Does your Ring doorbell stop crime?

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Adam is still away, but we wanted to highlight a new technology story we thought you'd find interesting.

Doorbell security cameras, like Ring, SimpliSafe, and Google Nest Doorbell, are marketed as a way to see who’s at your door or to catch porch pirates. And, sure, they still have those functions, but they’re also making people suspicious of their neighbors. 

Research has suggested that when we know we’re being watched, we may become paranoid. Cameras also send the signal that no one can be trusted not to steal your packages.

This week, Vox is exploring all aspects of the neighbor relationship, including how doorbell cameras undermine trust in communities. Experts explained to me how trust is built — and broken — in neighborhoods, and how constant surveillance is undermining that trust. 

— Allie Volpe, correspondent

Laura Simonati for Vox

In 2022, a father and son in Florida received notifications from their Ring doorbell camera: Someone was at their door. The pair quickly jumped into action, scouring their apartment complex for a would-be intruder. The scene they happened upon was a woman checking her phone in her car. They fired seven shots at her as she drove away.

The woman, who survived, had never approached their door. The person who was captured on camera turned out to be a neighbor dropping off a package that had been mistakenly delivered to his home.

This is an extreme example of paranoia-fueled behavior spurred by home security systems, but it’s part of a larger trend. Footage of alleged porch pirates is regularly posted to community Facebook and Nextdoor groups, and any odd-seeming or erratic action can raise suspicion, especially if you’re a person of color.

This class of doorbell cameras, which includes Amazon-owned Ring, Google Nest Doorbell, and SimpliSafe, is marketed as a convenient means of seeing who’s at your door, a tool to catch burglars and trespassers and maybe even find your lost dog. In actuality, its uses are often more nefarious. Hundreds of local law enforcement and government agencies nationwide have joined Ring’s social app Neighbors, a platform where anyone, regardless of whether they own a Ring camera, can post a tip about crime or safety in their neighborhood, and where investigators can request footage from Ring users. And doorbell cameras are popular; 62 percent of respondents in a 2025 US News survey said they installed an outdoor security camera at home. Americans have turned their yards and porches into their own tiny surveillance states.

Read more on Vox

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