Community Requests

What is Community Requests?

Community Requests is a privacy-protected service that enables public safety agencies to put out public requests for help and efficiently and securely collect and manage digital evidence. Public safety agencies can post a request in the Neighbors feed asking community members within a specific area to share Ring video footage or information that may help their investigation. Videos customers choose to share in response to Community Requests go directly to Axon Evidence, a secure evidence management system where they can be verified for authenticity and integrity. This also creates a complete audit trail of how and when public safety agencies collect information.

Participation is always voluntary, and public safety agencies can only see what you choose to share.

Learn more about the Introduction of Community Requests in Neighbors in our blog post.

How Community Requests Works

1. When a crime is reported, local public safety agencies who are Verified and Axon Evidence users can submit a Community Request. Each request must include:
   • Details about the incident
   • The date and timeframe for the requested footage
   • The investigator’s contact information
   • A map showing the area the request covers
   • A unique investigation code
2. The request appears publicly on the Neighbors feed, and Ring users within the designated area receive a notification.
3. As a Ring camera owner, you decide what happens next. You can share relevant video clips if you want to help, or simply ignore the notification. If you ignore the request, the agency will not know; your anonymity and videos are protected. The choice is entirely yours.
4. Videos shared in response to Community Requests go directly to Axon Evidence, a secure evidence management system where they can be verified for authenticity and integrity. This also creates a complete audit trail of how and when public safety agencies collect information.

What You’ll See In The Neighbors Feed

When a Community Request is published, you will see the request appear directly in your Neighbors feed if you live in the selected area, and you’ll receive a push notification. The post will indicate that it is a Community Request. For example:

How You Can Respond

Ring Customers: When a Community Request is posted to the Neighbors feed, Ring devices owners in the relevant area will see the post and a button within it labeled "Tap to Help." Selecting this button presents two options:

• Review Your Ring Videos:
  You can review your recorded Ring videos from the requested timeframe and select relevant videos that you wish to share. Selected videos are uploaded securely and sent to the requesting agency’s account in Axon Evidence for the investigator to review.
• Other Ways to Help:
  You can contact the investigator directly by phone or email to share any relevant information.

Important Note: When a Ring customer voluntarily shares video footage, their home address and the email address associated with their Ring account are automatically provided to the investigator along with the video.

Neighbors App Users (Non-Ring Camera Users): If you use the Neighbors app but don’t have a Ring camera, you will also see Community Requests in your Neighbors feed. You can:

• View all post details
• Leave comments on the post
• Contact the investigator directly by phone or email

Participation is always voluntary. You are never required to share any information or video footage related to Community Requests.

Disabling Community Request Posts

Community Request posts let public safety agencies request help from neighbors during active investigations. Participation is always voluntary. If you prefer not to see these posts in your Neighbors Feed, you can opt out while still receiving other neighborhood updates.

To disable Community Request posts in your Neighbors Feed:

1. Open your

   Neighbors Feed

   .
2. Tap

   Feed Settings

   .
3. Scroll to

   Post Categories

   .
4. Find

   Community Requests

   and

   deselect

   it.

Once deselected:

• Community Request posts will no longer appear in your feed.
• You will stop receiving notifications for these posts.
• Other post categories in your feed remain unaffected, but you can adjust them here as well to tailor your feed to your preferences.

Visit the Customizing Neighbors app notifications and feed article on Ring Help to manage these settings.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is my Ring camera footage automatically shared with a public safety agency?

No, your Ring camera footage is not automatically shared with law enforcement. If you have set your Ring location within the geofence of the Community Request, then you will see a post in your Neighbors feed, which you can choose to respond to if you have relevant videos to share. Only videos that you explicitly select to share are sent to the requesting agency.

Can police see who declined to share footage?

No, responding to a Community Request is completely optional, and no information is shared with public safety agencies about who has viewed these posts. If a resident chooses not to share video, that choice remains private and no information is shared with public safety agencies.

How do I opt out of receiving Community Requests?

Users can disable Community Requests in their app settings. Within your Neighbors Feed settings. Navigate to the Neighbors Feed → Feed Settings → Opt out of the Community Requests Post Category.

Who has access to the footage I choose to share?

Any video submitted is securely transferred to Axon Evidence, where access is controlled by the requesting public safety agency.

Can I retract or request deletion of shared footage?

No, once the video is shared, it cannot be retracted or deleted.

How long can I upload video after a Community Request is published?

Ring users have up to 60 days to respond to Community Requests. After 60 days, the post remains visible, but no new videos can be submitted through the post.

Will this affect my current Ring subscription?

No, there is no impact to your current Ring Subscriptions.