It’s no secret that Amazon has aligned itself with our fascist government. The moment that Jeff Bezos and his trophy wife showed up at Trump II’s inauguration, it was clear that Amazon was going to suck up to the regime.
Amazon announced in October that it was partnering with surveillance company Flock to share Ring camera videos with Flock. Flock, in turn, is sharing surveillance data with ICE. For those that bought Ring cameras years ago before things got bad, it can force a difficult decision: Rip out and replace everything Ring, or risk contributing to fascism?
If we believe that Amazon will honor its stated Terms of Service, it’s possible to prevent your Ring camera footage from being used to assist ICE. Here’s how:
Amazon Ring camera privacy settings
In the Ring app, use the menu button (three horizontal bars at the upper left) and select Control Center
1) Control Center -> Amazon Account Linking and click “unlink”
2) Control Center -> Linked Accounts and unlink from any that are listed there
3) Control Center -> Neighbors: Turn off
4) Control Center -> Search Party: Disable both Lost Pets and Fire Watch for all cameras. It gives the ability to change this setting on a per camera basis. I left Fire Watch turned on for a camera that rarely sees people but does face nearby vegetation.
5) Control Center -> Amazon Sidewalk: Disable
Amazon Alexa privacy settings
Using the Amazon Alexa app, use the menu button (three stacked bars in the center bottom), then click Settings
1) Manage Your Alexa Data -> Voice Recordings and Transcipts: Set to “Don’t Retain”.
2) Manage Your Alexa Data -> Smart Home Device History: Set to 3 Months (shortest possible)
3) Manage Your Alexa Data -> Detected Sounds History: Set to 3 Months (shortest possible)
4) Manage Your Alexa Data -> Help improve Alexa: Disable “use of voice recordings”. disable “use Alexa-to-Alexa messages…”
5) Settings -> Account Settings -> Amazon Sidewalk: Disable
6) Alexa Privacy -> Manage Skill Permissions and Ad Preferences: Review the data that you’re sharing with Alexa skills. Make sure you’re comfortable with what you see, otherwise, revoke permissions or uninstall skills.
Lastly, if Amazon ever emails you with a request to share your Ring camera footage with law enforcement, read the details carefully and know which type of law enforcement is requesting the videos. Think twice before allowing them to share your camera footage with any type of law enforcement.
If you have corrections or want to share additional privacy steps, drop us a note.
There are many more ways to resist: Fight Oligarchs.
Last updated 20JAN2026