Leave it to Amazon to offer the coolest service I just don’t think I could ever use. They are launching Amazon Key next month. It’s a service that’ll let their delivery drivers unlock your door when you’re not home so your packages can be left inside. Um, no. I just don’t think I’d be okay with a stranger walking on into my house when I’m gone. I like the idea of my deliveries not sitting on my front porch all day or not missing a delivery because I’m gone, but strangers in my house creep me out!
I think they are awesome for thinking of every way to make their services more convenient, and it seems to be well thought out. The drivers would be well-vetted, and customers who want to use the service would need to be Amazon Prime members and would have to buy a camera and a WI-Fi-connected lock from the Seattle-based company that starts at $250, so the whole delivery would be recorded and you could even livestream it. It goes down like this: the delivery person shows up, they knock and then scan your package. Next, Amazon will make sure the delivery guy is at the right home and once that is confirmed, they’ll remotely unlock the door, so the driver won’t ever have a copy of your keys or your garage code or anything like that.
If that sounds like the coolest thing ever, all you’d have to do is choose in-home delivery as an option in the Amazon app. What do you think? Would you do it? Does it sound awesome or does it freak you out?
Beware of stranger danger I say!
~Mavis
Wendy Clark says
Ummmmm, no. This is lunacy. This could go wrong every which way and it eventually will.
Heidi says
I actually think it’s a good idea. I saw a demonstration on the news last night and part of the service is a camera facing the door that will show the door open and the driver place the package and close the door again. I think it can be linked to your phone so you know when the door is opened. The drivers won’t be wandering around getting a snack and using the bathroom.
Another idea would be to place some sort of secure lock box on the front porch that the carrier could place packages into and then the box would lock as it closes. That could be a new business idea for someone.
Mavis Butterfield says
A friend of ours has one of those nice big {Rubbermaid} patio trash receptacles at the side of their front door for packages. Which is great, until Amazon sends your one small item in a gigantic box and it doesn’t fit. But for a business professional who is having paperwork Fed Ex’d to them all the time, it’s pretty genius.
Ranee says
We used to do this at our townhouse. It worked really well, as the Rubbermaid receptacle was also behind a half wall that was located at the front of our patio. Not completely out of sight, but almost. It worked great. Our Rubbermaid was more like the kind you could get to store your outside cushions from patio furniture, so you could get pretty good size packages in it. We live in a small town now, and we get quite a lot of Amazon packages. Haven’t lost any to theft yet, but I am home most days now. As far as the new service, not in a million years.
Amanda says
The delivery person in my house wouldn’t be the problem; they are on camera and won’t likely try anything illegal. The concern I have is the system being hacked.
Mavis Butterfield says
I also thought about Lucy. She would go nuts and what if she got out? I wonder if they have a pet policy in place.
Joanna says
They do have a pet policy. From their FAQ: Can I receive in-home delivery if I have a pet? We do not recommend using in-home delivery if your pet can access the front door on delivery day.
KC says
Yeah, no remote unlocking door for me. Especially since, if the camera system is only on when they’ve set it to be on, right after the door is unlocked, presumably the part that turns the camera on could be hacked as well, leaving you with no record of the burglar. (although even if the camera wasn’t separately hacked, all the burglar would need would be to hide under a sheet or hold something up between them and the camera).
That said, this could be a good option for places with locked vestibules, like some apartment complexes.
Jannete says
Yea, I was thinking that too. If you apartment had a locked area for delivery, it sounds slightly less frightening. We have a mailroom in our building. Tenants have three keys at our place: a) for mailroom; b) for your front door and c) for the laundry room all to limit access. Our postal carrier can get into the mailroom though. But we have an onsite building manager who graciously accepts package too;)
Pamela says
not in this life time!!
Heather says
We live next to a city with a package theft problem so bad that people don’t allow packages to be delivered to their doors anymore, frequently getting a PO Box which negates the convenience of Amazon in my mind to have to go pickup every package, in their case this could be a fantastic option. If the theft problem every reaches out to our little town I would get this!
SilverIzzy says
So you are paying to surveil yourself. Hell no. You may not have a camera monitoring my every action in my own home. You may not have an electronic system that controls who may or may not enter my own house. Does no-one see how this will be horribly abused by the government? “We have had reports that your kids are not attending the school system/getting vaccinated, we have had reports you possess firearms which by themselves are an act of violence, we have had reports you do not trust the government and are growing your own foodstuffs/engaging in hoarding.” etc, etc, ad nauseam.
“Open up!” – Officer of Peace and Prosperity
“Where is your warrant?” – Horrible Criminal Scum
“We don’t need one, the accusations speak for themselves. If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear. Amazon, pop it!” – Officer of Peace and Prosperity. The officer flashes his badge at the camera.
“Access granted.” – Amazon Package Monitoring Safety and Security Headquarters. The door swings open.
“You are additionally charged with unlawfully interfering with a Officer of the State, resisting arrest, and wrong think.” – Officer of Peace and Prosperity
I worry that soon Amazon will insist that to use their service you must install a camera and wifi lock, at which point I be able to shop on Amazon again. It will be a sad day.
SilverIzzy says
*I -will never- be able to shop…
Silly clumsy fingers.
