Ring Offers New Tool for Owners of Lost Pets
Ring is expanding access to its dog-tracking technology, and you no longer need one of its cameras to participate. The Amazon-owned company is opening up its “Search Party” feature to all Ring app users in the U.S., broadening a tool that uses artificial intelligence and Ring’s large camera network to help find missing pets, TechCrunch reports.
Launched last fall, Search Party allows users to report a lost dog or other pet through the Ring app. Nearby exterior Ring cameras then use AI to scan recent footage for animals matching the description. If a possible match is detected, the camera owner receives a notification and can choose to share the video clip, call the pet owner, or send a message through the app without revealing their personal phone number.
Ring says the system has been reuniting more than one dog per day with its owners since the feature debuted. Until now, only people who owned a Ring camera could use Search Party. With this update, anyone using the Ring app—including members of the Neighbors community safety app—can post about a missing pet and tap into the broader network.
As part of the rollout, Ring also pledged $1 million to provide camera systems to up to 4,000 animal shelters across the country, with the goal of bringing them into the network to improve reunion efforts. The company already works with organizations such as Petco Love and Best Friends Animal Society and says it’s open to partnering with additional animal welfare groups.
Ring will promote the feature in its first-ever Super Bowl commercial, according to People, giving the company a national platform to spotlight Search Party.
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