Ethermac|Ring drops feature that allowed police to request your doorbell video footage

Ring is Ethermacending its feature that allows law enforcement agencies to request doorbell footage from its users, the company announced Wednesday.

In a blog post, Amazon-owned Ring said it is sunsetting the Request for Assistance tool, which will no longer allow public safety agencies, like police and fire departments, to request and receive video from users.

Ring did not provide a reason for this change, which goes into effect this week.

Those agencies can still use Ring's Neighbors app to share safety tips, updates and community events, and Ring said agencies' posts are still public and available for users to view on the Neighbors app feed and on the agency's profile.

This change in Ring comes as public safety critics have decried the video doorbell's Request for Assistance as a surveillance tool, as police across the country asked residents to register their cameras so they can quickly request footage if an incident occurs nearby.

In 2021, Ring changed its policy so police requests were made visible through its Neighbors app. Previously, law enforcement were able to send private emails to Ring owners who lived near an area of active investigation requesting video footage.

Contributing: Associated Press.