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Ring aired a Super Bowl ad touting its Search Party feature that didn't quite get the intended buzz. Instead, the commercial scared the pants off of anyone concerned about a mass surveillance state. The feature is advertised as a way to reunite missing dogs with their owners, a noble cause indeed, but Search Party does this by turning individual Ring devices into a surveillance network. Each camera uses AI to identify pets running across its field of vision and all feeds are pooled together to potentially identify lost animals. I've never seen a slope quite so slippery, as the technology could easily be rejiggered to track people. Government: how can we get Americans to accept constant surveillance?Ring: PuppiesAmericans: PUPPIES!!!!!! mark david (@M___D____M_____) February 9, 2026 It's also worth noting that this isn't a new feature. Search Party was first announced last year. In that time it has been used to find 99 lost dogs in 90 days of use, according to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy. Approximately ten million pets go missing in America each year. Many people aren't keen on helping to create a surveillance state for a tool with what looks to be around a 0.005 percent success rate. That percentage is sure to rise with mass adoption, but you get the jist. With that said, many Ring users are looking for a way to disable the feature, as it's enabled by default. Engadget has got you covered. How to Disable Search Party Thankfully, this is fairly easy to do. Just open the Ring app and tap the menu in the top-left corner. Next, select Control Center. Then, tap Search Party and toggle the settings to Disable for both Search for Lost Pets and Natural Hazards. Repeat this process for each camera. PSA: If the Ring search party commercial weirded you out during the Super Bowl, it is very easy to turn off1. In the menu, go to Control Center2. Scroll down to Search Party3. Go into whichever options are available in your area (not pictured)4. Tap the blue icon to turn off pic.twitter.com/L3qaxu2pJQ Nick Veronica (@NickVeronica) February 9, 2026 There has also been some confusion as to what Ring will share with law enforcement agencies. If you want to go a step further, delete all of your saved videos by tapping the History icon and then "Delete All."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/heres-how-to-disable-rings-creepy-search-party-feature-185420455.html?src=rss
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YouTube is launching YouTube TV Plans this week, after revealing the program back in December. These are genre-specific subscription packages that let users opt into a curated version of the service and save a few bucks in the process. Yeah. It's pretty much cable, proving you can't cut a cord if it's made out of invisible radio waves. There more than ten plans available and they are all cheaper than the typical asking price of $83 per month. There's a Sports Plan that costs $65 per month and includes channels like FS1, NBC Sports Network and all of the ESPN networks. Subscribers will pay $72 per month to add some news channels like CNN and CSPAN to the sports package. The Entertainment Plan costs $55 per month and includes networks like Bravo, Comedy Central, FX and the Food Network, among many others. There's a beefier version of this that costs $70 per month and adds in family channels like the Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon, along with news channels. Signing up for one of these plans still provides various perks of a standard YouTube TV subscription. These include unlimited DVR, multiview and the ability to add up to six members on one account. Of course, those with deep pockets can spring for some premium add-ons like HBO Max, 4K Plus and the NFL Sunday Ticket. YouTube Some plans are rolling out later in the week, but YouTube says it could take "several weeks" for every plan to become available. New customers receive a discount for the first three months, which is worth looking into.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/youtube-tv-launches-curated-subscription-packages-this-week-170710000.html?src=rss
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Apple's USB-C Magic Mouse is back on sale for about $11 off its usual retail price of $79. At $68, that's a savings of 14 percent for one of Apple's best accessories from a company that does not often run sales. The multi-touch mouse was first released in 2009 with a modest refresh released in 2015 and the addition of a USB-C port in 2024. The rechargeable mouse features gesture controls and automatically pairs with your Mac when connected via USB. The Magic Mouse can also be used with an iPad via Bluetooth, or with a Windows PC, though in that case, functionality would be limited. Famously, Jony Ive's design of the Magic Mouse sees its charge port on the underside of the body, rendering it unusable while charging. In 2024 there were rumors of a more comprehensive redesign coming but nothing has materialized since. Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/apples-magic-mouse-drops-to-only-68-152708721.html?src=rss
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