Amazon Ring Sued for Facial Recognition Technology: Here’s Why It May Violate Privacy Laws

On Monday, a Virginia man filed a lawsuit against Amazon Ring, claiming its facial recognition feature violates his privacy and that of millions of other Americans. The lawsuit, filed by Charles Sigwalt in Seattle federal court, seeks at least $5 million from the retail giant.

The case focuses on the aspect of the Eye Ring uses AI finding and remembering the faces of friends and family. The feature, which is coming to Ring security cameras and video doorbells in 2025, is only available to Ring subscribers who have opted in to both Standard Face and Smart alerts on their Ring device.

When Familiar Faces is activated, Ring sends personalized phone alerts that identify people by name (based on user-created profiles) when those people approach the home.

The problem is that facial recognition software scans and categorizes everyone who passes the camera, not just family and friends who may have profiles. The ring can also recognize the faces of nearby drivers, mail carriers and strangers, possibly even pedestrians (assisted 2K and 4K of the newest 4K resolution devices releasedI can gather good information from this distance).

Sigwalt’s case focused on the consent and retention of biometric data. Although laws can vary by state and have not always kept pace with this new technology, recording faces without consent may violate privacy rights. In Washington state, where Amazon is headquartered, consumers have some control over access to their personal data.

Another sticking point is that the Ring app doesn’t automatically delete faces it captures but keeps them for 30 days. While Ring says this facial data is encrypted and stored so users can take their time creating facial profiles, it’s unclear whether the data can be used to train its AI features or for other purposes.

Digital rights groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation highlight the dangers of the Ring’s Common Face feature, noting that your biometric data, including a faceprint, is “one of the most sensitive pieces of data a company can collect.” Facial recognition software has long been associated with mass surveillance and discrimination and may pose security risks, such as leaks and data breaches.

The case follows a number of controversies about Ring’s privacy policies and data sharing practices, particularly with law enforcement. Earlier this year, a Super Bowl ad for search partythe AI ​​feature, which was marketed as being able to automatically spot lost dogs, sparked a huge backlash, leading some users to smash their Ring cameras on social media.

Amazon Ring declined to comment on the matter.

Ring is just one company that uses facial recognition

The use of AI in facial recognition technology because home security cameras go beyond the Amazon line.

Google Nest, for example, has it its Family Face technology years, which works very similar to Ring’s feature, with a Face Library that you can add when it detects a new face. Arlo has an optional Person Recognition feature that uses multiple data inputs to identify specific individuals. A number of smart lock products, such as SwitchBot, they have also started using facial recognition technology.

So far, no notable lawsuits have succeeded in arguing that this technology violates broad privacy laws because security cameras are located on private property and are designed to monitor public areas such as walkways, where there really is no expectation of privacy. That’s one argument Herd surveillance cameras also rely on it.

But some laws have proven successful. Cities like Portland, Oregon, and states like Illinois have adopted strict biometric privacy laws that make it legally difficult to provide facial recognition technology in home security devices. Google Nest and other companies have disabled the familiar face features there to avoid legal problems like the Ring case.

It’s unclear how this suit will play out, but it could change how Ring approaches its security features going forward.

If you are concerned about surveillance, I have a A complete guide on how to disable unwanted Ring features.