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VideoArchiver
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How to save Ring clips automatically

Ring keeps event video for up to 180 days, but in the US most cameras start out set to less (see how long Ring keeps your videos). Anything you want after that needs a copy made before the window closes. Here are four ways to make one, and what each costs in money and in upkeep.

Third-party facts checked on against their own pages linked below. Their pages govern; recheck before relying on any number here.

On this page
  • By hand, from Ring
    Money
    Your Ring plan
    Upkeep
    Nothing to set up; you download each clip yourself
  • IFTTT applet
    Money
    Your Ring plan, plus IFTTT Pro, which the Dropbox step needs: $2.99 a month billed yearly, or $4.99 a month billed monthly
    Upkeep
    You set it up and keep it running
  • Script you run
    Money
    Your Ring plan, plus your hardware and your time
    Upkeep
    You keep the machine running and read your own logs
  • VideoArchiver
    Money
    Your Ring plan, plus VideoArchiver Free (50 events per device each calendar month) or VideoArchiver Pro ($2.99 per device per month)
    Upkeep
    A dashboard shows each clip; an email tells you when clips start failing

By hand, from Ring

Download the clips you know you need: one at a time in the Ring app, or several at once on ring.com, which arrives as a zip file (see Ring’s guide to managing your videos (opens in a new tab)). It needs your Ring plan, which Ring says reviewing recorded video requires. There is no setup, and no protection for the clip you have not thought about yet. Best for the occasional clip, not for a record.

With an IFTTT applet

IFTTT is an automation service that is free to start. It publishes a ready-made applet that adds a Ring doorbell ring to Dropbox (see the Dropbox applet (opens in a new tab)).

Three things to know before you rely on it. The Dropbox step is marked IFTTT Pro: IFTTT Pro is $2.99 a month billed yearly, or $4.99 a month billed monthly, and IFTTT’s Free plan runs two applets (see IFTTT’s plans (opens in a new tab)). The applet page lists a 30 MB file size limit.

The third is timing. IFTTT does not hear from Ring the moment something happens: IFTTT lists this trigger as polling on its Ring-to-Dropbox page (opens in a new tab), so it checks Ring on a schedule, once an hour on the Free plan and every five minutes on IFTTT Pro and Pro+ (see how IFTTT checks for new events (opens in a new tab)). IFTTT’s pages are not consistent about this, so you may see “Realtime” on the applet page.

IFTTT’s Ring connection offers doorbell triggers only (see IFTTT’s Ring page (opens in a new tab)). Best if you already use IFTTT and only need doorbell events.

With a script you run

The building blocks are public. Home Assistant, a home-automation program, has a Ring integration, and its documentation describes downloading a camera’s latest recording; it notes that this needs a Ring Protect plan (see Home Assistant’s Ring page (opens in a new tab)). The cost is your Ring plan, plus your hardware and your time: you keep the machine running, you notice when it stops, and you read your own logs when a clip is missing. Best if you enjoy running your own setup and want full control.

With a hosted archiver

VideoArchiver is the same idea as a script, run for you: it starts as soon as Ring announces a motion event or doorbell press, and checks Ring’s history every hour for any announcement that never arrived. It copies your motion events and doorbell presses to your own Google Drive, Dropbox, or S3-compatible storage, and shows each clip’s status on a dashboard you can check. If clips start failing to save, you get one email naming the camera and, when it can tell, the likely cause; further failures from the same problem are listed in Events. Failed clips stay replayable for 72 hours. Clips stream straight through and are never stored on our servers.

VideoArchiver’s Free plan covers 50 events per device each calendar month (UTC), no credit card. Keep quiet cameras on Free and move busy ones to VideoArchiver Pro at $2.99 per device per month, bought through the Ring Appstore and billed by Ring, separate from your Ring plan. Your storage costs are between you and your cloud provider. Cancel any time: clips already in your cloud stay there. If Ring has no recording for an event, there is nothing to save.

Install from Ring Appstore

Needs the Ring account owner’s login (Ring’s Appstore is not available to shared users) and an active Ring plan.

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