# How to share Ring camera access with family, and what third-party apps can see

_Oct 23, 2026 · Paymahn Moghadasian_

_Ring steps checked against Ring's help articles on Oct 23, 2026. Access figures are from Pubstoop's [access page](/permissions/) as of Oct 23, 2026, built from Ring's public Appstore listings._

To share Ring camera access, the account owner invites the person from the Ring app: menu (☰) > Settings or Control Center > User Permissions > Invite User. They get an email, accept with their own Ring account, and see only the locations and devices you picked, with the permission level you chose. You don't need a Ring subscription to add shared users ([Ring](https://ring.com/support/articles/clv68/managing-permissions-for-users)).

Ring Appstore apps work differently. Only the primary account owner can connect one, you pick which devices it gets, and it receives specific kinds of data, such as live view and motion events, rather than a seat in your account.

## How to invite a family member or spouse

These are the steps from Ring's [Managing permissions for users](https://ring.com/support/articles/clv68/managing-permissions-for-users) article. The owner has to create the location first, and Ring says you need the latest version of the Ring app.

- Open the Ring app to the main dashboard.
- Tap the menu (☰).
- Tap Settings or Control Center.
- Tap User Permissions.
- Tap Invite User.
- Tap Family, friend or employee.
- Enter the person's name and email address.
- Select the locations and the devices to share.
- Choose Standard or Limited.
- Tap Continue, review, and tap Send Invite.

You can't pick Advanced in the invite. Advanced is the closest level to an owner, so it's the one to consider for a spouse or partner who helps run the system. To give someone Advanced, invite them first, then go back to User Permissions, pick the person and the location, tap Advanced, tap Continue and Save.

## Accepting the invite

The invite email is valid for 14 days. The person taps Accept Invite in the email and signs in or creates a Ring account. In the app, invites also appear under menu (☰) > Settings or Control Center > User Permissions > Received Invites. Ring says shared access can take up to 15 minutes to show up.

## Owner vs. shared user: what each level can do

Ring's comparison, from the same article:

| What they can do | Owner | Advanced | Standard | Limited |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Live View, Event History, device control | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Arm and disarm Ring Alarm on the Keypad | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Change Modes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Real-time notifications | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Share and download recorded video | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Adjust Smart Light brightness | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Adjust Ring device settings | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Manage users, add or remove devices | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Manage account info and subscriptions | Yes | No | No | No |
| Delete recordings | Yes | No | No | No |
| Delete the location | Yes | No | No | No |

Ring also has a Professional installer level, which loses access automatically after 48 hours, and Alarm Guest Users, who can only arm and disarm Ring Alarm with an access code. Viewing and downloading recordings needs a Ring subscription.

If someone had Standard access from before February 2026 and you change their level, Ring sends them a new invite. Their current access keeps working until they accept it.

## What a shared user can't do

Even at Advanced, a shared user can't:

- Manage the account or its subscriptions, delete recordings, or delete the location.
- Connect Ring Appstore apps. Ring says the Appstore needs "the primary account owner for your Ring location" and "is not available for shared users" ([Ring](https://ring.com/support/articles/e2sg9/Ring-appstore-third-party-integrations)).

Standard and Limited users also can't change device settings (motion settings included), manage users, or add and remove devices. Limited users don't get real-time notifications or Mode controls.

Two more limits from Ring's other articles:

- **Alexa.** Shared users can't use Alexa to answer the doorbell or get doorbell and motion announcements, and can't see recent videos in the Alexa app ([Shared Users and Alexa](https://ring.com/support/articles/0l486/Shared-Users-and-Alexa)).
- **Modes for cameras.** The owner can turn shared users' ability to change camera Modes on or off: menu (☰) > Settings > Modes > Shared user Access ([Ring](https://ring.com/support/articles/p0klz/Controlling-Your-Ring-Devices-with-Modes)).

## Shared access not working?

From Ring's [Troubleshooting Shared User invites](https://ring.com/support/articles/ef090/Troubleshooting-Shared-User-invites) and the permissions article:

- **No invite email.** Check spam or junk, check the email address for typos, and make sure the person has created their own Ring account.
- **The invite link doesn't work.** Old or expired links fail. Have the person delete old invite emails. The owner then cancels the pending invite (menu (☰) > Settings > User Permissions > the person > the address > Cancel Invite > Delete User) and sends a new one.
- **Some or all devices are missing.** Sharing is per device and per location. If a device wasn't selected in the invite, or it's at a location the person wasn't added to, they won't see it.
- **Accepted, but still nothing.** Make sure the app is signed in with the email that got the invite and is showing the right location. Ring suggests signing out, updating the app and signing back in.

## How to remove a shared user

- Open the Ring app to the main dashboard.
- Tap the menu (☰).
- Tap Settings or Control Center.
- Tap User Permissions.
- Tap the person's name.
- Tap the address to remove them from.
- Tap Remove user from this location.
- Tap Delete User.

