How to use Ring video doorbells and indoor cameras around children safely, including recording consent, the Neighbors app and UK considerations for audio recording.
Ring Doorbell & Cam is Amazon's Ring video doorbell and indoor security cameras, which stream and record footage to an app and should be sited and shared carefully to protect family privacy.
Ring video doorbells and Ring indoor cameras record audio and video at the door, in hallways and inside the home. They are not aimed at children but children appear on the footage every day, and many households put a Ring camera in a child's playroom or bedroom. UK GDPR, the Data Protection Act 2018 and the ICO's CCTV in the home guidance set out what is reasonable when recording family, visitors and neighbours, and the Online Safety Act 2023 underpins how the linked Neighbors app handles user-generated posts.
Place doorbells so they cover your own front door and path, not a neighbour's window or garden. Inside the home, keep cameras to shared rooms such as kitchens, hallways and playrooms — not bedrooms or bathrooms.
In the Ring app, configure privacy zones to mask anything outside your property line. Switch audio recording off for shared corridors in flats and for any indoor camera that does not need it.
Open Settings > Users and Permissions and remove anyone who no longer lives in the household, including ex-partners. Set two-factor authentication on the account.
Agree as a family that footage of identifiable children — your own or visiting children — is not posted to Neighbors without the other parent's permission. If you witness a serious incident on camera, report it to 101 (or 999 if urgent) rather than posting it.
Privacy Zones
Location: Ring app > Devices > [Camera] > Device Settings > Privacy Settings > Privacy Zones
Recommended: Mask any view into a neighbour's property or a child's private space
Lets you blank out parts of the video so that bedrooms, bathrooms or a neighbour's window are never recorded.
Audio Recording
Location: Ring app > Device Settings > Privacy Settings > Audio Recording
Recommended: Off for doorbells in shared corridors or near a neighbour's door; off inside bedrooms
The ICO's CCTV in the home guidance treats audio recording of conversations outside your home as more intrusive than video and recommends turning it off where it is not necessary.
Shared Users
Location: Ring app > Settings > Users and Permissions
Recommended: Only current household members; remove ex-partners and former lodgers
Limits who can see Live View, watch recordings and control the cameras. Review the list whenever someone moves out.
Neighbors Posting
Location: Ring app > Neighbors
Recommended: Do not post footage of identifiable children without their parent's consent
The Online Safety Act 2023 and existing data-protection law treat children's faces as personal data. Posting clips of other people's children to Neighbors without permission can be unlawful and harmful.
Cameras in shared rooms only. Never use a Ring camera as a long-term baby monitor in a bedroom — a dedicated baby monitor is more appropriate and is designed for the purpose.
Tell children where the cameras are and why. Avoid filming play that they find embarrassing later. Do not share clips on social media without their input.
Teenagers have a stronger right to privacy at home. Review whether indoor cameras still need to be on, and consider giving them control of any camera in shared spaces they use most.