As a homeowner, you may be wondering if you should get a ring camera or a Ring doorbell. Both have their unique benefits, but which one is the best for your home? This blog post will compare and contrast ring cameras and ring doorbells to help you decide which is the best option for you.
If You’re Thinking Of Buying A Ring Camera
You Are Not The Only One Who Can Access Your Footage
Your Ring footage isn’t private. It’s in the cloud. That means that you are not the only one with access to your footage. Think about all of the personal events cameras inside and outside of your home will capture. Do you want strangers to be able to learn your routines by watching you leave and return to your house every day? And think about the footage of others—friends, family, and neighbours who are nearby. Would they be comfortable with video evidence of when they walk their dogs or when their car isn’t home at its normal hour?
With a Ring camera, Amazon employees have access to the cloud where your footage is stored—and a few have already been fired for unauthorised access to people’s videos.
Suppose your town’s police department has a partnership with Ring. In that case, you can also anticipate getting email requests from them asking for footage from your camera any time a suspected crime occurs nearby and planning on refusing to share your footage? In some circumstances, police can still get your footage by bringing a warrant straight to Amazon—and you would never know.
Knowing all this, would you be comfortable if other houses—perhaps across the street from your own—had a Ring camera pointing at you? Then, if your neighbours see that you have a Ring, consider that they may purchase one as well.
Bad Actors Have Used Them To Look Inside Homes And Talk To Children
The Ring is currently involved in a proposed class-action lawsuit concerning several high profile incidents. People could gain access to Ring cameras and use them to traumatise children and harass families. Ring blamed these incidents on their customers by saying that people had made the mistake of repeating usernames and passwords that had been previously released in hacks. However, as EFF technologists have argued, gaining access to Ring cameras by repeatedly trying to log in with leaked usernames and passwords until you find one that works would not have been possible if Ring took security seriously. The Ring did not put basic obstacles to stop repeat log in attempts, nor did they encourage customers to enable two-factor authentication. These are standard issue protections on other devices that Ring seems to have been negligent in enforcing.
This most recent round of controversies doesn’t even address previous vulnerabilities discovered in Ring, like last year that revealed a user’s Wifi password.
There Is No Conclusive Evidence That Ring Cameras Prevent Crime
The idea that Ring cameras prevent crime is based on the idea that a potential burglar will see the Ring doorbell, recognise it, and then decide to turn around. But time and time again, research has shown that surveillance won’t necessarily prevent crime. What it can do, however, is create rifts between citizens and authorities, invade people’s privacy, and exacerbate racial bias by allowing people with preconceived notions of who is deemed “suspicious” to apply those assumptions on a mass scale.
Ring’s System Is Likely To Make You Paranoid
Maybe you live in a pretty safe neighbourhood. Maybe you just purchased a Ring camera to keep an eye on the front door or be able to talk to people who ring your doorbell. But either way, Ring’s default setup is primed to instil paranoia: Ring doorbells send you an alert whenever the motion activation is triggered, which means that your phone will buzz every time a squirrel, falling snow, a dog walker, or a delivery person set off the Ring.
There’s no faster way to convince someone incorrectly that their house is under siege and their neighbourhood is crime-ridden than to be startled by every innocent passerby.
Security System FAQs
How Do Alarms Wake Us Up?
Light-based alarm clocks typically work by raising the intensity of the light they emit shortly before your desired waking time to mimic the effect of a rising sun, giving a more gradual “waking up” process that is more in tune with your sleep cycle.
What Is The Most Important Feature Of a Security System?
According to a recent survey, 93% of Americans consider professional monitoring the most important feature of a home security system. If someone attempts to break into your home, it's not enough for an alarm to sound- the local authorities also need to be notified immediately.
What Is The Basic Principles Of Security?
The basic tenets of information security are confidentiality, integrity and availability. Every element of the information security program must be designed to implement one or more of these principles. Together they are called the CIA Triad.
Why Is Cctv Used?
CCTV is designed to help prevent and detect crime. It can reassure the public about community safety. It is located in public places to: provide evidence to relevant enforcement agencies.