Ring says this removes them from every device at that location, and also removes their access through any Alexa devices linked to their Ring account ([Manage access to your Ring account and devices](https://ring.com/support/articles/hpw10/manage-access-ring-account-devices)). If someone has been using your login rather than their own, removing a shared user won't help. That same article covers signing out all phones and computers (menu (☰) > Control Center > Authorized Client Devices > Remove All Devices) and changing your password.

## What Ring Appstore apps can see

A shared user is a person with their own login and a role. An Appstore app gets a defined set of data from the devices you choose. According to Ring's [article on how third-party apps use your data](https://ring.com/support/articles/2be4d/Understanding-how-third-party-developer-apps-use-your-data):

- Before connecting, you see a permissions screen listing the Ring device data the app will get, and you have to tap Agree and Continue.
- You pick which devices to share with each app, and you can add more later.
- The kinds of data Ring lists are Live View, Motion Events, Doorbell Press Events, Video Snapshots (which Ring describes as "recorded video clips from events") and Device Status.
- Once data reaches the developer, the developer is responsible for it. Ring says data already shared "may still be used and retained by the developer" after you stop sharing.

Each listing also declares the access the app needs. Pubstoop's [access page](/permissions/) collects those declarations. As of Oct 23, 2026, across 77 apps:

| Access type (Ring's scope name) | Apps that ask for it |
| --- | ---: |
| Live camera view (`camera:live_view`) | 76 |
| Motion alerts (`notifications:motion`) | 76 |
| Camera snapshots (`camera:snapshot`) | 71 |
| Device status (`device:device_status`) | 69 |
| Chime and tone settings (`device:device_tone_settings`) | 1 |

Every scope on every listing is marked required. 68 of the 77 apps ask for the same four: live view, snapshots, device status and motion alerts. The exceptions are small. [Ring Cheer Chime](/apps/ajd3cghfdhch1bzbi6f87/) asks only for device status and chime and tone settings, and five apps ([Lumeo](/apps/10152006/), [MELD](/apps/63928471/), [memories.ai](/apps/76543219/), [PackageProtect](/apps/20160107/) and [Visionify](/apps/28196503/)) ask only for live view and motion alerts.

A scope is what an app asks for, not a record of what it does. Read the app's own description and privacy policy, which Ring requires developers to provide, before you connect it.

Side by side:

| | Shared user | Ring Appstore app |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Who can add it | Owner, or an Advanced user | Primary account owner only |
| How it's scoped | Per location, per device, and a permission level | Per device, plus the access types on its listing |
| Needs a Ring subscription | No | Yes |
| Where the data goes | Their own Ring app | The developer's service, under the developer's privacy policy |
| How to cut it off | Remove user from the location | Turn off devices, Pause access for all, or Remove app |

## How to remove a Ring Appstore app

To stop an app without removing it, Ring's [Appstore article](https://ring.com/support/articles/e2sg9/Ring-appstore-third-party-integrations) gives this path: menu (☰) > Apps > My Apps > the app > Device access. From there, turn individual devices off, or tap Pause access for all.

To remove it completely:

- If you pay for the app through Ring, cancel that plan first: sign in at ring.com and cancel the subscription or plan that includes the app. If the subscription isn't listed on Ring's plans page, the developer manages it and you cancel with them.
- In the Ring app, tap the menu (☰).
- Tap Apps.
- Tap My Apps.
- Select the app.
- Select Remove app, shown in red.
- Confirm.

Ring says removal "revokes account linking and all device access permanently." You may also need to delete your account in the developer's own app, because data the developer already received is covered by its own retention policy.

## Sources

- Ring Help, read Oct 23, 2026: [Managing permissions for users](https://ring.com/support/articles/clv68/managing-permissions-for-users); [Troubleshooting Shared User invites](https://ring.com/support/articles/ef090/Troubleshooting-Shared-User-invites); [Shared Users and Alexa](https://ring.com/support/articles/0l486/Shared-Users-and-Alexa); [Manage access to your Ring account and devices](https://ring.com/support/articles/hpw10/manage-access-ring-account-devices); [Using Device Modes](https://ring.com/support/articles/p0klz/Controlling-Your-Ring-Devices-with-Modes); [Ring Appstore and third-party app integrations](https://ring.com/support/articles/e2sg9/Ring-appstore-third-party-integrations); [Understanding how third-party developer apps use your data](https://ring.com/support/articles/2be4d/Understanding-how-third-party-developer-apps-use-your-data).
- Access declarations: Pubstoop's [access page](/permissions/), as of Oct 23, 2026, built from the `scopes` field in Ring's public Appstore data (`https://ring.com/appstore/api/apps`).
- App descriptions: Ring's public Appstore listings, read Oct 23, 2026.

_Pubstoop is a personal, unofficial site that tracks the public Ring Appstore. It is not affiliated with Ring or Amazon and has nothing to sell._