Ring is changing the default encryption model for its cameras and related cloud services. TechCrunch and Engadget report that the Amazon-owned smart home company introduced TAKE, short for Throw Away the Key Encryption, as a new default standard meant to give users cloud-based features while reducing how long Ring can access the keys needed to process video. The core trade-off is familiar in connected-home security: full end-to-end encryption can minimize platform access, but it can also limit server-side functions. According to TechCrunch, Ring says end-to-end encryption can restrict features such as video search, video descriptions and sharing with trusted users. Engadget similarly reports that Ring’s existing end-to-end encryption option remains available, but may limit smart home features. Under TAKE, Ring says videos are protected with unique or rotating encryption keys. A cloud-held copy of those keys is used only to run features the user has enabled, according to both reports. Engadget says the keys are sent to a secure enclave in the cloud; TechCrunch says the keys are temporarily stored in the cloud and accessible by Ring for the relevant processing request. The most important operational claim is deletion. Both outlets report that Ring says the cloud-held keys are deleted after they are used. TechCrunch adds a specific window: Ring says it will delete the keys within 24 hours after the request is completed. That distinction matters because the reported privacy change is about limiting access to encryption keys, not a blanket claim that all Ring video data disappears after processing. Ring is positioning the approach as a way to preserve features such as Smart Alerts. TechCrunch reports that Smart Alerts can notify users when people, vehicles or packages appear in a camera’s field of view, and that TAKE allows Ring to temporarily decrypt and process user video to provide such functions. Users who want to exclude Ring from that processing path can still choose end-to-end encryption, according to both reports. The rollout is scheduled to begin in September. TechCrunch reports that TAKE will become the default worldwide, while Engadget says the rollout may take time to reach every Ring user. Ring customers will still be able to access footage through enrolled devices and share videos with trusted users, Engadget reports. TechCrunch also reports that Amazon’s white paper says TAKE is based on Messaging Layer Security, an open messaging standard developed by the Internet Engineering Task Force. The same report says Ring users who lose access to a device and buy a replacement can recover encryption keys by authenticating near their Ring cameras. It separately says users can recover their account through methods such as a passphrase, cloud-based backups, another approved device or passkeys. The encryption update lands against a long-running privacy backdrop. TechCrunch notes criticism of Ring’s Familiar Faces feature, which uses facial recognition to identify visitors, and says a June class-action lawsuit accused Amazon of storing images of passersby without consent. Engadget adds that Ring ended its law-enforcement request-for-access feature in 2024, later canceled a planned Flock integration, and has faced criticism over Search Party, an artificial intelligence feature marketed for finding missing pets through connected Ring cameras. The practical shift is narrower than a full move to end-to-end encryption by default. Ring is not removing cloud processing from the product. It is instead proposing a key-management model that gives the company temporary access for enabled features, then removes the cloud-held keys after use. Who benefits: Ring users who rely on cloud features such as alerts and sharing may get stronger default key handling without manually disabling those services. Ring also benefits if the change helps answer privacy criticism while preserving feature adoption. Who's exposed: Privacy-sensitive customers remain exposed to a model in which Ring can temporarily decrypt and process video for enabled cloud features. Users who want to remove Ring from that path still need to choose end-to-end encryption and accept the associated feature limits reported by the outlets.