Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Ring and Watch Duty Unveil Fire Watch for Real-Time Wildfire Data

Watch Duty pledges human vetting of shared clips to address long-running privacy concerns.

Overview

  • Fire Watch, built into Ring’s Neighbors app, will deliver Watch Duty fire alerts, use AI to spot smoke or flames nearby, and let users in an alert zone volunteer camera snapshots for Watch Duty’s feed.
  • Jamie Siminoff says opting in effectively opens a Ring camera for 24 hours to donate data during an active wildfire.
  • AI smoke and flame detection runs on outdoor Ring cameras during a fire and requires a Ring Protect subscription.
  • Ring announced the feature at CES 2026 and says it will roll out in the spring.
  • Watch Duty will select and publish only relevant submissions with no auto-approval, a stance underscored as Ring’s history with police access and privacy lawsuits faces renewed scrutiny.