Amazon's Ring is launching a new AI-powered facial recognition feature for its video doorbells, enabling users to create a catalogue of up to 50 familiar faces. The 'Familiar Faces' feature allows the device to identify and name frequent visitors, sending personalised alerts instead of generic notifications.
Ring says the feature is opt-in, and the biometric data is not used to train AI models. However, privacy advocates have raised concerns about potential violations of biometric privacy laws and the expansion of surveillance. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) also highlighted that the system scans everyone within the camera's view, not just tagged individuals.
Amazon has stated that 'Familiar Faces' will not be available in Illinois, Texas, or Portland, Oregon, due to restrictions on facial recognition. The company also maintains that the feature is disabled by default and stores untagged facial data for up to six months.
