Amazon wants to prevent unauthorised delivery drivers, asks the real ones to click selfies

In what could be an attempt to minimise the risk of fraud, Amazon now urges delivery partners to take selfies. Amazon will use facial recognition technology. This way, Amazon is looking to verify the identities of delivery partners. The changes were recently spotted on Amazon Flex app for delivery partners.

The app now makes it mandatory for delivery partners to click a selfie before they start working. Amazon warns its delivery partners not to click a selfie while driving. This way, Amazon could stop multiple users from sharing the same account, thus preventing unauthorised people or potential criminals from delivering the goods.

In the past, Amazon may have had problems with dishonest delivery partners stealing packages. Although this may be a good initiative, it has some drawbacks too. The selfie test won't detect if the verified delivery partners themselves steal the goods.

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The requirement applies to all those delivery partners who have flexible working hours and gets paid $18 to $25 an hour. Amazon Flex delivery partners work as independent contractors using their cars to deliver packages. Earlier, Amazon had notified its drivers to opt for biometric verification.

Earlier, Amazon had come under fire for making its factory workers meet unreasonably high working hours, pushing them to skip out on their bathroom breaks and pee in bottles instead. In comparison, requiring drivers to take selfies seems reasonable.

Meanwhile, Uber had also implemented a similar policy in 2016 that could have hammered Amazon to incorporate this new policy. Uber made it mandatory for drivers to click selfies before registering on the platform and taking ride requests. Critics said Uber was using it as a bandage for drivers who had escaped from background checks.

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Last year, there were reports about transgender Uber drivers who found their accounts suspended after clicking a selfie. The problem occurred due to matching up to previous photos on file because of different points of a gender transition. Hence, facial recognition may not be a perfect solution for verifying identities.

(With agency inputs)