Ring has dealt with its fair share of privacy snafus (and then some), but its latest move might allay some of your fears. The Amazon-owned smart home company has instituted a new login policy, effective immediately. Now, you'll need to enter a two-factor authentication (2FA) code every time you log into your account.

Ring follows in the footsteps of Google's Nest, which made a similar move earlier this month. When you enter your username and password in the Ring app, you'll get a one-time code via either email or SMS (your choice). Ring doesn't mention authenticator apps as an option, unfortunately. The email route is probably safer—your phone number is not particularly secure. Requiring 2FA will (hopefully) end those embarrassing news reports of hijacked Ring security cameras caused by weak passwords. It's also an opportunity for Ring to score some brownie points with users after being on the defensive ever since its law enforcement cooperation came to light last year.

Ring is also pausing its use of analytics platforms, a response to recent reports that called attention to the unusual volume of data Ring was passing to third-parties. While this is only temporary, you can now opt-out of having your data used for personalized ads forever. The specifics will be in an email to customers as the features roll out.

Source: Ring

UPDATE: 2020/03/10 11:35am PDT BY JULES WANG

Blink announces verified email policy

Another Amazon subsidiary, Blink, will begin verifying the email addresses of anyone who has opened a Blink account. All users will be required to have a verified email by March 30. The security camera vendor says it will be able to provide two-factor authentication to users once the requirement is in place.

Users are prompted to open the Blink app, navigate to Manage Accounts, then hit Resend Verification Email after checking (and correcting, if need be) if the account on file is correct. They'll then need to click the link contained within the email.

This step would only be to establish two-factor authentication, not require it for all logins. Expect more to flow from this.

Source: Blink