Amazon Key system will allow delivery drivers to unlock customers' doors

[matt819]

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/oct/25/amazon-key-system-will-allow-delivery-drivers-to-unlock-customers-doors

-snip

Would you let Amazon unlock your front door? That will be the question facing consumers after the online retailer launched a service allowing couriers to open customers’ front doors and leave deliveries inside.

The Amazon Key system combines an app, home security camera and a smart lock that couriers will be able to unlock via the app once they have scanned the package to confirm its arrival.

Users will receive a notification to their phone when a delivery driver arrives and can choose to watch the drop-off live on their smartphone via the cloud-connected camera.

-snip

This is one of those questions where the only appropriate response is, What can go wrong?

[brush]

1. Ahhh...no thank you very much. Who wants a stranger in their home, camera or not?

Too much temptation for coming back later.

[underpants]

5. This piece is YOU!

[brush]

6. Yep. Amazon is nuts if they think people are going to go for that, not to mention possible...

law suits that might come their way.

[underpants]

10. A friend works in shipping and they've all been working on this

They are limiting liabilities, they think, because they can track their drivers and know who went where. As I posted below Walmart is already testing this in California with crowdsourced drivers. That doesn't account for a driver's friend though.

My friend tells me their company (you know them) doesn't handle guns smokes or booze anymore because of the high frequency of trucks just happen to being stolen.

[MarvinGardens]

2. Where hacking and burglary meet.

I envision in the future a new class of burglar. They will know your routine, because they hacked into your security cameras and watched your comings and goings. They will hack into your security system and quietly disable it, leaving a false electronic trail that makes it look like you disabled it, or maybe like it was never disabled. They will comfortably enter your home without force, by unlocking your smart locks, the same ones you and the Amazon driver can open with a phone app. With no sense of urgency, since they know your routine, they will calmly rifle through your possessions, taking what is valuable and leaving little trace. If they only take small items like jewelry and money, it might be some time before you notice them missing, hampering any investigation.

Perhaps they will be called "smart burglars".

[LisaM]

3. It sounds awful to me.

And, the one thing that came to mind was pets. What if you have a pet in there and the driver lets it out?

[underpants]

4. Walmart is already testing this in California with crowdsourced drivers

Yeah. No thanks.

[Laffy Kat]

7. What could possibly go wrong?

[DBoon]

8. duplicate the key, have someone else clean the home out

Profit!

Full access with complete deniability on Amazons part

[FSogol]

18. There is no key, they are using a smart lock & the delivery person will get a one time use code. n/t

[steve2470]

9. This is just an insane idea, insanely bad

I hope Amazon has their lawyers on retainer and insurance all paid up. Good god, talk about IN A BUBBLE.

[mopinko]

11. dunno. package theft is a serious problem where i live.

neighborhood message boards are full of people, especially in big buildings around here, who cant get shit delivered intact.
this may go over like a lead balloon, but theft has got to be costing amazon brazillions in urban areas.

[CottonBear]

14. Amazon should sell package lockers to be installed outside homes.

I'm thinking of a very large secure mailbox-like product or train station size locker. There are already bike lockers used in some urban areas. The secure, weatherproof locker could be then accessed by the Amazon delivery service.

[NightWatcher]

16. Some cities have package lockers like that for Amazon

In my town there are lockers a few minutes from my place and when I work out town and need stuff shipped to me, I use those.



But as for your recommendation, I see that happening in the very near future. People who get a lot of Amazon boxes will start getting package boxes so that their stuff will still be there when they get home.

[mopinko]

22. there are a few in store around here. more and more people using them.

[CottonBear]

25. Cool! I didn't know package lockers existed!

I do think individual package lockers for urban, suburban and rural single-family homes, townhomes, duplexes and condominiums wound be a very good idea. I'd like to have one now!

[SwissTony]

15. I buy quite a bit of stuff from Amazon

I live in The Netherlands and I buy from Amazon.US, Amazon.UK and Amazon.DE. The actual delivery is done by companies like DHL and TNT - and even PostNL. Packages are never left out in the open. If nobody's home, they give it the neighbours and stick a note through our letterbox.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

17. I'm by Wrigley and we haven't had much problems.

Somebody snatched a GAP shirt last year and we think the actual driver stole my neighbor's Christmas tree two years ago.

Other than that, Amazon is notorious for leaving stuff on our front stoop. It drives my partner crazy. We are convinced they don't even buzz half the time because we'll be home and all of the sudden it just shows up as status "delivered" with no warning. We check outside and there it is.

I guess we've been lucky.

UPS is the only service that consistently manages to get stuff delivered INSIDE the locked front vestibule because they will buzz the whole building. FedEx, and now Amazon, haven't seemed to grasp that concept. But even ups sometimes marks it "left behind the bush".

I suppose it depends on the neighborhood. Thieves can target any neighborhood. Maybe it's worse if your actual neighbors are doing the stealing.

Here iare biggest problem is drunken ex frat boys damaging cars - I chased a couple down the street at 12:30 am after the last cubs game. Assholes were jumping on the roofs of cars.

[mopinko]

21. brown just tosses them on the porch or over the fence sometimes.

my front foyer is never locked, but they still sometimes just toss things on my porch from the sidewalk. usually, the more expensive the item the more likely they are to leave it on the porch.

if they are talking gate keys or foyer keys, i am guessing that will go over pretty big in the big buildings.

and yeah, i couldnt stand to live in wrigley.

[Skittles]

12. no

[Iggo]

13. Hahahahahahahahahahahaha...no.

[FSogol]

19. In my area, there are some grocery delivery services and the grocery delivery comes to a fridge in

your garage. The delivery person gets the code for garage door and makes the delivery. A friend used the service while his wife was undergoing some medical issues and they had no problems.

[Orrex]

20. Won't work if you already have an alarm system, by the way

No, frankly, should you want it to.

YMMV.

[Dave Starsky]

23. We've gone so far down the rabbit hole of...

Actually VOLUNTEERING our personal information and surrendering our privacy, that now we are perfectly happy with letting complete strangers into our homes.

What an amazing world we live in.

No, thanks.

[Phentex]

26. It's surreal...

next up, they will bring the shower gel into your bathroom and hand it to you. Saves time.

[Initech]

24. My reaction to this:

[RKP5637]

27. Will the drone unlock the door and come in too?

[guillaumeb]

28. And if a sleeping, armed resident

walks out mid-delivery unaware that there is a delivery...........

Or an unrestrained large dog walks in.......................

Or the resident claims that something is missing.................

The possibilities are many.

[Doreen]

29. I take it this is on a volunteer deal?

Yeah, sure, come on in while I am not home. Have fun with the two German Shepherds that have the run of the house while I am gone. My next door neighbor has six Dachshunds...see if you will be able to WALK after that.

[Phentex]

30. Halloween is going to be tough with my two...

they jump up any time the doorbell rings. And they always hear packages being delivered well before I do. Once, they went nuts over the Fed ex guy and I shamed them because he was bringing their dog food!

[Doreen]

31. Then there is always the quiet killer cat that waits on a high shelf

next to the door. Walk in put the package down and then all of a sudden fur, claws, and teeth. That's when you give the delivery person a laser pointer to shine in the furthest place away from the door as possible. I have a feeling they did not think of animal issues. People are not going to lock their animals into a different part of the house for a few days because a package might come on one of them.