A consumer advocacy group is putting money where privacy activists' mouths are. The Fulu Foundation, co-founded by right-to-repair YouTuber Louis Rossmann, just launched a $10,000 bounty program challenging developers to yank Ring doorbell footage off Amazon's cloud and route it to local storage instead. The move comes as Amazon faces mounting backlash over Ring's controversial Search Party feature, which lets police request footage directly from users. It's a direct shot at Amazon's subscription-dependent business model and raises questions about who really controls the smart home devices sitting on millions of doorsteps.
Amazon is about to face an unexpected challenge to its smart home empire. The Fulu Foundation, a consumer advocacy nonprofit co-founded by right-to-repair activist and YouTuber Louis Rossmann, just threw down a $10,000 bounty for any developer who can successfully break Ring doorbells free from Amazon's cloud infrastructure. The goal? Let users store their doorbell footage on local PCs or servers while completely severing ties to Amazon's servers.
The timing isn't coincidental. Ring, Amazon's doorbell subsidiary, is currently weathering fierce criticism over its Search Party feature, which enables law enforcement to request video footage directly from Ring users. Privacy advocates have hammered the program as a backdoor surveillance tool, and the controversy has amplified long-simmering frustrations about Amazon's grip on user data.
"Ring users currently have to pay a subscription fee to store recordings in Amazon's cloud," the Fulu Foundation wrote in its bounty announcement. While Ring does offer a local storage option called Ring Edge, it's only available with the Ring Alarm Pro, a $250 system that still requires connection to Amazon's servers for core functionality. For millions of Ring owners, there's no escape from Amazon's cloud or its recurring subscription fees.
The bounty challenge lays out specific technical requirements. Winners must demonstrate a working integration that routes Ring doorbell video directly to user-controlled hardware, bypasses Amazon's cloud entirely, and maintains core functionality like motion detection and live viewing. The foundation is offering an initial $10,000 prize, with hints that the pot could grow if multiple developers submit viable solutions.
