MASS. — Ring Home Security cameras are one of the most popular choices, and this year they’re rolling out a new feature called “Familiar Faces,” but technology experts are concerned that anyone caught on camera could be exposed to real privacy risk.
The new tech uses facial recognition to measure, track, and learn the faces of people around your home. Ring Camera messages have evolved from simple motion alerts to learning faces and even the names of people.
Amazon says that lets customers reduce notifications triggered by familiar people’s routine activities. With the new artificial intelligence, you can get specific alerts that will say things like “there is a person walking up to your front steps holding a rake.”
Once the camera knows who you are, you can also tell it to ignore you so you don’t get a bunch of needless and repeated alerts. But is it a big help, or Big Brother?
“When you have this big network of cameras identifying people by face you can see a world where a few things change on the back end and Amazon and Ring can identify anywhere you have been in their giant database,” said Mario Trujillo with the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
Trujillo says at least 16 states recently passed privacy laws that require companies to obtain opt-in consent for the collection of sensitive data, which typically includes biometrics.
In September, the Massachusetts State Senate passed the “Massachusetts Data Privacy Act” which gives residents the right to know what information is being collected, and the ability to opt out of data being sold or used for advertising. It is still awaiting action the House Ways and Means committee.
Even if homeowners do consent, people like delivery drivers, mail carriers, and pedestrians walking by are never asked if they do.
“Many of them face public sidewalks. If you are walking down a sidewalk, your face might be captured,” Trujillo said.
Zay Ratliff also worries about his image being recorded without him knowing it.
“You pass by a random stranger’s door and you are profiled at a local you didn’t even consent to have your likeness held,” Ratliff said.
And those detailed alerts can get specific. While Wickersham and his photographer were getting Ring camera video for this report, the alert from that camera said there was a “person moving with a camera on a tripod.”
One man who didn’t want to appear on our camera said he has a doorbell camera at his home, and he worries those constant detailed alerts create a daily diary of your life.
“There is a written narrative of everything that goes on in front of my doorbell camera, morning, noon, and night,” he said.
The program does have some limits, including:
- Customers Must Opt-In
- Faces Auto-Deleted Within Your Storage Timeframe (30 To 180 Days)
- Familiar Faces Can Be Deleted At Any Time
- Law Enforcement Cannot Track You
Anyone tagged as familiar can later be deleted along with their biometric data.
Trujillo says he isn’t so sure. He says if you want cameras but still worry about Big Brother, you have options.
“[Get] a camera with local storage where the company behind it doesn’t have access to the data,” Trujillo said.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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