Amazon Ring gets facial recognition feature for Germany
Amazon has now made its facial recognition feature "Familiar Faces" (German: "Bekannte Gesichter") available to German users as well. Previously the feature was only available in the USA, and it considerably extends the functionality of Ring doorbells and video cameras. With this function, Ring devices can automatically recognise visitors and send personalised notifications to the camera owner.
How does "Familiar Faces" work?
The feature is based on facial recognition and works automatically: when a person moves within the Ring camera's field of view and their face is identifiable, the camera automatically creates an entry. The user can then name this person manually and save them as a "familiar face". A total of up to 50 profiles can be created for different people.
The central advantage lies in personalisation: instead of a generic notification such as "person at the front door", users will in future receive specific messages such as "grandma at the front door" or "postal worker detected". This enables faster responses and better control over one's own security.
Owners have the option of activating or deactivating notifications individually for each person. This means that not every recognised visit triggers a notification – only those people for whom the user has configured it.
Automatic deletion after 30 days
An important aspect of the function is automatic data management: visitors who are not actively saved by the user as a known person in the database are automatically removed from the system after 30 days. This reduces the amount of stored facial data and contributes to data protection.
Technical requirements
Several conditions must be met in order to use "Familiar Faces":
- An active Premium subscription with Ring is required
- The hardware must be compatible – the feature works on Ring cameras and doorbells with 2K or 4K resolution
- Some selected devices with HD resolution are also supported (the exact models can be found in the Ring support pages)
- Important: the feature is not compatible with Ring's end-to-end video encryption
Data protection and legal requirements
Amazon emphasises that "Familiar Faces" is deactivated by default. Users therefore have to actively switch the feature on in order to use it. This is an important aspect for data protection.
Particularly relevant for use in Germany: Amazon points out to users that explicit consent from all visitors is required before activation. This means that homeowners must inform their family, friends, delivery staff and other regular visitors and ask their permission before their facial data is recorded.
Special legal requirements apply to children. Consent from minors is subject to stricter rules and presumably requires parental approval. If a person subsequently withdraws their consent, they must, according to Amazon, be removed from the database of familiar faces without delay.
There is, however, a practical weak point: the people affected cannot easily check or verify for themselves that they have actually been deleted from the database. They have to trust the camera owner that the removal has taken place.
Placing this in the context of Ring's features
"Familiar Faces" is not the only AI-supported feature Amazon has introduced for Ring. Another, likewise controversial feature is "Search Party", which is already available in the USA.
With "Search Party", dog owners can report their missing pets and activate an automated search across all Ring cameras in the neighbourhood. If the animal being searched for comes into the field of view of a Ring camera, users are automatically notified. At first glance this sounds harmless – however, critics fear that this linking together of different Ring cameras could also be misused to track people. These concerns show how important transparency and clear rules are for such functions.
Practical implications for security managers
Several practical considerations arise for users of Ring systems:
- Transparency: Inform everyone who regularly enters your property about the facial recognition
- Selective activation: Make use of the granular control – only activate notifications for people whose visits are of interest to you
- Hardware check: Check whether your Ring devices have the required resolution
- Subscription planning: Bear in mind that a Premium subscription is required
- Encryption: Note that end-to-end encryption is not compatible with this feature
Outlook and open questions
The introduction of "Familiar Faces" in Germany marks another step towards AI-supported video surveillance in the private sphere. While the function can undeniably increase convenience and security, the associated data protection questions raise important points for discussion.
In particular, control over stored biometric data, the verification of deletion processes and the potential for such systems to be extended will have to be discussed more intensively in future. Users should carefully weigh up the balance between the security benefits and the protection of their own privacy as well as the privacy of their visitors.
