Amazon’s Ring division has begun rolling out a new facial recognition feature called “Familiar Faces” to video doorbell owners in the United States, allowing the device to identify known visitors and label them with alerts.
The feature, first announced in September, allows users to create a catalog of up to 50 recognized faces, including family members, neighbors, household staff and delivery drivers. Once your face is labeled in the Ring app, your notifications may transition from general alerts such as: “Someone is at your door.” to more specific things such as “Mom at the door.”
How Familiar Faces works
This tool is turned off by default and users must enable it manually in the app’s settings. You can add or edit faces directly from your event history or the new Familiar Faces library, and once assigned, labels will appear in your notifications, timeline, and previous clips.
Ring said facial data is encrypted and not shared externally, and unnamed faces are automatically deleted after 30 days. Users can also use labels to mute notifications for routine arrivals and departures, such as their own arrival.
Amazon says the feature is aimed at reducing unnecessary alerts and making it easier for people to see who is at their door without having to check live video.
This feature is currently rolling out to users in the US, but is not yet available in other regions such as the UK. The UK also doesn’t yet have Amazon’s latest voice assistant, Alexa Plus, which has been rolled out in the US and Canada.
