Amazon's Smart Glasses Photograph Your Doorstep. Do Privacy Laws Apply?
Amazon plans to put smart glasses with cameras on over 20,000 delivery drivers by the end of 2027. The glasses take frequent photos while a driver is on foot. Customers reportedly have no way to view or delete them. However, privacy laws in California and other states may give residents those rights.
By Alex Proctor
Published October 4, 2026
Summary
Amazon is equipping its delivery drivers with smart glasses that guide them to the door and take photos along the way. An Amazon executive said in September 2026 that those photos can include homes and people, and that staff review them after faces and license plates are blurred. Amazon disputes that the glasses are a surveillance tool and says the images are used only to improve deliveries. Notably, about 20 states have privacy laws that cover information linked to a person, so residents of those states may have the right to request a copy of those photos and to request their deletion.
What Do the Glasses Capture?
Amazon describes the glasses as a tool that helps drivers scan packages, follow walking directions, and capture proof of delivery without holding a phone. Use is voluntary for drivers. Amazon says the glasses include a hardware privacy switch and that drivers have completed more than 275,000 deliveries with them.
An Amazon executive described how the glasses work in a Bloomberg interview published September 30, 2026. According to coverage of that interview, the glasses take still photos frequently while a driver is on foot. Those photos can include package recipients, people on the street, and private property. Amazon staff review the images, which also feed an AI system that Amazon uses to map neighborhoods.
The executive said that faces and license plates are blurred before staff see the images, and that the company had not considered a way for customers to opt out. An Amazon spokesperson told CNET that describing the glasses as a surveillance tool "fundamentally mischaracterizes the technology and its purpose."
Are Doorstep Photos Personal Information?
About 20 states have comprehensive privacy laws that give residents rights over the personal information businesses hold about them. Most of those laws, including Virginia's, define personal data as information that is linked or reasonably linkable to an identifiable person. California's definition is broader. It also covers information linked to a household, and it lists "visual" information as one category.
A photo taken on the way to a customer's door relates to an order and a home address. Amazon says it blurs faces and license plates before staff review the images, which limits what reviewers see. However, blurring does not appear to change whether an image is personal information, because the address still links it to the customer.
What Privacy Rights Would Apply?
Specific consumer rights depend on where a customer lives. The table shows how the rights to a copy and to deletion may apply to photos taken by delivery glasses.
| State of residence | Right to a copy | Right to deletion |
|---|---|---|
| Most states with a privacy law | Likely | Likely |
| California | Likely | Likely from 2027 |
| Utah and Iowa | Likely | Unlikely |
| States with no privacy law | None | None |
Based on state privacy statutes, as of October 2026.
The right to a copy is consistent across these states, because their laws generally let residents access the personal data a business holds about them. Deletion rights vary more, but most state laws let a resident delete personal data that a business obtained about them. That would likely cover a photo taken by a driver.
California's right currently covers information collected from the consumer. On January 1, 2027, it expands to information collected about the consumer. Utah and Iowa limit deletion to data the consumer provided, which a driver's photo is not.
These laws also require a privacy notice that describes the personal information a business collects and why. California's law adds that the notice has to say how long each category is kept. Amazon's privacy notice, last updated June 30, 2026, describes cameras in its physical stores but does not appear to mention delivery glasses. Amazon has also reportedly declined to say how long it keeps the images.
These rights have limits, since a business may keep information it needs to complete a transaction or to protect security. A business also has to verify the identity of the person asking before it releases or deletes anything.
What About Neighbors and Passersby?
Neighbors and people on the street have the same rights if they live in a state with a privacy law. However, those rights are harder to use in practice. Amazon would need to match a request to specific images, and a blurred photo of a passerby is not stored with a name or an account.
A customer has an account, an order history, and a delivery address that Amazon can use to find the right images. A neighbor whose yard appears in the background of a photo has none of those. In practice, the customer at the delivery address is the person best positioned to make a request.
What Does This Mean for Amazon Customers?
Amazon reportedly has no way for a customer to receive deliveries without being photographed by the glasses. State privacy laws do not require Amazon to offer one.
However, a customer in a state with a privacy law can still ask Amazon for a copy of the photos or for their deletion. Amazon's privacy notice acknowledges those rights where the law requires them. How Amazon will respond to requests about delivery photos is not yet known.
I expect similar questions as more companies put cameras on workers in public places. In those settings, the person being photographed is often not the customer and has no account to make a request through.
Questions
Can customers opt out of being photographed by Amazon's delivery glasses?+
No. Amazon reportedly offers no way to receive deliveries without the glasses taking photos, and state privacy laws do not require one. Residents of states with a privacy law may still be able to request a copy of the photos or their deletion.
Which states have a comprehensive privacy law?+
Twenty states have one in effect: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Virginia. Florida's law applies only to very large companies. Residents of other states do not have these rights under state law.
Can police get the photos taken by the glasses?+
According to Amazon, yes, with a warrant. A spokesperson reportedly confirmed that authorities with a warrant could obtain the images. How long the images remain available depends on how long Amazon keeps them, which it has not disclosed.
Do the photos train Amazon's AI?+
Reportedly, yes. The images feed an AI system Amazon uses to map neighborhoods and improve delivery locations. Amazon says it uses the data only to improve delivery. Connecticut now requires privacy notices to state whether personal data is used to train large language models, although whether that rule applies here depends on the kind of model Amazon is training.
Briefings are informational and do not constitute legal advice.
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