Pros and cons of the system of delivery of orders Amazon in the house, when there are no owners

Фото: Depositphotos

From November 8 to 2017 Online Retailer Amazon started offering a secure access service called Amazon Keywhich gave delivery personnel Amazon Logistics the ability to enter the client's home to deliver the goods even when he is not at home. Due to the acquired Cloud Cam (device from Amazon) The client can see the delivery live, as well as review a fragment of the video that will be sent to him after delivery. This service is an attempt to solve the problem of theft of delivered packages from Amazonwhich in the absence of the customer at home left on the threshold.

Edition LA Times checked how the service works, and shared impressions.

Installing the full package Amazon Key — smart lock and camera — costs $250.

The positive quality of the product is that the delivered packages are truly safe and no one can steal them.

There are several negative points: inaccuracies in delivery time, the ability to crack a smart lock, as well as the “glitches” of the program and much more.

How technology works

Amazon actively trying to convince Americans to connect home appliances and everyday things to the Internet: refrigerators, lamps and even water filters. And with the help of a home assistant Alexa You can automate and display many things online in your home.

At the same time, the company learned how to apply modern technologies to solve specific problems. Smart lock technology has been around for a long time, but Amazon found a specific application for it - protection against theft of ordered goods. The idea of ​​combining a lock with a camera gives you a sense of control and makes using the technology less intimidating. And if the power goes out, the door can always be opened with a regular old-fashioned key.

Using Amazon Key, you receive a telephone notification about the time period for which delivery is expected. If no one is home, the courier uses a special application that gives him a one-time opportunity to unlock your door, put the package inside and then lock the door again. The company does not recommend the use of technology Amazon Keyif you have a pet, the courier will not go inside if he hears a dog barking.

The moment the door opens, Cloud Cam begins to record what is happening in the house and sends you a video online. For many customers, these few seconds are a real challenge, but Amazon promises that such delivery is carried out only by those employees, companies that, in her opinion, are trustworthy. The company also promises to “fix the situation” if your property is damaged, although in the installation agreement Amazon Key it is written in small print that in case of theft or damage to property the client agrees to resolve the issue through arbitration, and not in court.

A check of the service showed that couriers really do not pose a threat. Most of them did not open the door all the way - just enough space to push the package with the goods through; not a single one went inside to use the toilet or help themselves to cookies, even when the journalist deliberately left the package near the door.

employee Amazon They know exactly that they are being monitored by cameras and that the system monitors when they open and close the door of the customer’s home.

New technologies and old locks

Owners' concerns about strangers gaining access to their home are only part of the problem with technology Amazon Key. Another problem is that many houses and doors are not ready for new technologies. For example, a journalist who trusts Amazon Key, I was forced to repair the lock previously installed on the door, as the installer didn’t like his minor damage. Amazon Key and forbade him to install technology. For the repair of the castle had to pay $ 100.

Moreover, from time to time when opening or closing a traditional lock on the door of a journalist, the sensor on the smart lock is disturbing and sends to the application Amazon Key information about interference, therefore, to open or close the door from the first time does not always come out.

Once it happened during the delivery, but fortunately, the courier did not leave the house open, but made several attempts and was able to close the lock. In company Amazon after this incident it was suggested that the smart lock on the journalist’s door was installed incorrectly.

Then it turned out that Amazon Key can be hacked. Researchers have discovered a way by which an unscrupulous courier can turn off the camera, after which he can potentially do whatever he pleases at the client’s home. Amazon stated that customers were not really at risk, but still released an update that provides faster customer notification if the camera for some reason turns off during delivery.

But the biggest problem was that of the eight orders made by the journalist for delivery using Amazon Key, in four cases, the courier arrived at the house at the wrong time, which was indicated in the client's notification of the upcoming delivery. Sometimes delivery was made late for the day. Such inaccurate timing is especially annoying when it comes to an unfamiliar person entering your home without your presence.

Amazon inconvenience and monopoly

After installation, Amazon Key life is a little more complicated. If you forget your keys at home, you can open the door using the application, but this ends the good news. If you give the keys to the house to your relatives and friends, they also need to provide access to the smart lock using a special request, after which they will receive a code in the SMS. This is not very convenient, and besides, it is not safe.

Moreover, smart locks from Amazon cannot connect to home security systems or home smart devices that operate on a software base Apple or Google. Smart lock works with traditional brand locks Yale or Kwikset, but its application cannot be forced to cooperate with the applications of these locks.

And of course, access to the lock for the delivery of goods cannot be given to the courier by any other company, except Amazon.

Keeping tight control Key helps Amazon guarantee customer safety, but at the same time it seems that the lock on your door is no longer controlled by you, but by an online retailer.

Amazon stated that it does not have access to data about when you lock your door, or to the video captured by the camera installed with the lock - and this is good. But at the same time, your door lock is tied to one company and the ability to work together only with other devices Amazon It restricts the user and involuntarily makes him pay attention and purchase exactly the products of this company.

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