Ring is best known for its security cameras, but now it's launching the Ring Pet Tag, its first product for pets, which works in conjunction with the Ring app to identify and find missing pets.
The Ring Pet Tag is, itself, fairly low-tech. It's a simple circular tag that can attach to any pet's collar, and lacks any GPS functionality or active electronics. It does, however, have a QR code you can link to your Pet Profile on the Ring app. Anyone who finds your pet and scans the code can then bring up that profile, which will show information about your pet, including health conditions. Users can also opt into adding a Contact Me link in the Pet Profile, letting the person looking at the profile initiate two-way communication without providing personal data.
This isn't the first time Ring has put out cat- and dog-friendly products, though it is the first exclusively pet-focused item in its catalog. Ring enabled the aforementioned Pet Profile feature in its app last year, and let pet owners publish Lost Pet Posts in the Ring Neighbors network. The Ring Pet Tag is simply a physical product that ensures that anyone who finds your lost pet will be able to immediately load their pet profile to get more information about them.
The app also works with the Petco Love Lost database to connect anyone who has lost or found a pet. The service tracks more than 170,000 dogs and cats, and can search over 2,500 animal shelters across the United States.
Ring cameras and video doorbells feature two-way communication, and the company categorizes those products, along with alarm systems, under the "Ring for Pets" label. The ability to keep an eye on your pet and talk to them is common for most consumer security cameras, but it can still be a nice way to watch, and get the attention of, your dog or cat.
Since it's effectively a tag with a QR code, the Ring Pet Tag features a low $9.99 price. It will be available on Ring.com and Amazon starting Oct. 4.
For more active pet-tracking, read our list of the best electronic pet trackers and GPS dog collars. There are plenty of dedicated pet cameras to look at, as well.
My pet is strictly an indoor cat, but I don't get enough opportunities to post him, so here's Pixel.