What Is The Difference Between Cctv And Surveillance Camera?
CCTV camera requires cabling to transmit the video feeds to a limited set of monitors. ... Surveillance or security cameras, on the other hand, transmit the recorded video to an NVR (Network Video Recorder) in the form of digital signals through a single PoE cable, eliminating the requirement of power cables.
If You Already Own A Ring Camera
You have a Ring camera, or several, outside your house. But these endless news stories about the Ring are bothering you. So what can you do about it? Here are a few general tips to improve your security and use your Ring camera more responsibly and conscientiously.
Don’t Point Your Ring Camera At Anyone’s Property But Your Own
This might be a tricky one depending on your housing situation, but it’s imperative not to put your neighbour’s house under constant surveillance. You installed the camera to watch your porch, not stare through your neighbour’s window all day long. You wouldn’t want a camera controlled by other people and accessible by Amazon employees and the police, documenting when you’re home or not, so why would you do that to your neighbours?
Tell Police To Get A Warrant
When the police want footage from your Ring camera and your police department has a partnership with Ring, the request will come in the form of an email. It will have two options: “Share footage” or “Review footage before you share.” There is also a third option to ignore the email, which requires police to get a warrant.
Getting a warrant means that police need to share a legitimate reason why they need your footage with a judge. In an ideal world, the police would present you with the warrant, allowing you to see that a judge has signed off on the necessity of the request. However, even if that warrant is going straight to Amazon, it’s still important that a court oversees when and to what extent police get footage.
Use Strong Passwords And Unique Usernames
Given that people have exploited Ring’s security. Because any large collection of very personal material will always have a target on it, it’s more important than ever that you use strong, random, and original credentials when you create accounts. EFF has resources that can help you to generate long random passwords.
Delete Footage As Often As You Can
Amazon’s Ring appears to have data storage plans that allow different access and retention times for Amazon’s cloud footage. Depending on your storage plan, we recommend that any footage of your camera records be deleted as soon as possible. Although it is unclear if Amazon has any way of recovering your footage after deleted, this process should reduce the number of ambient conversations or unintended captured footage of people currently retained and sitting on the server.
Take Steps To Limit Third-Party Trackers
A recent study by EFF found that the Ring app for Android sends personalised and identifiable data to third-party trackers. These trackers do analytics for Ring, telling them how people are using the app and receiving several pieces of information like what kind of phone you’re using or your IP address. Even small amounts of information allow tracking companies to form a “fingerprint” that follows the user as they interact with other apps and use their device, allowing trackers to spy on a user’s digital life. Whether you’re using an iPhone or Android, there are ways that you can make it harder for mobile ads to track you on your phone.
Don’t Let Surveillance Convince You Everyone Is “Suspicious”
This is an important point because it might just be the one that prevents people from getting hurt. Not everyone you see through your Ring camera is doing something suspicious. If someone steps under an awning to avoid a downpour of rain, or if a realtor is in your neighbourhood looking at homes, err on the side of trust. Just because you think a person looks like they “don’t belong” in your neighbourhood doesn’t mean they’re a threat—and it means you don’t have to broadcast their face on an app or call the police.
Which One Should You Choose: The Ring Camera Or The Ring Doorbell?
The Ring camera and Ring doorbell both have some excellent qualities, but you may be wondering which one will be the best for your home. Here you’ll find information to help. While the camera is best for giving you a view of your home from every angle, the doorbell is ideal for any living situation, whether you have the freedom to put up more security or not.
Differences Between Ring Cameras And Ring Doorbells
The ring is a leader in a crowded market for home security cameras. Ring offers both doorbells and cameras that you can mount at your residence to keep an eye on the property when you aren’t home. While both Ring cameras and doorbells capture live video, they serve different security purposes in your home. For example, a Ring camera may work as a security camera for the property, while Ring doorbells allow you to monitor and respond to visitors at your door.
What Are Ring Cameras?
