Amazon Ring faces class action over biometric data use

Amazon faces a new class action lawsuit alleging its Ring doorbell cameras unlawfully collect and store biometric data from individuals without their consent. The suit, filed Monday in Seattle federal court by Virginia resident Charles Sigwalt, targets the "Familiar Faces" feature, an optional AI-powered tool that identifies frequent visitors.

The lawsuit claims the feature, which Ring introduced last fall, scans and retains facial recognition data of people passing by Ring-equipped homes, including neighbors, delivery workers, and other pedestrians, who have not agreed to the collection. Sigwalt alleges he was among those captured without his knowledge. The filing states that millions of Americans may have unknowingly had their facial information collected, calling Amazon's conduct a "profound privacy failure."

Ring has stated that the Familiar Faces feature is opt-in for device owners and deactivated by default. The company says face data is encrypted, stored in the cloud, never shared with third parties, and that images of unidentified individuals are automatically deleted after 30 days. Users who activate the feature can catalog up to 50 people to receive personalized...