Are We Ready For 'Amazon Key'?

Yesterday, online retail giant Amazon introduced its latest product for Prime customers. Amazon Key is a type of smart lock which will grant users the ability to let people into their home when they are not there. Naturally, the main idea behind the product is to allow Amazon couriers to deposit parcels within the safe confines of your house or apartment but it will also be possible to grant access to other trusted individuals such as a cleaner, for example.

Amazon will install the lock and, for now, it will be available in 37 U.S. cities. While they reassure potential users that all personnel will be thoroughly vetted and, where possible, will not fully enter the premises, are we really ready for such a thing? In response to the product announcement, 9to5Mac conducted a survey to gauge people's current openness to this kind of tech. As our infographic shows, the largest share (37 percent) of the almost six thousand respondents said that they would not be comfortable with any kind of guest access. When it comes to the Amazon Key level of access, i.e. 'on-demand', only 11 percent said they would be willing.

It might then seem like a step too far for now, but according to Amazon vice president of delivery technology Peter Larsen, "this is not an experiment...this is a core part of the Amazon shopping experience from this point forward”. Perhaps we'd better start getting used to it then.