Amazon's Ring is rolling out a new proprietary encryption architecture called TAKE (Throw Away the Key Encryption) for its security cameras, starting in September. This system will become the default for all Ring devices and is designed to give users more control over their video footage, limiting access for both the company and law enforcement.
Under TAKE, Ring will temporarily hold a copy of the encryption key in a secure cloud environment to power AI features like smart alerts. After the video is analyzed for these features, Ring's copy of the key is permanently deleted. This prevents the company from accessing the video for any other purpose or providing it to third parties without user consent. The optional, more restrictive end-to-end encryption (E2EE) will remain available for users who want maximum privacy, though it disables most cloud-based features.