In the midst of the CES news, it was easy to miss that Ring's planned rollout of end-to-end encryption starts today. To start, the feature will be available on eight camera models.

To date, Ring has only encrypted footage between a camera and its servers. The addition of end-to-end encryption means Ring will no longer be able to see anything that your camera has recorded.

Why Is End-to-End Encryption Good?

From a privacy standpoint, end-to-end encryption is a massive step forward.

Perhaps most importantly, Ring will not be able to hand over footage to law officials, should they come calling.

By default, Ring already encrypts videos when they are uploaded to the cloud (in transit) and stored on Ring’s servers (at rest). With End-to-End Encryption, customer videos are further secured with an additional lock, which can only be unlocked by a key that is stored on the customer’s enrolled mobile device, designed so that only the customer can decrypt and view recordings on their enrolled device.

Ring has also been in the headlines recently after multiple hacking stories, so end-to-end encryption might help to alleviate some of those concerns.

But You Have to Make Sacrifices...

The new feature is aimed at privacy-conscious users; it will be available on an opt-in basis. If you do opt-in, be prepared to make some sacrifices on Ring's other features.

For example, Ring's Neighbors app relies on shared videos between the local residents and local police. Indeed, sharing videos generally becomes more complicated; you'll now have to download them then reupload them.

You also wouldn't be able to see your Ring doorbell's live feed on your Echo Show or other streaming devices (though phones and tablets will still be supported).

When Is Ring Rolling This Out?

A preview version is available from today on eight cameras. They need to be plugged into the power. That's because battery-powered devices use the cloud to process data, something end-to-end encryption does not allow.

The rollout begins in the US, with Ring planning to expand advanced security options to all users over time.

What Else Is New From Ring at CES?

While the start of the rollout and the announcement of it on the Ring Blog were both orchestrated to coincide with the buzz around CES 2021, Ring has decided not to officially attend the virtual event this year, despite being a regular in previous years.

Smart doorbells are still a thing, however. At CES, we've also seen Arlo talk about two upcoming products, including a Touchless Video Doorbell, as well as a similar touchless product from Alarm.com.