Amazon packages could soon be delivered by drivers wearing smart glasses that continuously take pictures of their surroundings, including private property and bystanders. According to a Bloomberg report, the devices can record several thousand images during a single driver shift. The captured photos are intended for upload to Amazon's AI Wellspring platform to help improve delivery routing and package handling.
The technology has sparked strong privacy concerns among privacy advocates and customers. When asked by Bloomberg whether homeowners will have an option to opt out of having their property photographed, Amazon representative Viraj Chatterjee admitted the company had not considered the possibility. Chatterjee emphasized that the system is designed solely to enhance the delivery process, stating that surveillance was never the intention.
To address privacy issues, Amazon stated that its automated software will blur faces and vehicle license plates before any images are passed along for human review. However, the company confirmed that law enforcement could access stored footage with a warrant, while declining to specify how long images will remain on its servers. Customers will not be allowed to view, request, or delete photos recorded outside their homes.
Surveillance is already a familiar issue for Amazon drivers, who currently operate under vehicle AI cameras that monitor their driving behavior. Drivers have previously complained about false alerts, such as cameras mistaking a sip of coffee for distracted driving. Despite the scrutiny, Amazon is expanding the program, aiming to deploy 20,000 additional pairs of smart glasses by the end of 2027 following pilot tests covering over 275,000 deliveries.