Amazon delivery men now use selfies to verify their identities

Amazon now uses facial recognition to verify the identity of its delivery men.

Specifically, the change applies to people driving for Amazon Flex, the retail giant's program that allows contractors to deliver Amazon packages using their own cars. From now on, Amazon will begin to verify their identity by combining selfies and face recognition.

The new development was reported by The Verge after the Amazon Flex application began to inform the drivers they needed to start taking selfies in the app. Amazon said the change was aimed at reducing fraud and ensuring that only people authorized to deliver packages can access Amazon Flex.

In the FAQ section of its Flex website, Amazon states, "We use your photo to identify you." "This may include ensuring that you are the ones who make the delivery and use your photo to identify you to the customers and staff of the station.The photo is also used on your map identity built into the application. "

Because Amazon Flex drivers are independent contractors (they use their own cars and set their own schedules), an additional audit layer could help Amazon monitor its workers.

Amazon is not the first company to use facial recognition with a contracted staff. Uber introduced his own selfie feature in 2016. The Uber version requires drivers to record a selfie before the start of each shift to prove that they are the ones driving their car and who take the pbadengers in charge.