Slashdot Mirror
Reporter Regrets Letting Amazon's Delivery People Into His House (washingtonpost.com)
An anonymous reader writes:
Washington Post reporter Geoffrey A. Fowler describes his short-lived experience with "Amazon Key", a $250 smart lock system with a security camera that grants Amazon's delivery people access to your home. The lock sounds "like R2-D2 with constipation," and at one point it actually jammed (though his persistent delivery person eventually got it working properly). The unlocking of the door triggers a live video feed of the delivery -- which is also stored in a private archive online -- plus an alert to your phone -- and the Post's reporter writes that "The biggest downsides to the experience haven't been the strangers -- it's been Amazon."
They missed their delivery windows four out of eight times, and though the packages all arrived eventually, all four were late by a least a day. But his larger issue is that Amazon "wants to draw you further into an all-Amazon world... Now Amazon wants to literally own your door, so it can push not just packages but also services that come through it, like handymen, dog-walkers, groceries, you name it." His ultimate question? "Who's really being locked in?"
The Post's reporter notes that Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos owns the Washington Post, "but I review all tech the same." He did identify some advantages to the $250 smart lock system -- the door can now also be unlocked with the Amazon Key app, and he can even share that access with his friends by giving them a special access code.
But he also notes that security researchers discovered a way to freeze Amazon's security camera, potentially allowing a rogue delivery person to lurk in your house. And all things considered, it was apparently all too creepy. "After two weeks, my family voted to remove the Amazon Key smart lock and take down the camera."
They missed their delivery windows four out of eight times, and though the packages all arrived eventually, all four were late by a least a day. But his larger issue is that Amazon "wants to draw you further into an all-Amazon world... Now Amazon wants to literally own your door, so it can push not just packages but also services that come through it, like handymen, dog-walkers, groceries, you name it." His ultimate question? "Who's really being locked in?"
The Post's reporter notes that Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos owns the Washington Post, "but I review all tech the same." He did identify some advantages to the $250 smart lock system -- the door can now also be unlocked with the Amazon Key app, and he can even share that access with his friends by giving them a special access code.
But he also notes that security researchers discovered a way to freeze Amazon's security camera, potentially allowing a rogue delivery person to lurk in your house. And all things considered, it was apparently all too creepy. "After two weeks, my family voted to remove the Amazon Key smart lock and take down the camera."
My current pet peeve is getting into delivery race-condition. They leave a note a the door - someone must sign but no option to sign and leave at front door? So then you miss day two, and when you get home from work you call, only to find that package won't be at local facility until after 8 blah blah... Spent extra for overnight shipping and you don't get package for three days.
sigs are for losers (except to point out that sigs are for losers)
Nothing happened worth regretting. He pretty much just doesn't want to give amazon control to his lock because paranoia but that's the service he signed up for!
...what possibly could go wrong ???
for Amazon to just leave the package at the customer's local post office or UPS office, or similar package handlers, then they could just go to the postoffice with a photo ID or driver's licence proving who they are and then pick up the package at their convenience, there is no way in hell am i going to let amazon or anyone else have access to my house like that
Politics is Treachery, Religion is Brainwashing
They need this but instead of access to your house it needs to access a large lock box.
"Now Amazon wants to literally own your door, so it can push not just packages but also services that come through it, like handymen, dog-walkers, groceries,"
and cops without warrants.
Stupid is as stupid does.
OT, but I've seen items listed on amazon as only being available to Prime members. IMO, this is the death knell for Amazon. (1) Embargo purchases for some time if the customer is not a Prime member. (2) Sell some products only to prime members. Amazon's greed will open the door to fair competition ... I already look elsewhere for purchases and only go to Amazon for comparison shopping.
The lock is a good idea for a garage. Iâ(TM)d consider it if they could link it to my garage opener since my garage access is always locked anyway.
I think an isolated door like that would reduce a lot of paranoia.
Better solution would be a secure Bin or Box that you place outside possibly next to your Mailbox or Combined with it.
