Amazon’s annual fall event always spawns a whole host of new products, some with immediately evident use cases and some, not so much.

Depending on who you ask, their new Ring Always Home Cam drone is either one of their greatest new ideas, or a most concerning privacy invading piece of gadetry.

According to Amazon owned Ring, the Always Home Cam is designed to give homeowners a variety of viewpoints throughout their home without the need to purchase multiple cameras.

Ring says the camera can be used to check up on things you may have forgotten to check before leaving the house, like turning off the stove, or lights; but also, more importantly for home security.

The Always Home can be hooked up to a Ring alarm system so that it can fly over to investigate a potential intrusion when an alarm is triggered. 

Ring assures you that the camera is only recording when the drone is flying and making an audible buzzing noise. The docking station also includes a base that covers the camera whilst it is charging, further preventing potential undisclosed snooping.

Yet even with these concerns some privacy advocates are not impressed. CNET reporter David Priest argues that it does not pass the privacy equation; “the trade-off at the core of most privacy debates pits convenience against access to your data.” The privacy concerns, he argues are not worth the minor convenience it buys you.

Priest continues to argue that Ring’s past history of handing over footage to the police is a potential risk that is not worth taking.

To be fair to Ring, they only cooperate with the police to turn over footage from homeowners when they are either legally required to or with the consumer’s consent. 

Personally, I think the Ring Always Home Cam is a much more privacy conscious and economically viable solution than buying a different camera for each room in a house.

The Ring Always Home Cam will retail for $249 at its release in 2021.