Ring spent $8 million to show 124.9 million people exactly how their surveillance network works. Then wrapped it in a puppy.

Three days later, they killed the Flock Safety partnership. Neither company mentioned the backlash. Neither needed to.

The pipeline to police didn't close. One endpoint changed.

I wrote up what's actually happening: the features enabled without your consent, the architecture that makes all of it possible, and why the cameras on your porch don't have to work this way.