Keeping Your Pets Safe with Ring: Search Party, Tags, and Profiles
Your pet is family. That’s why Ring offers a suite of tools that helps you and your community work together to find them if they ever go missing. From Pet Tags and Lost Pet Posts to our new Search Party feature that uses AI to let nearby neighbors help with their cameras, Ring helps bring lost dogs home faster.
Neighbors helping neighbors to find your lost dog
What is Search Party for Dogs
When a neighbor reports a lost dog in the Ring app, nearby outdoor Ring cameras start a Search Party. Using AI to look for possible matches, your outdoor Ring cameras will notify you if they spot what could be the missing dog. Ring will show you a picture of the lost dog and relevant camera footage. With Ring’s Search Party, your privacy is always in your control. You can ignore the alert, or choose to be the neighborhood hero and share the info with your neighbor in need.
When Search Party is available in your area, your outdoor cameras will let you know when they spot a potential missing dog, and you choose if you want to share relevant videos. You can always turn off Search Party on your outdoor Ring cameras in the Ring app’s Control Center.
Availability: Search Party will start rolling out in November to neighbors in the US, and will be available to all outdoor Ring cameras to help reunite lost dogs with their families.
The below devices are compatible for Search Party:
- Doorbells: All Ring doorbell models
- Floodlight Cams: All models
- Spotlight Cams: All models
- StickUp Cam: All models (only eligible if explicitly set to “Outdoor” Install Type in Device Settings)
- Outdoor Cam: All models (only eligible if explicitly set to “Outdoor” Install Type in Device Settings)
Why it matters
Every year, neighbors share over one million posts about lost or found pets on the Ring app. Search Party is designed to assist neighbors helping neighbors. Privacy-first features like Search Party make it easier to look out for each other and build the kind of neighborhood we all want to live in.
How to start a Search Party
Anyone with an outdoor Ring camera can initiate a Search Party. No subscription required.
When you create a Lost Dog Post on the Ring app, the app guides you through activating Search Party if eligible. This feature lets you share details about your lost dog.
How to opt-out of participating in a Search Party
From the Ring app:
- Open the Ring app.
- Tap themenu(☰).
- Go toControl Center.
- SelectSearch Party.
- TapSearch for Lost Pets.
- Tap the blue Pet icon next toSearch for Lost Petsto turn the feature off for all cameras.
- To turn it off for individual cameras, use the same steps.
Note: If a camera was selected as an Indoor Install in Device Settings, it will not show up on the Search Party eligible device list.
Pet Tags & Pet Profiles
What is a Pet Tag?
A Pet Tag is a small metal tag that attaches to your pet’s collar. It has a QR code on the back that links to a Pet Profile you create in the Ring app. If someone finds your pet, they can scan the tag to see important details and contact you privately. No app is needed for the person who finds your pet.
How to create a Pet Profile
Every pet gets to have their own profile. Here’s how to create one:
- Open the Ring app to the main dashboard.
- Tap the Neighbors shortcut tile.
- Tap the Gear icon at the top.
- Tap My Pets.
- Tap Create New Profile.
- Enter your pet’s name, then tap Next.
- Select the type of pet (If “other,” specify the type).
- Tap Add Media to upload up to five photos of your pet (at least one photo is required).
- Tap Next.
- Fill in additional information, such as gender, breed, weight, and medical details.
- Tap Next.
- Tap Finish.
Linking a Pet Tag to a Pet Profile
To link a Pet Tag to your Pet’s Profile, follow these steps:
- Scan the QR code on the Pet Tag using your smartphone or tablet’s camera.
- If you haven't set up a Pet Profile yet, you will be prompted to create one.
- If you've already set up one or more Pet Profiles, select the one you'd like to link to the tag, and follow the prompts.
- Once complete, place the Pet Tag on your pet’s collar. To keep the QR code from getting damaged, it should not touch any other tags on your pet's collar or harness.
Editing a Pet Profile
To edit your pet’s profile, follow these steps:
- In the Ring app, tap the Neighbors shortcut tile and tap the gear icon at the top.
- In the Neighbors app, tap the menu (☰).
- Tap My Pets.
- Select your pet's profile. From here you can:
- Edit the pet's details.
- Link or update the Pet Tag.
- Make a Lost Pet Post.
Creating a Lost Pet Post
If your pet goes missing, you can create a Lost Pet Post to alert your community. There are two ways to create a Lost Pet Post.
To create a Lost Pet Post from the Pet Profile:
- Open your Pet Profile.
- Under the Advanced Options section, toggle Lost Pet Mode on.
- Tap Create Post.
- Fill in all relevant information related to your lost pet.
- Specify your contact preferences.
- Tap Preview Post.
- Tap Share Post to send it to your community.
To create a Lost Pet Post as a new post:
- Open your Neighbors feed.
- Tap the plus icon (+) button in the bottom right to create a New Post.
- Tap Missing Pet.
- Tap Use Pet Profile to create a post from your Pet Profile, or tap No Thanks to create your own Lost Pet Post.
- If you tap No Thanks, you will need to manually fill in all relevant information related to your lost pet.
- Specify your contact preferences.
- Tap Preview Post.
- Tap Share Post to send it to your community.
Editing or updating a Lost Pet Flyer
If your pet is lost and you’ve already set up a Pet Tag and created a Pet Profile, you can create a Lost Pet Flyer and add a personalized message about your pet. This is what someone will see when they scan the Pet Tag.
To set up or edit a Lost Pet Flyer:
- In the Ring app, select the Ring location of your Pet Profile.
- Tap Settings.
- Tap User Permissions.
- Select your Pet Profile.
- Under Lost Pet Flyer, tap Edit Flyer.
- Here you can add a personalized message that neighbors will see when they scan the QR code.
- Tap Save.
Finding a pet with a Pet Tag
If you find a pet with a Pet Tag, you don’t need the Ring app to contact the owner of a lost pet.
Follow these steps if you’ve found a lost pet:
- Scan the QR code on the Pet Tag using your smartphone or tablet's camera.
- If the pet owner has created a Lost Pet Flyer, tap Contact Owner to get in touch.
- If the pet owner has not created a Lost Pet Flyer, you’ll see the Pet Profile. Tap Contact Owner to get in touch or Leave a Comment if you're logged in to your Ring account.
If someone finds your pet with a Pet Tag:
- You’ll get a notification in the Ring app when someone tries to contact you or leave a comment. Your name and phone number are not shared.
- Update the Lost Pet Flyer to provide details and generate a Resolved Badge to let the community know your pet has been located.