Amazon is officially rolling out “Familiar Faces,” an AI-powered facial-recognition feature for Ring video doorbells and cameras in the United States. First announced in September, the feature is now making its way to users — and it’s already prompting intense scrutiny from consumer-privacy groups and lawmakers.
Familiar Faces lets Ring owners build a catalog of up to 50 people who regularly visit their home. After a user labels someone in the Ring app — a family member, neighbor, friend, delivery driver, or household staff — the system will identify that person when they appear on camera. Instead of generic alerts like “Someone is at your door,” users may see personalized notifications such as “Mom at Front Door.”
The feature is opt-in and disabled by default. Users must turn it on manually in Ring’s settings. Faces can be labeled from Event History or the new Familiar Faces library, and labels can be edited, merged, or deleted at any time. Amazon says face data is encrypted, never shared externally, and that unnamed faces are automatically removed after 30 days.
Still, privacy advocates remain unconvinced.
A History That Raises Red Flags
Ring’s previous security lapses have amplified concerns. In 2023, the company paid a $5.8 million FTC fine after regulators found that Ring employees and contractors had years of overly broad access to customer videos. At various points, the Neighbors app exposed users’ addresses and precise locations, and stolen Ring passwords have circulated on the dark web.
The company’s past partnerships with law-enforcement agencies also fuel skepticism. Ring once allowed police and fire departments to request doorbell footage directly from Amazon through the Neighbors app. Amazon also recently partnered with Flock, the maker of AI-powered surveillance cameras widely used by police and federal agencies.
Given this backdrop, privacy organizations — including the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) — warn that adding facial recognition to a Ring ecosystem already intertwined with law-enforcement interests heightens the risk of unwanted surveillance.
Legal Pushback and Rollout Restrictions
U.S. senator Ed Markey has urged Amazon to abandon the feature entirely, citing potential threats to civil liberties. Privacy laws are also restricting Ring from launching the feature in certain regions, including Illinois, Texas, and Portland, Oregon.
In written responses to the EFF, Amazon said biometric data for Familiar Faces is processed in the cloud and is not used to train AI models. The company also asserted it cannot technically map all locations where a recognized person appears — even if law enforcement requests it. Privacy experts dispute whether such limitations are practical or durable, especially given similar capabilities in Ring’s “Search Party” feature that scans networked neighborhood cameras to locate lost pets.
EFF staff attorney F. Mario Trujillo put the concern plainly: “Knocking on a door, or even just walking in front of it, shouldn’t require abandoning your privacy.”
Should Users Enable It?
Amazon frames Familiar Faces as a convenience tool that reduces unnecessary notifications and helps users avoid alerts about their own movements. But given the company’s history of security issues, combined with the inherent risks of cloud-processed biometric data, privacy advocates recommend caution — or simply leaving the feature turned off.
While not every smart-home upgrade needs facial recognition, the arrival of Familiar Faces makes one thing clear: convenience and privacy remain locked in an ongoing tug-of-war at the front doors of millions of homes.