Opinion: Amazon Wants a Key to Your House. I Did It, and I Regret It. | SupplyChainBrain

Opinion: Amazon Wants a Key to Your House. I Did It, and I Regret It.

Geoffrey Fowler, Los Angeles Times contributor

December 13, 2017

Once Amazon owned my door, I was locked into an all-Amazon world.

When Amazon first floated the idea of Amazon Key, an internet-connected lock it can access, people had two responses. 1) THIS IS CREEPY. 2) I kind of want this, so my packages don't get stolen.

But make no mistake, the $250 Amazon Key isn't just about stopping thieves. It's the most aggressive effort I've seen from a tech giant to connect your home to the internet in a way that puts itself at the center.

Amazon Chief Executive Jeff Bezos owns the Washington Post, but I review all tech with the same critical eye. So I put an Amazon-compatible smart lock on my door (installation was included) and hooked up its companion Cloud Cam nearby to record who comes and goes. Then I ordered enough Amazon packages to earn overtime for Santa's elves.

The good news is nobody ran off with my boxes — or burgled my house.

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