I have WAY fewer issues giving the access code to a box outside.
His complaint about late packages is very valid. Of my couple of dozen orders this year, I'd say 2 of them have been delivered on the guaranteed date. All the rest were late by at least one day. Used to be that I would order anything I needed from amazon prime. Now I always think about where I can get it locally because I can't depend on things arriving when they say they will.
I'm writting this as someone who would NEVER install a service like this, but it's quite clear that Geoffrey, the author of the piece, had already decided what to think of the service previous to reviewing it - very bad practice.
Out of all his complaints, the majority of it is due to early adopter grievances or unrelated crap.
For instance, he complains about not getting the delivery on the day promised. This isn't due to Amazon Key, it's due to the delivery service itself being late. Would installing Key change the speed in which packages would come? Doesn't sound like so.
On another part he talks about his door not being appropriate, having trouble with installation, and the door almost locking delivery service outside. Honestly, I think this is something people should expect - not all doors are made equal, not all of them are in a good enough shape to install electronic locks, and not all of them will work perfectly outright - this is a problem most electronic key installations could have.
Then he goes on a complete tirade about walled gardens and whatnot which should be quite obvious to anyone purchasing something like this - of course you are increasing the likelihood of getting Amazon stuff if you are buying a system from them to get access into your home. Much like the Amazon Dash Buttons and whatnot, it's meant to make it more convenient to get stuff from them. More importantly though, since you can share the key to others, this should stop no one from getting services from another company and just sending a temporary key to them instead.
Anyways, like I said, I'd never get something like this even if it was available for me, because the ammount of convenience it'd give me is not enough to counterweight privacy worries plus the fact that I'd never install IoT devices in my home without very strong justification - it's yet another thing connected to the Internet that will obviously need constant updates, maintenance and whatnot.
But there are legitimate reasons to have something like this, and they were mildly covered in the piece. Homes with people with limited mobility. People who are never at home and already had purchases stolen from their front porches. People who were already hiding keys in places for delivery people to get in because they have no other option.
I don't think anyone has to like this thing, quite the opposite. It's a system I'd only recommend for people who has had an unsolvable problem regarding product delivery for years. But the review was kinda crap.
Took two weeks to sour on and remove the camera? Because the way we are headed it will take twice as long with the 2027 camera in our new smart underwear.
Am I in the minority? I simply have packages delivered to me at work. Granted, I work at a place large enough to have our own post office with a unique zip code, but would smaller employers mind the occasional package being dropped off?
Seriously, who in their right mind thinks it's okay to hang your home's security on an IoT device operated by random strangers who are allowed to enter your home?
This is nothing more than a disaster waiting to happen. Wait until the first burglaries, robberies, home invasions, rapes, and murders result from this brain-dead idea.
Will Amazon issue a press release that says, "Whoops, sorry about that- we didn't mean to let your whole family be murdered by a random nutjob who spoofed the access code to your home. This bug should be fixed in version 2.3.00.4.8, due out next month."
Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
Let Amazon place a sturdy 2'x3' steel locker somewhere on your property. This won't solve all of the unattended delivery issues but it will prevent random fuckers from being able spoof an access code and enter your home while you're not there.
Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
Tell them to leave it at a local pick-up. I do that and just pick it up on the way home.
Twinstiq, game news
what a cuck
No, THIS IS NOT WHAT THE REPORTER REGRETS.
He regrets the fact that some of Amazon's delivery attempt windows during this busy season didn't line up with actual time-at-the-door. He regrets that Amazon's supported hardware doesn't yet interact well with some other systems/apps/devices he'd like to use to police his front door (like, he can't YET easily let his dog walker use an app to gain entrance unless that dog walker uses Amazon to cashier their dog walking service, etc).
To the contrary, he thinks Amazon did a good job with the way they limit access, record access, alert about access, and limit which drivers are allowed to even work under this scheme. Why the lying headline, slashdot? Never mind, we already know.
Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
Because of thousands of complaints of seedy AMZL delivery people. They were falsifying tracking updates, delivering to the wrong house, jiggling doorknobs to see if they were unlocked, and many packages lost (stolen) during transit. Hey... Lets create our own in house delivery service, hire scum just like Uber, save 5 cents on every packages shipping, and fuck what customers think. Lots of customers ditched prime membership because of AMZL.
It's a service. Someone people need it. Some don't. If it's not for you, that's fine. Stop whining.
I love this brilliant insight "wants to draw you further into an all-Amazon world..." Well no shit Sherlock. Name one megacompany that doesn't want to draw you further into their world.
This would never be allowed in my home regardless of what Amazon promises in security. Why would anyone pay Amazon $250 for such a service is beyond me? So many other options to receive packages and arrangements that can be made. Such as delivering to another residence a family member, a mailbox store, have it kept at UPS or Fedex pick up center. Much better options then having a low paid Amazon contractor into your home.
Another solution, instead of delivering to a local post office (limited opening hours) or locked mailboxes (limited supply) is for Amazon to partner with local supermarkets and deliver to them instead. Then when you go to collect groceries after work, you also collect your delivery from Amazon. I have deliberately chosen Safeway here becuase they're generally open later than malls or post offices.
This is already possible on eBay using "click and collect." Why haven't Amazon got in bed with that yet?
Is Whole Foods not upto doing that?
The article itself is crap.
The whole reason for this is neighborhoods where people will steal things from your porch which fortunately I have no problem with and also weather for people not fortunate enough to live in southern California. I do like the amazon storage lockers at the 7-11 down the street and use it simply for a certain level of privacy. At the house I currently reside in if I really wanted I could build a bolted down locker of my own while using amazons keybox. I can also imagine using such as system for the backyard gate.
> >so it can push not just packages but also services that come through it, like handymen, dog-walkers, groceries, you name it
>no way in hell am i going to let amazon or anyone
Here's a new take. If more people are being granted access to the domicile, why not have amazon provide the people that you really want in - security, housekeepers, cooks, babysitters, plumbers, Jehovah's witnesses (well maybe not that one), etc. You might not be able to afford to give any one of these full time work, but if there's a pool of them, it might be worth it to save your own time on menial work. Rather than needing a special lock and paraphernalia/paranoia, you live a more open life harking back to the days when people didn't even leave their doors locked.
I, for one, welcome our amazon overlords^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H extended family.
Know your pads. One time pad: good for cryptography. Two timing pad: where to take your mistress.
I had a parcel box for 10 years, worked brilliant for me. Never once had a courier leave someone else's package in it.
Guess it just depends on the the people driving the vans.
I'm late to this party and I hope my question isn't redundant. (I'm asking for a friend)
What happens when you ARE home during the delivery? You might be relaxing in front of the big screen enjoying some righteous pron and getting your wrist exercise for the day. You might be doing your cosplay version of Princess Leia. You might be entertaining the stud next door through the back door. Or you might just be lying in your upchuck in a drunken stupor on the floor.
Not too worried about a delivery when I'm *not* home.
...omphaloskepsis often...
> >so it can push not just packages but also services that come through it, like handymen, dog-walkers, groceries, you name it
>no way in hell am i going to let amazon or anyone
Here's a new take. If more people are being granted access to the domicile, why not have amazon provide the people that you really want in - security, housekeepers, cooks, babysitters, plumbers, Jehovah's witnesses (well maybe not that one),
Why wouldn't I want my relatives to come in?
If you think I voted for Trump because of this post, you're wrong. I voted for Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party. Again.
shit idea to begin with.
Architecture is still stuck in 30s. It is so easy to build an apartment or the whole house with an inbuilt system for internet deliveries.
....for a few hours, maybe you should save the money you'd be giving Amazon for this, and start looking for a better neighborhood.
what kind of pussy needs his family to vote on any matter? oh, right, a soyboy who writes fake news