Ring Doorbells Gets End-to-End Encryption
Amazon’s video end-to-end encryption (E2EE) is rolling out for (some) Ring devices, as an opt-in privacy feature. With E2EE, videos are further secured with an additional “lock”, which can only be unlocked by a key that is stored on the customer’s enrolled phone, and designed so that only that customer can decrypt and view recordings on that enrolled phone. Unfortunately, E2EE has not been fully integrated into the Ring feature set so there are many features that would be disabled, including sharing videos, Event Timeline, Rich Event notifications, and viewing videos on Ring.com, desktop apps, or the Rapid Ring app. It also doesn’t work with Ring’s battery-powered doorbells or cameras.
The NPD Take:
- Having more control over who sees what, and being able to ensure that Ring can’t share video with law enforcement is something that security buffs will surely be interested in. On the other hand, there are big sacrifices to be made with all of the features that will be disabled. For Ring, which has come under much scrutiny for security flaws, this is a great public relations move.
Amazon Displays May Add Radar for Sleep Tracking
Just like Google’s Nest Hub can track sleep patterns using radar, Amazon may be adding the same functionality to its displays. Amazon has applied to the FCC for permission to use a radar sensor in future products to sense motion and enable contactless sleep tracking functionality. The same technology could also be used to control an Echo device with hand gestures…something else that the Google Nest Hub does.
The NPD Take:
- 1.6x more consumers own Amazon displays than Google displays – but it never hurts to make sure new product launches are keeping up with the competitive set. More importantly for Amazon, adding new functionality to future smart displays will encourage more consumers to upgrade from older devices, attract new consumers into the market, and help keep owners engaged with their displays and the Alexa ecosystem.