A Ring camera gives you a live feed of areas inside or outside your property, allowing you to check in on your home or business at any time through the Ring app. While all Ring cameras offer excellent video quality, they may be powered by batteries, wall outlets, hard wiring, or solar panels.
When made for use outdoors, Ring cameras usually include a security light that reacts to motion. Unfortunately, indoor cameras do not have an extra light, so you’ll need to leave the lights on in the home or select a camera with night vision.
What You’ll Love About Ring Camera
- Affordable prices.
- Indoor/outdoor friendly and weather repellant.
- Floodlights for intruders.
- Spotlights for intruders.
- Communication with people via Ring camera.
- Can record with Ring Protect subscription.
- Users are notified of movement and can set up controls, so they’re only notified when people are present (not dogs, birds, etc.) with Ring Protect subscription.
- Easy to set up: takes 25 minutes at most.
- Ring Neighbors: an app that lets you talk with those in your neighbourhood about what’s happening in the area.
What You Should Consider About Ring Cameras
You have to use Ring for your security or another Amazon product, as it might not work with other programs.
It might be possible for hackers to get access if proper measures aren’t taken.
Some models may have a complex installation process.
Ring Camera Pros
- HD video resolution yields sharp images
- Some cameras include night vision capabilities
- Indoor and outdoor options to monitor many parts of your home
Ring Camera Cons
- Installation can be challenging.
- The camera must be in the range of your WiFi network.
- Far pricier than motion-activated spotlights
Best Ring Cameras
Ring Floodlight Camera:
Keeping an eye on areas of your property away from your front door is easy with this camera and floodlight combination. In addition, you can speak to someone through the Ring camera app on your smartphone with this device, or you can activate a siren and alarm to scare off any intruders.
Ring Indoor Security Camera:
With this indoor camera from Ring, you can keep an eye on your children after school, your pets throughout the day or someone doing work inside your home. It provides a live feed through the Ring app that you can access at any time. In addition, multiple indoor cameras can network together for full coverage.
Ring Spotlight Camera:
This outdoor security camera includes a spotlight to highlight the area when there's movement. Additionally, this camera operates from a battery, so you don't need an outlet nearby.
What Is The Ring Doorbell?
The Ring Doorbell is the latest way to help create your smart home. In a world of quickly advancing technology, there are so many ways that you can arm your home to protect yourself. For example, you can turn on your heat on your way home from vacation, make sure your lights are off, and so much more. Now, you can see who is at your door…without needing to be there.
Ring Doorbell Features
How do you use Ring? First, you install the Ring doorbell at your home. Then, you download the app on your phone. After that, you will be able to see and interact with anyone who comes knocking.
The Ring Video Doorbells come equipped with the following features:
- HD camera: The camera lets you view any visitor through the app to know who is visiting and why they are there. You don’t need to worry about seeing a late-night visitor Equipped with night vision.
- Two-way audio: Ring’s slogan makes you feel safe and secure, “With Ring, you’re always home.” That wouldn’t be true without the audio capabilities. Not only can you see your visitors, but you can also speak with them using the Ring app.
- Motion detection: Your Ring Doorbell has built-in motion sensors to let you know if someone is meandering on your property.
- Mobile access: Download the app to your phone, and you will be able to communicate with someone at your front door from anywhere.
Ring Doorbell Options
These features come standard on a Ring Doorbell device. However, you have a few options for extending the capabilities of Ring. You can choose from the following:
- Ring Video Doorbell: This is the standard unit available for purchase for around $199. Measuring at 4.98 x 2.43 inches, it works on any home and connects to your Wi-Fi. You can modify the sensitivity of preset motion zones for increased security, and you can see your visitor with a 720-pixel resolution. With this model, you get a rechargeable battery.
- Ring Video Doorbell Pro: The Ring Doorbell Pro is a slightly smaller, sleeker version. It retails for $249 and requires hardwiring into an existing doorbell. However, you also get a few additional features. Your video resolution is better with a 1080 pixel resolution. You don’t need to worry about recharging the battery, and you can change out the faces to personalise the look. The Wi-Fi connection is better, and you can customise the motion detection zones for increased security.
