18
votes
Ring is using its customers’ doorbell camera video for ads. It says it's allowed to
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- Title
- Amazon's Doorbell Camera Company Is Using Security Video For Ads. That May Only Be The Beginning.
- Word count
- 1420 words
Reading this article, I was struck by the idea that Ring allows Amazon to see any visitors to its customers' homes - not just the ones suspected of breaking the law. So it can see when Uncle Billy comes to visit, and when your friend Marie drops by, and when the kids' friends come over for a party. It can even notice when George - who's not just a friend (nudge, nudge, wink, wink) - comes to pay Mrs Smith a visit while Mr Smith is at work. Your whole social life is an open book to Amazon when you have Ring installed.
And because of those open-ended terms of service, Amazon can also publish pictures of all your visitors anywhere and everywhere it chooses.
That's fucking terrifying.
This is, so far, the biggest reason I've avoided getting more "intimate" with technology in the home. All the advancements and communication is neat but, at the end of the day, I cannot trust companies to not act purely out of desire of profit and sell my information, interior, and likeness to a multitude of companies willing to pay top dollar. My phone/computer are about all the corporate prying I can stomach, thank you. Not to mention this ads bullshit. Ublock Origin is on wherever I go on my computer and it stays on. Ads are an increasingly distressing topic these days.
Forget what the customer agreed to (that's its own issue and one being fought on a much bigger playing field) - what did the person being photographed agree to? Because a LOT of those photos are taken in enclosed areas and would thus likely carry a legal expectation to privacy.