Amazon Key Expands to Apartments
Amazon is expanding its smart building solutions with the Amazon Key Access Control system targeting apartment buildings. The new intercom solution lets residents answer their building's main door and buzz visitors in using the Ring app, with installation managed by property managers and virtual keys for common areas.
The expansion of Amazon Key into apartment buildings is the latest iteration of a service that began in 2017. Initially, it was a direct-to-consumer product for in-home deliveries, requiring customers to purchase a kit with an Amazon Cloud Cam and a smart lock. This allowed delivery drivers one-time access to leave packages inside a customer's house. The service evolved from in-home access to include car trunks and garages, broadening its scope beyond just the front door. This shift also saw the program rebrand to "Key by Amazon," signaling a move towards a more comprehensive access control service rather than just a delivery solution. The "Key for Business" offshoot, first piloted in 2018, specifically targets commercial and residential buildings to streamline deliveries for Amazon's drivers. For landlords and property managers, Amazon offers to install the Key for Business system for free in buildings with at least ten units. The primary incentive for Amazon is a significant reduction in "high-defect-rate" deliveries—instances where a driver cannot complete a delivery on the first attempt. One report indicated that the system could cut this rate by two-thirds. While Amazon provides the equipment and installation, the system integrates with a building's existing electronic access control. This allows delivery drivers to gain entry using an app on their handheld devices after their ID, route, and time of request are verified by Amazon. The move into building access control places Amazon in competition with other smart access companies like Latch, which has partnered with UPS for a similar in-building delivery system. These systems are part of a broader trend of "smart building" technology that offers residents and property managers more digital control over access. The integration with the Ring app raises questions about data privacy, an area where Amazon has previously faced scrutiny. The company was fined over $30 million for privacy breaches related to its Ring and Alexa devices, including storing children's voice data and customer videos. Privacy advocates have expressed concerns about the amount of data collected by smart home devices and how that information is used.
