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Amazon Is Reportedly Building a Doorbell That Lets Drivers Into Your House (cnbc.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the home-invasion dept.

According to CNBC, Amazon is working with Phrame, a maker of smart license plates that allow items to be delivered to a car's trunk, to build a smart doorbell that would give delivery drivers one-time access to a person's home to drop off items. From the report: Phrame's product fits around a license plate and contains a secure box that holds the keys to the car. Users unlock the box with their smartphone, and can grant access to others -- such as delivery drivers -- remotely. The new initiatives are part of Amazon's effort to go beyond convenience and fix problems associated with unattended delivery. As more consumers shop online and have their packages shipped to their homes, valuable items are often left unattended for hours. Web retailers are dealing with products getting damaged by bad weather as well as the rise of so-called porch pirates, who steal items from doorsteps. Amazon also has an incentive to reduce the number of lost packages, as they can be costly.

5 of 203 comments (clear)

  1. What Could Possibly Go Wrong?! by gillbates · · Score: 5, Insightful

    So what could possibly go wrong with having the key to unlock dozens of upper-middle class homes in a delivery van whilst the driver grabs lunch?

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    The society for a thought-free internet welcomes you.
    1. Re:What Could Possibly Go Wrong?! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Or a steel toolbox that locks when it closes. Put package in box, close box. But I suppose that doesn't need an app. Not sexy enough.

    2. Re:What Could Possibly Go Wrong?! by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 3, Insightful

      So what could possibly go wrong with having the key to unlock dozens of upper-middle class homes in a delivery van whilst the driver grabs lunch?

      Anyone with a screwdriver can break into a house. The reason home burglaries are relatively rare is not that getting in is difficult, but that the risk/reward ratio is unfavorable. Modern homes just don't have that much worth stealing. Used TVs and computers are not worth much. Since everyone has CCs, there is little need to cache cash. Nobody uses real silverware anymore. Meanwhile, cameras, sensors, and alarms are far more common.

  2. WTF by war4peace · · Score: 2, Insightful

    How about "not leaving the parcel wherever the fuck the delivery dude feels like"?
    Before delivery, contact the recipient and establish a time window when they (or someone they empower) are home. Then go and deliver the parcel during that window.
    Owner's not home? Coolio. Notify them through text or whatever and have them go to the local pick-up warehouse.

    Somehow this method works very well in most of EU. In my country, the delivery company has to provide proof they delivered the parcel into my hands, otherwise I could file a claim and they would have to pay for the declared value of the parcel. I'm simply amazed this is not a thing in the USA.

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    ...gis sdrawkcab (usually not responding to ACs; don't bother posting as AC)
  3. Re:Already There by argStyopa · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Um, in my world I'd have just said "when you get to my house, push the keys through the mail slot".

    No internet required.
    Total cost of equipment maybe $10 for the mail slot in the door.

    Seriously man, why overcomplicate things?

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    -Styopa