Blink Just Launched a New Video Doorbell for People Who Don’t Like Ring

Ring had a bit of a public relations nightmare when it came to light that cops in the US were using its doorbells’ video camera footage in a fairly freewheeling way. The company says it switched up its practice to require police to present a warrant to get footage from the smart doorbells, but to this day a lot of people don’t want to give Ring a cent.

It’s understandable. What are the alternatives for those who want a video doorbell for all the legitimate reasons: checking on strangers who come to the door, communicating with delivery folks, and so on? Blink just launched a brand-new generation of its video doorbell, and you can already buy it.

low demands, high resolution

Providing 1440p resolution of a 150-degree, wide-angle view that Blink calls “head-to-toe” coverage, the Blink Video Doorbell can send a live feed of its view to your device’s app wherever you are, if you have cellular signal or a Wi-Fi connection.

It’ll also run for two years on three AA lithium ion batteries, so you can stick it wherever and not have to worry about running a power cord to an outlet. You do need a subscription to take advantage of all of the doorbell’s features, but you get 30 free days when you buy the doorbell.

As for why Blink instead of Ring? Well, I can’t say for certainty what goes on behind closed doors with either company. What I can do is elaborate on why Ring got a bad mark specifically and why video doorbells have raised eyebrows generally.

“Civil liberties experts have long criticized (Ring’s owner) Amazon’s close relationship with law enforcement and the company’s willingness to facilitate warrantless police investigations by allowing easy access to private security footage from people’s homes,” wrote The Guardian in January 2024.

“Amazon also admitted in 2022 that it had handed police video footage without the customers’ consent or a warrant 11 times that year in cases it deemed an ’emergency’,” The Guardian went on to say.

When it comes to Blink’s privacy policy, I’ll let you read that for yourself. It’s a lot of fine print, but it’s good to know the fine print whenever you’re putting up a video camera from any company.