Ring introduces temporary encryption to limit law enforcement access

Under the new architecture, Ring rotates encryption keys every five minutes for all captured footage. While the company retains access to these keys to facilitate AI-powered features like smart alerts and video descriptions, it automatically deletes its copies within 24 hours. Ring spokesperson Sam McGee confirmed that in response to valid legal requests, the company will only be able to provide non-video subscriber data and encrypted files that it can no longer decrypt internally.

TAKE is built on the Messaging Layer Security standard, though it stops short of full end-to-end encryption. Unlike true E2EE, where the provider never holds the keys, TAKE allows Ring to process video in the cloud. The company manages these keys within an AWS Nitro Enclave, a hardware-isolated environment designed to prevent employee access. To view footage older than 24 hours, users must authorize their devices to send the necessary keys back to Ring for individual sessions. While this update limits Ring’s potential as a surveillance conduit, the company maintains that cloud-based processing remains necessary for features that cannot currently run on local camera hardware.