Global eCommerce giant Amazon is facing a $5 million class action lawsuit over its Ring doorbell’s artificial intelligence (AI) facial recognition feature.
Filed in the U.S. District Court in Washington, the litigation alleges that Amazon.com and its subsidiary Ring LLC violated privacy rights when the Ring security camera captured images of people’s faces without their knowledge or consent.
An Amazon spokesperson told The Epoch Times that the company has no comment on the lawsuit.
According to the complaint, Ring introduced the “Familiar Faces” feature for its security cameras in December 2025. The feature uses AI facial recognition technology to scan the faces of all guests and those passing by the home before it categorizes them as “familiar” or “unknown.” It then collects a “face print” of each person to re-identify them for future visits.
“When Plaintiffs and Class members entered the homes and businesses of places which had Ring cameras that deployed Familiar Faces, they did not consent to have their privacy rights violated at the entrance way,” the lawsuit states. “To put it plainly, Amazon’s system forces non-consenting bystanders into a biometric database without their knowledge or consent. This is an unacceptable privacy violation.”
The lawsuit contends that Ring is invading the privacy of millions of people, and that their images are now being tracked by Amazon. As a result, the plaintiffs are seeking actual and statutory damages, restitution, pre- and post-judgment interest, injunctive relief, and attorneys’ fees.
Initiated by Charles Sigwalt, a Virginia resident, the complaint notes that while visiting friends and family members’ homes, his facial recognition data was collected by Ring through the “Familiar Faces” feature without his knowledge or consent.
“Not only was Plaintiff Sigwalt not adequately informed about the collection of his facial recognition data, but he was also not adequately given compensation for his sensitive and valuable information,” the lawsuit states.
As a result, Sigwalt claims that in addition to a violation of his privacy, he suffers from the “emotional stress” of not knowing when or where his facial recognition information might be collected under Ring’s “mass surveillance system.”
According to the litigation, Amazon’s Ring has in the past been the subject of other suits involving facial recognition and data collection, including Federal Trade Commission (FTC) fines worth several million dollars.
Founded in 2013, Ring was purchased by Amazon in 2018. Ring’s mission is to reduce crime for both homeowners and businesses through its doorbell camera security system, according to Amazon. Its “Familiar Faces” feature was designed to alert homeowners about who is approaching their front door.
“The facial recognition data collected by Defendant are not stored locally, they are shared and then subsequently stored on Amazon’s cloud product,” the complaint states.
In addition, the suit argues that images are kept longer than 180 days in some cases. Ring users can unsubscribe for any amount of time, and after resubscribing, the images are allegedly resumed in Ring’s saved profiles.
Quoting an FTC Policy Statement on Biometric Information, the litigation notes that aside from possible fraud, use of this information can also pose “significant risks” to consumers, as they have very little chance of avoiding these risks or unintended consequences, such as identity theft. It describes this type of biometric collection as “a gold mine for hackers.”
In conclusion, the lawsuit claims that Ring violates the FTC Act, which protects against deceptive and unfair trade practices. Additionally, it accuses Ring of profiting from the data it collects.
Amazon and Ring face several causes of action including: violations of state consumer protection laws, gross negligence, and unjust enrichment. The plaintiff is seeking a trial by jury.
