Privacy policy
Version 1.1 · Tuesday, November 3
The short version
- Waloca only uses what your Ring cameras share with it, to make a daily story for the people you choose.
- We don't sell your data and we don't use it to train AI models.
- Pictures are off until you turn them on, and are deleted after 7 days unless you choose a different time.
- You can delete everything at any time, in the app.
What we collect
When you link your Ring account, Ring shares with Waloca the names of your cameras, whether they are online, and when they detected motion or a doorbell press. We also keep the names and email addresses of the people you invite, and the settings you choose.
Pictures from your cameras are not collected unless you turn on snapshots. If you do, we keep each picture for the number of days you choose.
- Camera names, online state and activity times from Ring.
- The name you give the person you look after, and your notes about them.
- Names and email addresses of helpers, and what each may see.
- Your settings, rules, away and pause dates, and acknowledgements of alerts.
- Optional: small snapshots and short descriptions of them.
Why we use it
We use this data to write a daily story of what the cameras saw, to compare a day with the usual routine, and to tell you or your helpers when something differs. We don't use it for advertising.
We can only report what the cameras observed. We can't see inside the home.
How long we keep it
These are the default periods. You can shorten how long pictures are kept in Settings → Privacy & data.
| What | How long |
|---|---|
| Raw messages from Ring | 14 days |
| Pictures and what was read from them | 7 days by default (you choose 1 to 30) |
| Written descriptions of pictures | 90 days |
| Detailed activity times | 180 days, then only daily totals |
| The daily story and day summaries | 400 days |
| Alerts, warnings and acknowledgements | 400 days (message text 30 days) |
| Records of AI requests | 90 days |
| Sign-in codes | 1 day |
| Expired sign-in sessions | 30 days |
| Activity log (no personal content) | 2 years |
| Everything, when you delete your household | Removed from the live service after the 24-hour undo window; backups expire within 15 days |
Backups are encrypted and are kept for at most 15 days. Copies of a deleted household's data in backups expire within that time.
How we protect it
Names, camera names, Ring account and device identifiers, Ring access tokens, pictures, and the text of your stories, summaries, alerts, notifications and digests are encrypted with a key that belongs to your household.
Some operational information is not encrypted field by field: the times and counts of detected activity, time zone and settings, and technical identifiers. It carries no names or contact details, is stored encrypted at rest on disk and in backups, is deleted from the live service when you delete your household, and is removed from backups within 15 days.
Backups are encrypted and are kept for at most 15 days. Copies of a deleted household's data in backups expire within that time.
AI features are optional
Two optional features use an AI provider, OpenAI: "Describe pictures" and "Friendlier wording". Both are off unless you turn them on in Settings → Privacy & data, and they only work if the service has enabled them. Where a feature isn't available yet, the app says so, its switch stays off, and nothing is sent.
When "Describe pictures" is on, one picture at a time is sent to OpenAI to count people and animals and write a short description. We resize the picture and remove its metadata first. We also send one word for where the camera is placed, such as "front door", and a coarse time of day, such as "evening". We never send names, ids, exact timestamps or email addresses, and we don't ask the AI to identify anyone.
When "Friendlier wording" is on, the facts of a summary, such as times and camera names, are sent to OpenAI to smooth the wording. No pictures are sent.
By default, OpenAI does not use data sent through its API to train its models, under its published API data policy. We send requests so that OpenAI does not keep them as application state. OpenAI may still keep inputs in its abuse-monitoring logs for up to 30 days. We have not applied for zero data retention.
You can turn either feature off at any time. Turning off "Describe pictures" deletes the descriptions it wrote. Summaries that were already reworded keep their text.
Your rights
You can see, export and delete your data in the app at any time. Residents of California and some other states have additional rights, such as asking what we hold and asking us to delete it. Write to us at the address below and we will reply within 45 days.
Removing Waloca in Ring My Apps in the Ring app also starts deletion.
Deleting your data
Choose Delete everything in Settings → Privacy & data. We delete your household's data and destroy its encryption key, and send you a receipt without personal details. Backup copies of the encrypted items cannot be read without that key, and all backup copies, including any copy of the key held in a disk snapshot, expire within 15 days. See the data deletion page for the steps.
Where Waloca is available
Waloca is only available in the United States, to Ring customers in the United States.
Children
Waloca is for adults. It is not meant for people under 18, and we don't knowingly collect data about them for any other purpose than looking after a household.
What Waloca is not
Waloca is not a medical device, a security alarm or an emergency service. If you think someone needs urgent help, call 911.
Contact
Questions or requests about privacy: support@waloca.com. To report a worry about how Waloca is being used, use the Report a problem page.
Waloca shares what your Ring cameras observed. It can't see inside the home and isn't a medical, safety or emergency service.
Waloca isn't affiliated with Ring.
Questions: support@waloca.com