Ring Camera Library Piling Up? Here's How to Delete Videos the Right Way

Deleting Ring videos can be done from the Ring mobile app, the Ring.com web dashboard, or through automatic retention settings that remove old footage after a set period. Ring (owned by Amazon) stores all recorded clips in the cloud under your Ring Protect plan. Removing clips you no longer need helps manage your video history and protects your privacy.

Part 1. How Ring Video Storage Works

Ring cameras upload motion-triggered and manually recorded clips to Amazon's Ring cloud servers. Videos are accessible through the Ring app and Ring.com for the duration of your subscription's retention window.

Without a Ring Protect plan, cameras can still livestream, but recorded video history is not stored in the cloud. You must have an active Protect plan to access and delete saved recordings.

Ring Protect Pro includes Ring Edge, a feature that stores a local copy of recordings on a microSD card in a compatible Ring Alarm Pro base station. This local copy exists independently of cloud storage.

💡 Tip: Ring's default retention is 180 days, but you can also set a shorter automatic deletion window through the Ring app's privacy settings. This is useful if you want clips auto-purged after 30 or 60 days rather than managing them manually.

Part 2. Delete Ring Videos From the Ring App

The Ring app on iOS or Android is the most accessible way to delete individual recordings:

1. Open the Ring app on your phone
2. Tap the three-line menu (≡) in the top left
3. Tap Event History
4. Find the video clip you want to delete
5. Tap the clip to open it
6. Tap the three-dot menu (⋮) or the Delete icon
7. Confirm deletion

Deleted clips are removed permanently and cannot be recovered from Ring's servers after deletion.

⚠️ Important: Ring does not have a trash folder or recently deleted section. Once you confirm deletion of a video, it is gone immediately and permanently from Ring's cloud. Download any clips you want to keep before deleting.

Part 3. Delete Ring Videos on Ring.com (Browser)

For managing larger numbers of videos, Ring.com on a desktop browser offers a more efficient interface than the mobile app:

1. Go to Ring.com and sign in
2. Click Event History in the left sidebar
3. Browse or filter clips by date, device, or event type
4. Click a clip to select it, then click Delete
5. For batch selection: click the checkbox icon that appears when hovering over a clip, select multiple clips, then click Delete Selected

The browser interface allows faster navigation through large video libraries and makes it easier to delete clips from a specific date range or camera.

🗣️ r/Ring user: "I had three years of recordings piled up. Going into Ring.com with a browser and using the multi-select checkbox was so much faster than trying to delete from the app. Cleared 600 clips in about 15 minutes."

Part 4. Bulk Delete and Auto-Delete Settings

Ring does not offer a true "delete all" button that clears your entire history in one click as of 2026. However, you can use multi-select on Ring.com to delete many clips at once, and you can configure automatic deletion:

Set up auto-delete:

1. In the Ring app, tap the three-line menu → Account → Privacy Settings
2. Tap Video Privacy and Storage → Video Review Period
3. Choose a retention period: 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, or 180 days
4. Clips older than this threshold are automatically deleted

Shortening the Video Review Period to 30 days is the most effective way to keep your Ring library manageable without manual deletions.

💡 Tip: If you want to delete all videos from a decommissioned camera, go to the camera's device settings in the Ring app and remove the device. Removing a camera from your account deletes all its associated video history.

Part 5. Ring Shared Users and Video Deletion

If your Ring account has Shared Users (people who can view but not manage your devices), only the account owner can delete videos. Shared users do not have deletion permissions by default.

If you are managing Ring cameras for a household or business:

• The account owner can delete all videos from any device
• Shared users can only view the Event History
• To grant management access, upgrade the shared user role in Account → Shared Users settings

🗣️ r/homeautomation user: "My partner kept asking why they couldn't delete clips from our Ring. Turns out shared users just don't have that permission — had to handle all deletions from the owner account."

💡 Tip: If you are planning to sell or transfer a Ring device, delete all videos from the device's event history and then remove the device from your account (Settings → Remove Device). This ensures no recordings remain linked to your account.

Part 6. Recover Lost Files With Ritridata

If your Ring system uses Ring Edge local storage (a microSD card in the Ring Alarm Pro base station) and you accidentally deleted footage from that card, Ritridata may be able to recover those video files. Ritridata supports recovery from SD cards, USB drives, and external drives — including cases where files were deleted or the card was formatted.

Step 1 — Select the drive/location

Step 2 — Run a safe scan

Step 3 — Preview and recover to another drive

FAQ

Can I recover a Ring video after I delete it? No. Ring does not have a trash folder or a recently deleted section. Once a video is confirmed for deletion from the Ring app or Ring.com, it is permanently removed from Ring's cloud servers and cannot be recovered.

Does Ring delete videos automatically? Ring retains videos for up to 180 days depending on your Protect plan. You can shorten this window to 30, 60, or 90 days in Account → Privacy Settings → Video Review Period to enable automatic deletion of older clips.

How do I delete all Ring videos at once? Ring does not have a single "delete all" option as of 2026. The fastest method is to use Ring.com on a desktop browser, enable multi-select by hovering over clips and checking the checkboxes, select as many as you can, and delete in batches.

Can Ring shared users delete videos? No. Shared users can only view the Event History. Only the primary account owner has permission to delete, manage devices, or change privacy settings.

What happens to Ring videos if I cancel my Ring Protect plan? When a Protect plan lapses, Ring retains previously saved videos for a grace period (typically 30 days). After that, all stored video history is deleted and not recoverable. Download any clips you want to keep before cancelling.

Does Ring store videos locally without a subscription? Standard Ring cameras do not store video locally without a Protect plan. Ring Alarm Pro with Ring Edge (available on Ring Protect Pro) can store recordings on a local microSD card as a backup to the cloud.

How do I delete Ring videos from a removed camera? Videos from a camera removed from your account are typically deleted when the device is unlinked. To confirm, go to Event History and filter by the camera before removing it to download any clips you want to save.

Is there a way to export Ring videos before deleting them? Yes. In the Ring app or Ring.com, open a clip and tap/click the download icon to save the video to your device. Downloaded Ring videos are saved as .mp4 files. Download any important clips before deleting them.

References

• Ring Support — Video History and Storage
• Ring Protect Plans — Features and Pricing
• Ring Privacy Settings — Video Review Period
• r/Ring — Bulk Delete Discussion
• r/homeautomation — Ring Storage Tips