Maria Campbell says
I agree it’s creepy plus it’s another way for amazon to separate me from my 250 very special dollars
Dena says
I receive junk mail at my road mail box (that has been stolen out &/or bashed of several times). I accepted the added charge of getting a PO Box. The PO I go to is a one/two postmistress PO, very small. I signed the papers that allow these gals to accept UPS & Fed Ex packages for me. All secured. I receive most of my mail there, & go maybe three times a week. It is a short distance from my house, but on the way of my usual ‘going out of the house’ route. It also keeps the USPS in business by maintaining the jobs these gals already have. I’m alerted by email when I mail or a package at the PO. I like keeping people in business – sort of like going ‘out’ to eat; you don’t really have to, but it is nice for you and a paying job for someone else. And my road mail box can direct medial aid/fire/police if needed. Or be a target for those mail box bashers (every 10 years or so)!
Mrs. C. says
I do this, too. It’s a fantastic solution.
Rita says
I think it is a horrible idea!
Cathy says
OK, this is the opposite of the person who said that Lucy could escape from your house…
We have an outdoor-only cat; she is constantly jockeying to get INTO the house. She waits at the front door, and will run inside if you’re not paying attention. If we had this delivery service, we would end up with Laverne in our house, clawing up the place and wreaking havoc on our allergies.
Before any animal activists chime in, please understand that we adopted her from a rescue that takes cats who are unadoptable (i.e. we saved her from euthanasia). She is our “Working Cat,” and keeps our semi-rural home critter free. She is an independent, outdoor-only cat for a reason. We get the benefit of a few kitty snuggles a day, and she gets access to the garage, with fresh food and water daily, plus unlimited critters for her to hunt.
With all of that being said, this service would not work for us! 🙂
Jenny Young says
I wouldn’t do it but I live in an area where we still leave the doors unlocked when we leave sometimes. I sleep with the whole house open on nice nights.
But I think I would do it if I lived an area where theft was higher AND I had alot of packages delivered often, maybe a home business?
I’d also want a vestibule that I could lock. If you can afford this kind of service you may as well go all out & make a small entryway to your home that could be completely locked…like the little rooms in prisons! 😉
Katie says
Yeah, great idea – until there is a hack and someone abroad has the ability to lock and unlock your doors or turn the camera on or off. My husband works in cybersecurity. There is no way we would EVER sign up for this service.
Mrs. C. says
So, they get to monitor your house 24/7.
Did I mention that Amazon got a $400 or $600 million contract from the CIA?
Remember the massive US data breach two years ago, that released all the personal info of of all federal employees and that of those who had even applied for jobs?
Oh, did I mention that these data breaches have led to my having to get new credit cards three times in the last two years?
No way would I use this.
FarmGirl says
What was the contract for? This freaks me out. I am already nervous about all of the cyber enhancements on GPS, cars, and phones. It feels like their isn’t any privacy anymore.
Teresa says
No, uh-uh, nixie, nope, nay, no way, negative, veto, no siree, thumbs down, pigs might fly, go fish.
For all of the reasons mentioned above. 🙂
BETTY D says
No way! They can come up with something else. How about a Heavy lock box on porch nailed down or cemented…then there s small door to open to put the pkg into that will send it to another room. Lots of other options they can come up with. I thought I saw where they were also going to have some pkg delivered by clone or robots…. I think thieves are just a step behind what ever they decide.
Jannete says
What about and has anyone tried the Amazon locker? It’s a secure pickup location for your Amazon deliveries. Wouldn’t that work to prevent items being stolen?
Katherine White says
There is no mention that the delivery folks are bonded and insured. I work from home so this is not a service I need but it’s also a service I’d never use. There are just to many variables for something to go wrong.
Diane says
NOT. A. CHANCE. Even if we DIDN’T have a cat.
Linda Sand says
We have a friend who has a keypad lock on his garage door. He locks the door between the house and the garage. When he’s expecting a delivery he sets his garage lock for that day only to the final four digits of the delivery company’s phone number. They then leave the package inside his garage. Once the package is delivered he changes the code. That seems to me to be a good compromise.
Deborah says
Are you nuts?
Did no one ever read 1984
In school?
Forget supposed convience
I’ll take as much privacy as can still be maintained…
Sasha says
Exactly, Deborah.
We’re being sold surveillance as convenience.
The whole smart system, upcoming 5G (mass surveillance) needs to stop.
Think of your future and especially your kids’ futures.
Erin says
Dogs attacking the delivery man? Dogs and cats being accidentally released by the delivery man opening the door? Underage children home alone with a delivery man able to walk right in? Nope!
Cheri says
This is so dangerous that I can’t believe people are even considering it to be a good idea. I get why it SOUNDS good. I live in a high-theft area myself, where lots of people are robbed of their packages on the porch–especially around Christmas. I’m also sure that most delivery men would be honest and hard-working and would never take advantage of their position. But it’s not worth it. The potential for the plan to go awry either through crime or spying is too great. No way. I’ll take the risk and try to remember to stop my mail if I leave town.
Sheri Lin says
Nooooooooo.. If this is their solution to package theft they need to think again. I have everything delivered to my office unless I know I will be home to receive the package.
Julie P says
I’m lucky, we have everything delivered to the porch we live in a fairly crime free area and well back from the road. Anyway we are all nosy neighbours and watch out for each other. My neighbour bless him misses nothing he can even describe what a person was wearing who comes up my drive let alone the name of his company and his licence plate. No I wouldn’t do this. Having said that I have given three trusted people who have been my boiler person, plumber and electrician my key code but have known them socially and professionally for thirty years or more.
M. says
Not no body. Not no how!
Alison R says
No thank you very much!