Blink

Is Blink safe?

Blink is a sensible budget choice for most homes, with one clear gap. Account security is solid by default: every new sign-in needs a code, passkeysPasskeyA way to sign in without a password. Your device holds a key tied to one website or app and unlocks it with your fingerprint, face or PIN.More in the glossary are supported, and Amazon pays researchers who find bugs in the app and the cameras. No regulator has fined or ordered Blink, and Apple's label for the app shows no tracking. What Blink lacks is the option its sister brand Ring now has: end-to-end encryptionEnd-to-end encryptionEncryption in which only the sender and the recipient can read a message. The company running the service cannot see its content.More in the glossary that keeps the company out of your video. Clips in Blink's cloud stay readable by Blink, and its privacy notice allows interest-based ads. We score Blink 64/100, above Ring at 57 and eufy at 60.

Is Blink the same as Ring?

Not legally. Both are Amazon companies, but Blink is run by Immedia Semiconductor, with its own app, accounts and privacy notice. That distinction matters for the record. The FTC's 2023 order over staff viewing customers' videos and hacked cameras defines the defendant as "Ring LLC (Ring) and its successors and assigns", and covers only cameras Ring designs and sells. Blink is not named. The 2023 children's privacy order against Amazon covers the Alexa voice service and the Alexa app, not Blink cameras. We treat both orders as context, not as part of Blink's own record.

The family link still shows in the paperwork. Blink's notice says it shares personal data with affiliates, receives information about your use of other Amazon services, and sends you to your Amazon account to see your name, address and order history.

What does Blink collect, and who sees your video?

Apple's privacy label is short: contact info, user content and identifiers are linked to you, mainly for app functions, with usage data and diagnostics collected but not linked. The Google Play listing says Blink shares no data with other companies.

The privacy notice, last updated in November 2025, is broader. Blink uses personal data to recommend products and "display interest-based ads", lists images, audio and video stored with its services among the data it holds, and may release account data to comply with the law. It says it is "not in the business of selling" customers' data.

Video is the sensitive part. Blink's notice describes encryption while data travels to its servers. We found no end-to-end encryptionEnd-to-end encryptionEncryption in which only the sender and the recipient can read a message. The company running the service cannot see its content.More in the glossary in its help centre, so footage in the cloud is not locked to your phone the way Ring's optional encrypted mode is. US cloud plans keep clips for up to 60 days (30 days in the EU and UK), and Blink says a deleted clip is permanently erased from its servers.

How secure is a Blink account?

Better than many cheap cameras. Blink's help centre says it has built in multi-factor authenticationTwo-factor authenticationSigning in with a second proof of identity on top of your password, such as a code from an app, a security key or a passkey.More in the glossary: each new sign-in asks for a six-digit code, sent by text message by default, or by WhatsApp or email. Password resets and email changes need the same check. You can also add a passkeyPasskeyA way to sign in without a password. Your device holds a key tied to one website or app and unlocks it with your fingerprint, face or PIN.More in the glossary, which uses your phone's face or fingerprint unlock instead of a password.

The weak points are the code channel and the cameras themselves. Blink offers no authenticator app, and SMS codes can be stolen through SIM-swap fraud. On the hardware side, the US vulnerability database lists seven flaws in the Blink XT2 Sync Module published in December 2019, rated up to 9.8 out of 10, which let attackers run commands on the hub until firmware 2.13.11. We found no reported breach of Blink accounts. Blink's app and devices are in scope of Amazon's paid bug bounty on HackerOne.

Can you use Blink without the cloud?

Partly. With a Sync Module 2 and a USB drive, eligible cameras save clips locally without a subscription, and you still get motion alerts and live view. If you pay for a plan, clips go to the cloud and the USB drive gets a daily backup. Prices rose in the US on 8 October 2025, the first rise since 2021: Basic is now $3.99 a month for one camera and Plus $11.99 a month for all of them.

Known Faces, Blink's face recognition, needs a paid plan and is off by default. Blink does not offer it in Illinois, Texas, Portland (Oregon) or Quebec because of local laws, and warns that some places require visitors' consent.

How to set up Blink more privately

1. Add a passkeyPasskeyA way to sign in without a password. Your device holds a key tied to one website or app and unlocks it with your fingerprint, face or PIN.More in the glossary and use a password you use nowhere else; keep the phone number on the account current.
2. Use a Sync Module 2 with a USB drive if you do not want clips stored in Amazon's cloud.
3. Draw privacy zones over windows, gardens and neighbours' property, and avoid indoor cameras in bedrooms.
4. Leave Known Faces off unless everyone who visits has agreed to it.
5. Review shared users and signed-in devices in the app every few months, and remove any you do not recognise.

How we scored it

The regulatory record (85) is Blink's strongest factor: no fine or order names it, although no large regulator has looked at it either. Privacy (55) is its weakest, because the policy allows interest-based ads and cloud video is not end-to-end encryptedEnd-to-end encryptionEncryption in which only the sender and the recipient can read a message. The company running the service cannot see its content.More in the glossary. Security (60) credits mandatory login codes, passkeysPasskeyA way to sign in without a password. Your device holds a key tied to one website or app and unlocks it with your fingerprint, face or PIN.More in the glossary and a paid bug bounty, but reflects the missing encryption option and the 2019 Sync Module flaws.