Ring customers who use its Neighbors app.
In January 2026, a rumor circulated online claiming that ICE was under scrutiny during an immigration crackdown in Minnesota, as it could use this partnership to access videos recorded by Ring devices and turn them into mass surveillance devices. But is there any truth to this? Let us find below.
Claim: ICE can use Ring doorbells as mass surveillance tools
As criticism of ICE's tactics intensified in January following the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents, there were rumors across social media about ICE potentially accessing Ring doorbell cameras to use them as surveillance tools.
A Reddit thread that included an image of a poster of a Ring camera that said, 'ICE thanks YOU for YOUR cooperation', and added, 'Ring has partnered with Flock. ICE has access to Flock. If you still have a Ring camera - get rid of it.'
Similarly, claims were circulated across different social media platforms such as Bluesky, LinkedIn, and Threads.
A Threads post read, "Ring cameras will be uploading videos to ICE starting very soon. Spread the word. Switch to a different system."
Ring's smart doorbells let people see and talk to people at the front door via their phones. The Neighbors app allows users to send and receive safety alerts about their neighborhood.
The app also has a voluntary 'community requests' feature that allows local law enforcement to send a request for Ring video footage from a specific time for an investigation.
Fact check: False, Ring has no partnership with ICE
The claims made in the online rumor are false, as the partnership referenced on social media does not allow ICE agents to access Ring users' footage via Flock.
A press release from Flock said the partnership was a way for law enforcement officers using Flock to ask a community to send Ring footage to help with investigations.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Amazon, Ring's parent company, confirmed that the integration between Ring and Flock was not live as of late January 2026, and Flock did not yet have access to customers' Ring footage.
Sam McGee, the Amazon spokesperson, informed Snopes, "Ring has no partnership with ICE, does not give ICE videos, feeds, or back-end access, and does not share video with them."
The spokesperson added that the company is working to ensure that its integration with Flock is built for the use of local public safety agencies only.
