Ring video doorbells have become extremely popular throughout the country as they are a great way to increase home security. You can watch, download, and even delete the videos of your home whenever you want. However, many users wonder whether or not police can access Ring videos after they are deleted. So let’s find out.
Police cannot get deleted Ring videos as there is no way to retrieve permanently deleted Ring videos. However, if you downloaded the videos and then deleted them on the Ring doorbell, police can get a warrant to see your private copies.
If you want to learn why Ring doorbell deleted videos cannot be retrieved by the police, as well as how you can permanently delete videos and save private copies, keep reading! This article has everything you need to know.
Why Can’t Police Get Deleted Ring Videos?
Now that you know that police cannot get your deleted Ring videos, you may want to know why!
The bottom line is that once Ring videos are deleted, they are gone for good! Therefore, even if you want to give them to the police or if they have a warrant to view your Ring videos, it is simply impossible to do so.
The reason why Ring offers this option is to ensure privacy among its consumers. Some people feel as though, while a Ring video doorbell could be helpful, they don’t like the idea of a company having access to their videos if they don’t want them to.
That’s why Ring made sure to give customers the option to delete their videos not only from the doorbell but from the cloud as well.
Next, let’s find out how to permanently delete Ring videos so that the police and Ring won’t be able to retrieve them, as well as how to save them to your private files before deleting them in case you want them for yourself but not for anyone else.
How to Permanently Delete Ring Videos
Ring videos automatically delete from the doorbell itself, the app, and the cloud after 60 days. However, if you want to delete them before the 60-day mark, you need to know how to do so!
Luckily, it is extremely simple to permanently delete ring videos! Here’s what you need to do:
- Open the Ring app or navigate to Ring.com on a computer browser. Click on the EVENT HISTORY menu. Select the video you want to delete. Click the trash icon in the top right corner of the page. Confirm to delete.
That’s all there is to it! Now, your Ring videos are permanently deleted, and neither you nor Ring or the police will ever be able to retrieve them.
How to Save Ring Videos Before Deleting
On the other hand, you may want to save Ring videos to your private computer before the 60-day automatic delete or deleting them from the cloud whenever you want.
You can do so on both your computer and the Ring app on your phone, and once again, the instructions couldn’t be easier!
- Open your Ring app or open Ring.com on your computer and sign in. Click on the EVENT HISTORY menu. Select the videos you want to save. Click DOWNLOAD. Then, if you want to delete them from the cloud, follow the instructions listed above to delete the videos.
And you are done! Now, you are the only person with access to those videos from your Ring doorbell.
It is important to note that when it comes to the police, if you do not want them to see your Ring videos, they could get a warrant to see them anyway if they are saved on your computer or phone.
But if you do want them to see the videos as it will help solve a crime, you will now have them stored to give or not give them to the police at your discretion.
The Bottom Line
So, can police get deleted Ring videos? The simple answer is police cannot always get deleted Ring videos. Once they are deleted and deleted from the cloud, they are gone for good. Police may be able to retrieve them if it has been less than 30 days and they are still available on the cloud.
Now, if you like this feature that Ring provides, as it increases your privacy, you can happily delete videos whenever you want, and no one will ever see them again.
However, if you want to ensure police will be able to see your Ring videos in case of emergency, you should always save them to your computer or phone, as Ring will delete them automatically after 60 days.
As well, if you love your privacy but want to review your Ring videos yourself, you always have the option of downloading them and then deleting them right away so that they are no longer on the cloud or accessible by anyone but you.