What is Amazon's new 'Familiar Faces' feature on Ring doorbells?

Familiar Faces is an AI feature that identifies up to 50 regular visitors, personalizing doorbell alerts.

Why are consumer groups concerned about Ring's facial recognition?

Groups like the EFF are concerned about privacy implications and Amazon's data handling practices.

Is Amazon's Ring facial recognition enabled by default?

No, the Familiar Faces feature is not enabled by default and requires users to opt-in via the app.

Home / Technology / Ring's AI Sees All: Facial Recognition Rolls Out

Ring's AI Sees All: Facial Recognition Rolls Out

10 Dec, 2025

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Summary

Ring's new AI feature identifies familiar visitors to your door.
The feature allows creating a catalog of up to 50 faces.
Consumer groups and a U.S. Senator have raised privacy concerns.

Ring's AI Sees All: Facial Recognition Rolls Out

Amazon's Ring devices are introducing a new AI-powered facial recognition feature, "Familiar Faces," enabling users to identify recurring visitors. This system allows for the creation of a catalog of up to 50 faces, personalizing notifications beyond simple presence detection. For instance, alerts can specify "Mom at Front Door," enhancing user convenience.

Despite Amazon's claims that face data is encrypted, never shared, and automatically deleted after 30 days, the feature faces significant pushback. Consumer advocacy groups like the EFF and U.S. Senator Ed Markey have voiced strong opposition, citing concerns over privacy and Amazon's history of partnerships with law enforcement.

The rollout is further complicated by privacy laws in states like Illinois and Texas. Amazon states that biometric data is cloud-processed and not used for AI model training, though questions remain about data usage similarities to other Ring features.