RING video doorbells are dotted along almost every street these days, having given households a great security boost.
But the Amazon-owned devices are not without their risks, including eyewateringly high fines.
Fines for breaching a neighbour's privacy
While you'll want your video doorbells to have a good surrounding view of your property, you must make sure it doesn't breach the privacy of others.
In 2021, a man was told he'd have to pay his neighbour a up to £100,000 after a judge found the use of cameras broke data laws and caused harassment.
Dr Mary Fairhurst, of Thame, Oxfordshire, claimed the Ring devices used by Mr Jon Woodard were “intrusive” and had left her feeling under “continuous visual surveillance.”
Amazon, which bought Ring in 2018, advises owners to ensure people know they are being filmed by putting Ring stickers on their door or windows.
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You can make use of the Privacy Zones feature so you're only filming your property as well.
Police could take footage without asking you
Law enforcement can issue a warrant for footage if the clips are needed for an investigation.
It's reported that Google does the same with its Nest doorbell devices too.
A report last year claimed that Ring alone shared homeowners' footage with law enforcement without their knowledge at least 11 times in 2022.
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The figure suggests this practice is relatively rare.
These requests are only for seriously urgent, life threatening situations.
However, Ring it's "simply untrue that Ring gives anyone unfettered access to customer data or video, as we have repeatedly made clear to our customers and others."
"The law authorises companies like Ring to provide information to government entities if the company believes that an emergency involving danger of death or serious physical injury to any person, such as a kidnapping or an attempted murder, requires disclosure without delay," a spokesperson explained.
"Ring faithfully applies that legal standard."
If you're not keen on this, you can prevent it by switching on end-to-end encryption – if your device supports it.
Ring has full instructions on how to set it up here.
Bad internet connection
If your internet plays up or you're having a connection issue specifically with your Ring, it's worth getting it looked into.
This is because you could miss something important.
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Maybe your device is too far from your router.
Ring has some advice here that could help.
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