[cmiles8]

Amazon knew exactly what they were doing… they’re just scrambling because they got caught and underestimated the public backlash from their actions. They made a calculated decision, and calculated wrong.

Every tech savy person I know is working up plans to rip these things out and go with solutions that have more rigorous privacy controls. For example the UniFi setups keep all your data on prem so you can avoid these scenarios where some company decides “maybe users won’t mind if we just start using the data for something else” games.

The fact that the backlash comes after spending millions on a Superbowl advert to promote the offending tech and use case is a pretty epic “own goal” by Amazon.

I have security cameras, and have always voluntarily shared footage with relevant authorities when there was a valid need, but that’s a decision for me to make, not some corporation.

[BlackjackCF]

The moment I heard about this feature coming out, I bought Reolink cameras with microSDs for local storage and a giant SSD for NVR.

I was worried it would be a lot of work to replace Ring stuff. While Reolink’s setup experience isn’t quite as smooth, it was still trivial to get working. Highly recommend it for everyone who wants a decent alternative.

[petiepooo]

What I don't understand is how they get blindsided by the public's reaction. Do they not have high-powered PR teams to do market research? Or did they fire them when they came back with news that the self-centered execs didn't want to hear?

[cmiles8]

Amazon’s leadership culture is pretty low EQ and they often fail to see things that others would find fairly obvious.

The Amazon Go stores and “Just Walk Out” were a good idea on paper but terribly executed because Amazon leaders didn’t understand how customers think and the awkward aspects of the design. Same with the palm reader tech they just scrapped. Similar here where someone thinks this is a good idea but is completely out of touch with customer mindsets. It’s a recurring pattern for Amazon.