Featured Image Credit: Ring/YouTube
Topics: Amazon, Super Bowl, Technology, News
Niamh Shackleton
Ring doorbell has announced that it will no longer be collaborating with Flock following backlash the Amazon-owned company received for its Super Bowl ad.
Last week's Super Bowl saw dozens of ads aired (which can reportedly cost companies as much as $10 million), one being from Ring Doorbell.
The advert introduced something called 'Search Party', a feature which can help people locate lost pets by uploading a photo of their four-legged friend for AI to help track it down.
When someone initiates the feature, it activates a network of participating Ring cameras, which scan footage for images resembling the missing pet in a bid to reunite it with its family.
Advert
While the ad tried to come across as wholesome and relatable, a lot of people criticized it and described it as 'terrifying'.
See it here:
The 'Search Party' feature comes after Ring announced back in October that it was teaming up with Flock, which would allow law enforcement agencies using Flock’s AI-driven, license-plate-reading camera network to directly request video footage from Ring doorbell users.
Flock was not tied to the 'Search Party' program. The project, which never went live, has now been canceled.
"We can confirm that Flock’s intended integration with Community Requests has been cancelled," an Amazon spokesperson said in an email to NBC News.
"This integration was never live, and no videos were ever shared between these services. Following a comprehensive review, we determined the planned Flock Safety integration would require significantly more time and resources than anticipated.
"We therefore made the joint decision to cancel the integration."
Elsewhere, Flock said on its website: "We want to share an update: the planned integration between Flock and Ring’s Community Request tool has been canceled.
"The integration never launched, so no Ring customer videos were ever sent to Flock.
"We believe this decision allows both companies to best serve their respective customers and communities. Flock remains dedicated to supporting law enforcement agencies with tools that are fully configurable to local laws and policies, and we continue to engage directly with public officials and community leaders."
According to CNBC, Flock's systems had allegedly been adopted by thousands of communities, and the likes of ICE and CBP have reportedly accessed its footage.
Flock has denied that it shares data with ICE or any 'sub-agency' of the Department of Homeland Security, however.