With Ring’s launch of Search Party and the weather finally warming up beyond brutally cold in NJ, I replaced my Ring doorbell. As 404 Media has reported, Ring is more interested in creating a surveillance panopticon to create some vaguely defined version of neighborhood safety. But that means that individual Ring owners do not have control over their videos. With the launch of Search Party, which serves the good purpose of helping find lost pets, users were automatically added in, rather than having to agree to opt in. 404 Media reports that this is how Ring expects to launch more features. 404 Media: Leaked Email Suggests Ring Plans to Expand ‘Search Party’ Surveillance Beyond Dogs
Trying to stay as much as possible within the Apple HomeKit ecosystem, I went with a Logitech Circle View doorbell, which stores its videos in HomeKit Secure Video. It also does not require its own subscription fee. HomeKit Secure Video does require an iCloud+ subscription from Apple. The Ring installation was slightly easier, using wire nuts and screw connectors, while the Circle View requires jamming the wires from the doorbell directly into the back of the mount. And one of the wires didn’t not want to stay seated within the doorbell, so it took me a few tries to successfully install. Unlike Ring, the Logitech chime integration required more wiring. The Circle view has a narrower field of view, but both capture high-quality video. Ring does capture time-lapse stills throughout the day, while the Home app only records motion by default. Apple Home does offer face recognition in a privacy forward way. The recognition is done locally on device (on whichever Apple TV or HomePod is serving as the Home hub) using the identifications that you have added into your personal photos library.
The Circle View does not offer fully local recording to a memory card, just to iCloud. It also only works with Apple devices, and doesn’t have an Android app. Other options to consider beyond Ring include the Aqara G410, which works with HomeKit Secure Video, has local storage, and offers an Android app. However, the G410 does not support a standard chime. For Google Home partisans, the Nest Doorbell is an option.
