A leaked email from Ring founder Jamie Siminoff is fueling explosive new concerns that the company’s controversial AI-powered “Search Party” feature was never just about finding lost pets.
Instead, critics say it points to something far bigger and far more invasive.
Ring, the Amazon-owned company behind millions of video doorbells across America, debuted Search Party in a high-dollar Super Bowl ad, marketing the tool as a wholesome way to help reunite families with missing pets.
But privacy advocates across the political spectrum immediately raised red flags.
Now, a leaked internal email from Siminoff appears to confirm what many suspected.
“Zero Out Crime” or Something More?
In the email, Siminoff described Search Party as foundational technology with far-reaching implications.
“I believe that the foundation we created with Search Party, first for finding dogs, will end up becoming one of the most important pieces of tech and innovation to truly unlock the impact of our mission,” Siminoff wrote.
He then expanded on what that mission could mean.
“You can now see a future where we are able to zero out crime in neighborhoods.
“So many things to do to get there, but for the first time ever, we have the chance to fully complete what we started.”
On its face, the language suggests crime prevention.
But critics argue the implications are far broader.
Ring cameras already use a feature called Familiar Faces, which allows users to upload photos of friends and family so the device can recognize and identify them.
With Search Party, Ring can reportedly tap into live camera feeds across entire neighborhoods and analyze footage with artificial intelligence.
Today, it may scan for lost pets.
Tomorrow, critics warn, it could scan for people.
Ring Pushes Back
Siminoff has denied that Ring accesses user footage without consent.
“Across these features, sharing has always been the camera owner’s choice,” he said.
“Ring provides relevant context about when sharing may be helpful — but the decision remains firmly in the customer’s hands, not ours.”
He also previously defended Ring’s data handling practices during a Fox Business appearance following the Nancy Guthrie case.
During the search, the FBI obtained footage from a Google Nest camera that was believed to be inaccessible.
“I do know with Ring, specifically, if you delete a recording or if you don’t want a recording, you don’t have a subscription,” Siminoff said.
“We do not have it stored.
“I know that because I built the systems with my team.”
But critics argue that storage is not the central issue.
Even if recordings are deleted, Search Party can analyze live feeds in real time, scanning footage across blocks of homes using AI.
That capability, privacy advocates say, creates the infrastructure for something far more sweeping than pet recovery.
Law Enforcement Ties and Opt-Out Concerns
The controversy follows Ring’s decision to end its partnership with Flock, a third-party service that would have allowed police officers to request user footage for criminal investigations.
Without a formal law enforcement pipeline, Search Party’s crime-fighting claims appear limited, raising further questions about its true purpose.
For concerned users, the only way to avoid participation is to disable Search Party or remove the device entirely.
But even that may not solve the problem.
If neighbors continue using Ring cameras, the AI network still operates across the block, meaning individuals may be swept into Amazon’s digital surveillance web whether they consent or not.
As Americans grow increasingly wary of Big Tech’s reach into daily life, the leaked email is reigniting debate over whether neighborhood safety tools are quietly morphing into something far more intrusive.
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