If you are looking to augment your security, Ring offers a couple of additional products that can work in tandem with your doorbell. For example, you can add the following items:
- Ring Chime: Chime plugs into any standard outlet and notifies you when you have a visitor. This keeps you from having to be tethered to your phone at home. This device is available for $29.95.
- Stick Up Cam: The Stick Up Cam attaches to a swivel mount and makes it easy to see any visitor. You can integrate as many as you choose with your Ring Doorbell. Each camera is available for $199.
The Ring app is available for iOS, Android, and Windows devices. The Mac App is currently being developed for use with your Mac. Click on the corresponding link below to download the app to your device:
- Ring App for iOS
- Ring App for Android
- Ring App for Windows
Ring Doorbell
The Ring doorbell allows you to see anyone who approaches your front door, as well as hear what they’re saying and communicate with them. You can talk with friends that come over or startle potential intruders. It’s hooked up to your phone so that you can see the area surrounding your house in real-time. This doorbell is a great security feature and a way to stay aware of what’s happening in your neighbourhood.
What You’ll Love About Ring Doorbell
- The battery lasts a long time.
- Motion detection lets you know who is on your property.
- Provides phone notifications when it detects movement.
- Neighbours by Ring allows you to collaborate with others that live near you.
- Ring Protect program lets you save video footage.
- Costs between $60-$350.
- It can still see movement on the property at night.
What You Should Consider About Ring Doorbell
- If you live in a cold climate, the Ring doorbell has trouble charging the battery below -5 degrees.
- It works better with a subscription service if you want to view previous footage or use the Neighbors app.
How Does A Ring Doorbell Work?
A Ring doorbell provides the features of a regular doorbell along with a built-in video camera. When a visitor approaches your door, all Ring doorbells include a motion detection feature, altering the Ring app on your smartphone about the visitor. In addition, you can answer the door when you’re away from home, and the doorbell stores video footage of visitors.
Ring doorbells connect to your WiFi network, sending a signal to your smartphone through the app no matter where you are. Entry-level models start at $59.99, while their most sophisticated models cost $349.99.
Ring Doorbell Pros
- Offers two-way communication
- Many doorbell cameras have an HD video resolution
- Motion detection features alert you to visitors
- The Ring app saves a recording of videos
Ring Doorbell Cons
- Some people struggle with the installation
- Certain models require preexisting doorbell wiring
- Cameras may have a few blind spots
Best Ring Doorbells
Ring Video Doorbell 3 Plus:
This high-end Ring doorbell includes a full HD video camera, giving you a sharp image on the Ring app. In addition, Ring greatly improved the motion detection sensors in this model compared to the previous version, leading to fewer false alarms and errors.
Ring Video Doorbell Pro:
This Pro version of the classic Ring doorbell works over either 2.4GHz or 5.0GHz WiFi connectivity, excelling versatility. In addition, the full HD camera offers clear video through the Ring app, and its motion detection features are more reliable than those of cheaper models.
Ring Video Doorbell:
If you want the quality of a Ring doorbell at a reasonable price, this model is the best option. The 1080p resolution camera matches more expensive models, and the motion detection system works well. Compatible with Alexa for voice commands.
Should You Get a Ring Camera Or Ring Doorbell?
This depends on you and your home. If you are brand new to home security, the Ring doorbell is a great place to start. It is especially true if you only have one or two outer doors in your home. However, if your yard is extensive or you have a large home, you may want the added security of cameras around the property that can see from different angles.
Decide what you want most from your security system. If you’re concerned about crime and monitoring intruders, look for a camera option with floodlights and video recording options. If you want to ensure that no one steals mail from your porch, then the Ring doorbell is a sound, secure system.
The best way to be prepared is to have both a camera and doorbell, so your entire home is covered. You’ll be informed of any activity around your house, making you and your loved ones safer. Ring offers some great affordable options that are easy to install and monitor yourself. Consider this highly trusted system for your security needs.
