# Residents express alarm over Amazon Ring feature > Source: > Published: 2026-06-27 06:00:00+00:00 Amazon Ring's AI-powered "Familiar Faces" feature - which identifies and names regular visitors via facial recognition built into consumer doorbell cameras - has generated mounting backlash from neighbors and privacy advocates who never consented to biometric scanning. Launched in December 2025, the feature lets device owners label known visitors so the doorbell delivers targeted alerts such as "Dad is at the door." In June 2026, Virginia resident Charles Sigwalt filed a class action lawsuit in Seattle federal court, alleging Ring collected and stored facial images of millions of passersby without their consent. Amazon says face data is encrypted and unidentified faces are deleted after 30 days, but the consent gap - owners opt in, bystanders cannot opt out - is the central legal and ethical issue driving both the lawsuit and a wave of public concern documented by outlets across Europe and the US.