How to stop someone from deleting ring videos？

Ring doorbells and security cameras provide a convenient way to monitor the exterior of your home or business, offering real-time video streaming and recording for security purposes. With features such as motion detection, two-way audio, and cloud video storage, Ring devices serve as a reliable safeguard against theft and intrusions.

However, the risk of someone deleting or tampering with your video footage can compromise your security efforts. This is especially concerning if someone gains unauthorized access to your Ring account, either by exploiting weak security practices or by bypassing certain settings. To ensure the integrity of your Ring footage, you must understand the different layers of security that can be employed, from controlling who has access to your account to using best practices for password management.

Section 1: Ring’s Video Storage System

Before taking steps to protect your videos, it’s important to understand how Ring stores and manages its footage.

Cloud Storage: By default, Ring stores recorded videos in the cloud for a set period, usually 60 or 90 days depending on your subscription plan. After this period, videos are automatically deleted, unless you have saved them manually or exported them to another device.

Video Deletion: Ring allows users to delete videos manually via the Ring app or website. If someone has access to your account, they can potentially delete videos, removing them from both your cloud storage and any linked devices.

Subscription Plans: Ring’s subscription plans, including Ring Protect Basic and Ring Protect Plus, affect how long videos are stored. The Basic plan offers 30-day video storage, while the Plus plan extends this to 60 days for unlimited devices in a household.

Section 2: Restricting Access to Your Ring Account

One of the most effective ways to prevent someone from deleting Ring videos is to restrict access to your Ring account.

Use Strong Passwords: Ensure that your Ring account is protected by a strong, unique password. A combination of upper and lower case letters, numbers, and special characters reduces the likelihood of unauthorized access.

Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): Ring supports two-factor authentication, which requires a second form of verification, such as a code sent via text or an authenticator app. This adds an extra layer of protection against unauthorized users attempting to log into your account.

Manage User Permissions: Ring allows you to grant different levels of access to other users. You can invite trusted family members or roommates to view the videos without giving them full administrative control. Ensure that only trusted individuals have access to video management and settings.

Owner: The account owner has full access to all features, including video storage and deletion.

Shared Users: Shared users can view live footage and past recordings but cannot delete videos or change settings.

Review Account Activity: Regularly check your Ring account’s activity logs for any unauthorized attempts to access your account. Ring may also notify you of unusual login attempts.

Section 3: Preventing Video Deletion Through Permissions

To minimize the risk of someone deleting your Ring videos, it’s essential to properly manage user permissions. This ensures that only authorized individuals can access and delete your footage.

Set Permissions for Shared Users: If you must share your Ring account, ensure that shared users have restricted access. By default, shared users can only view live footage and video clips, but they cannot delete them. If you’re sharing access with someone who does not need control over video deletions, this permission setup will protect your footage.

Audit User Access Regularly: Periodically review the individuals who have access to your Ring devices. Remove anyone who no longer needs access or whose trustworthiness is in question. Ring also allows you to modify or revoke access for shared users at any time.

Limit Access to Video Clips: In some cases, you can limit access to videos by creating a separate account for each user and restricting their privileges. This is particularly useful in business or multi-user environments where different levels of access are necessary.

Section 4: Monitoring and Managing Recorded Footage

To safeguard your recorded footage and prevent accidental or malicious deletions, you can take a few additional precautions.

Manually Save Important Videos: One of the easiest ways to ensure critical videos are protected is by manually saving or exporting them. Ring allows users to download video clips to their devices, preventing them from being lost due to account mishandling.

Use Ring Protect Plus Plan: If you’re on the Basic plan, you only have 30 days of video storage. Upgrading to Ring Protect Plus extends this storage to 60 days. You can manually save or download videos before the 60-day limit to ensure they remain safe.

Use Cloud Backup or Local Storage: For added peace of mind, consider backing up important video files to a secondary cloud service, such as Google Drive or Dropbox. Alternatively, you can use a local storage option to store videos outside of Ring’s cloud service, making it more difficult for someone to delete the footage.

Enable Motion Alerts and Notifications: Make sure you have notifications enabled for important events, such as motion detection or doorbell presses. These alerts will give you a timely heads-up about what’s happening in real-time, and you can download the footage immediately to prevent it from being deleted.

Section 5: Regularly Backing Up Your Data

Another strategy for ensuring that your Ring videos remain safe is by routinely backing up your data.

Set Up Automatic Video Backups: Some Ring users may opt to set up automatic backup systems to transfer videos to an external hard drive or other storage devices. Using software like Google Backup or Dropbox Sync ensures that videos are constantly backed up to your personal cloud storage.

Download Videos Before the Expiry Date: As videos stored in Ring’s cloud have a retention period, be proactive about downloading important clips before they expire. Even if you don’t have an external backup setup, regularly saving videos to your phone, computer, or cloud storage will ensure that nothing valuable is deleted.

Export Videos for Longer-Term Storage: Ring allows exporting videos to an external storage device. If you’re concerned about losing footage, you can export and store videos on an external hard drive or local storage for later reference.

Section 6: Handling Account Compromise and Video Deletion

If someone has gained unauthorized access to your Ring account and deleted videos, there are steps you can take to recover footage and secure your account.

Change Your Password Immediately: If you suspect that someone has accessed your Ring account, change the password immediately. Ensure the new password is strong and unique.

Contact Ring Support: If your videos have been deleted or if you suspect foul play, contact Ring support for assistance. They may be able to recover deleted videos or provide insights into what happened.

Review Camera Settings and Notifications: Go through your Ring app and camera settings to check for any unusual modifications. You should also review notifications to see if they provide any clues about suspicious activity.

Section 7: Preventing Deletion on Shared Devices

If you’re using shared devices such as tablets or smartphones to access your Ring videos, ensure that these devices are secured to prevent unauthorized deletions.

Lock the Ring App with a Password: For added security, lock the Ring app with a password or fingerprint lock. This prevents anyone from opening the app and deleting footage without your knowledge.

Use Device-Level Security: On devices where multiple people have access, ensure that they are locked with a PIN, password, or biometric lock. This adds an additional layer of protection in case someone tries to delete your videos without permission.