Ring Docs Show Company Is Testing Consumer Enthusiasm For Facial Recognition, License Plate Reader Capabilities
from the be-the-implemented-changes-you-want-to-see-in-the-world dept
It seems like Ring really wants to add facial recognition tech to its cameras. It employs a “Head of Facial Recognition Tech.” It pitches this still-nonexistent feature to law enforcement. And it says it will “continue to innovate” to meet customer feature demands in response to Congressional queries about its facial recognition plans.
But now is not the best time to be trotting out new facial recognition products. Cities and one entire state have enacted bans or moratoriums on facial recognition tech use by government agencies. Even the leader in law enforcement body cams (Axon, formerly Taser) has pulled back from adding this tech to its products. So, Ring is playing it safe even if it’s inevitably going to add this feature in as soon as it can justify it.
And it’s looking for ways to justify it. Just like it promised Congress, it will continue to “innovate” by adding features customers say they want — even if it’s tech many feel is untrustworthy, if not possibly dangerous. A document obtained by Ars Technica shows the company is feeling out its newest customers on several potential features, including facial recognition.
Ring last week distributed a confidential survey to beta testers weighing sentiment and demand for several potential new features in future versions of its software. According to screenshots shared with Ars, potential new features for Ring include options for enabling or disabling the camera both physically and remotely, both visual and audible alarms to ward off “would-be criminals,” and potential object, facial, and license plate detection.
The survey actually suggests two possible facial recognition tech uses: one alert for “familiar faces” and another for “unfamiliar.” This feature would presumably be tied to a user-generated whitelist of “familiar” faces, rather than something maintained by Ring. But just as presumably, Ring would have access to user selections and recorded footage. Law enforcement agencies are already running obtained Ring footage through their own facial recognition programs, so this addition would just save them a little bit of time.
And, as noted above, Ring is pitching something new — at least for its line of products: license plate recognition. This is a new development.
The company has also not publicly discussed any plans for potentially deploying object detection or license plate scanning technology. In the same letter, lawmakers asked Amazon if employees had access to “any previously tagged information in video feeds that specifically identify a person or vehicle,” including specific license plate data; to that question, Amazon answered simply “no.”
The survey doesn’t actually call this “recognition.” It calls it “license plate detection.” This feature would send an alert to users if a vehicle’s license plate is detected and readable by the camera. Again, this wouldn’t be linked to any license plate database and would rely on whitelisting for “recognition,” but it’s still somewhat surprising to see a home security system offer this functionality.
It’s not that license plate readers are unheard of in the residential sector. It’s just that they’re usually included in more expensive systems tied to lucrative 24/7 monitoring contracts. This would put some of that power in a doorbell camera, allowing Ring users to operate not-so-automatic license plate readers during their downtime.
Ring continues to claim it’s just engaging in blue-skying with beta testers and has no immediate plans to implement either of these features. But it’s not denying it has an interest in being a market leader in domestic surveillance tech and will follow the market wherever it’s led… or wherever it nudges the market towards.
Filed Under: doorbells, facial recogntion, license plate readers, privacy, surveillance
Companies: amazon, ring
Comments on “Ring Docs Show Company Is Testing Consumer Enthusiasm For Facial Recognition, License Plate Reader Capabilities”
'Oh that think we asked about? Nah, we have no interest at all.'
Given you’d probably be hard pressed to find a company that’s going to be testing the water to see how eager people are for a feature that the company has no plans of implementing their repeated denials of interest regarding facial recognition are only getting more and more transparently dishonest.
If you’re not interested in the tech then you wouldn’t be asking people what they thought of it regarding future possible products/services, such that all they’re really doing is showing that they absolutely are interesting in facial recognition but aren’t honest enough to admit it.
Why would we do anything wrong? $$$$$$$
What are the chances that when Ring announces overwhelming backing for the idea that they refuse to produce any actual results from their ‘survey’ supporting the contention? Further, will they be honest when false negatives refuse to allow people to enter their own homes?
They’re asking but in actuality they’re TELLING you they’re going to install these features down the line whether you like it or not.
Hey, come on guys. We’re not doing what we’re doing.
Once facial recognition takes off and becomes commonplace in bizarro land, it is inevitable there will be shenanigans. I look forward the debut of buttockal recognition.
Line of Sight
Maybe I don’t know how homes in other parts of the country are situated, but in my neck of the woods the front door doorbell is in no position to read license plates. Not only is the front door almost always perpendicular to the road, but it’s often separated from the driveway. I doubt that a doorbell camera for most homes could get a good look at a vehicle entering their own driveway. It sounds like real desperation to get these features added quickly to their product, probably so that they can go before a court somewhere and attempt to have this stuff declared common technology instead of a privacy violation.
Understanding tech.
If I can insert a Chip that does, ???…What other uses does ti have…
Can I make it do MOREEEE??
WOW, we can, with a change int he programming, it can do anything we wish. Why didnt we do this in the past.
IT WAS, it was called Caller ID and being able to TRACK those spamming us..and they didnt tell anyone it could be used in reverse.
License Plate reader on a Doorbell Camera that rarely is ever placed to get a good look, if any look in the direction where it can ever see a License plate in the first place. I don’t get it.
I don’t have a problem with it as your License Plate is Public Info and anyone can go take a picture of it. The general public can’t just normally run a License plate number.