A Virginia resident is suing Amazon for privateness violations after the e-commerce firm’s Ring video doorbell digicam allegedly used facial recognition expertise to report and retailer pictures of his face with out his consent.
Charles Sigwalt, who filed a lawsuit on Monday in Seattle federal court docket, the place Amazon has certainly one of its headquarters, alleges that Ring’s “Acquainted Faces” function makes use of facial-recognition software program to scan anybody who passes by the doorbell digicam and categorizes them utilizing synthetic intelligence.
The system then collects a “face print” that enables it to re-identify the particular person, based on his criticism, which seeks class-action standing.
“When plaintiffs and sophistication members entered the properties and companies of locations which had Ring cameras that deployed Acquainted Faces, they didn’t consent to have their privateness rights violated on the entrance method,” the go well with alleges.
Sigwalt alleges Ring collected his facial recognition knowledge with out warning whereas he was visiting pals’ and relations’ properties. He believes the corporate continues to be storing his biometric knowledge, based on the lawsuit.
Amazon declined to touch upon the go well with.
“Acquainted Faces” attracts criticism
Ring launched the “Acquainted Faces” function in September 2025, billing it as a method for homeowners of its doorbell digicam to obtain extra customized alerts when somebody arrives at their residence. As a substitute of seeing “Individual at Entrance Door,” for instance, they could obtain an alert with a reputation, comparable to “John at Entrance Door.”
“Your digicam learns to acknowledge pals, household and frequent guests over time,” the corporate says on its web site.
Customers can flip the function on and off, based on Ring.
Michael Nagle / Bloomberg through Getty Photographs 
Teams just like the nonprofit Digital Frontier Basis have pushed again on the function, claiming it violates individuals’s privateness. The biometric knowledge might be used for mass surveillance or be leaked in a possible knowledge breach, the group has warned.
Senator Edward Markey of Massachusetts has been one other vocal opponent of the Familar Faces expertise, noting that it might be used to report the biometric knowledge of people that by no means consented to have their faces scanned.
Different Ring backlash
Amazon has confronted different litigation over its Ring product. In 2023, the Federal Commerce Fee filed a go well with claiming that the web retailer gave its employees and contractors entry to non-public movies recorded by Ring and failed to guard buyer safety, resulting in hackers threatening or sexually propositioning Ring homeowners. Amazon settled the case for $5.8 million.
Extra not too long ago, Amazon abruptly ended a business partnership with safety expertise firm Flock Security after backlash over a Tremendous Bowl business for Ring sparked considerations about undesirable surveillance.
Amazon purchased Ring in 2018 for $1 billion.
— CBS Information’ Alain Sherter contributed to this report.
