Amazon Ring

The Guardian reports that Amazon's Ring is positioning its neighbourhood-focused features as a replacement for local WhatsApp groups, and argues this would encourage excessive neighbourhood surveillance and suspicion. The piece warns the shift could turn community chat into a platform for nosy reporting on neighbours, dubbed a 'curtain-twitching disaster', raising concerns about privacy and the privatisation of local communication networks.

The Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, a New York-based privacy group, is warning that Apple AirTags and Amazon Ring doorbells pose significant privacy threats similar to those of Flock safety cameras. S.T.O.P. communications director Will Owen said these devices come with myriad privacy risks, though he argued Flock's massive nationwide network of license plate readers constitutes a far larger dragnet. The comments add to ongoing debate over everyday consumer surveillance technology.