Amazon’s ‘spy in the sky’ bid to sell you even more

AMAZON has laid out plans to turn its delivery drones into airborne snoops that can work out how to sell you even more.

According to a patent granted this week, the drone could take pictures of customers’ homes and gardens, and look for potential problems that need fixing.

Amazon would then send the householder recommendations for the repair services they needed, or products it thinks they should buy. The firm said in the patent document that it could offer fertiliser to those whose garden is looking brown.

Or it could inform a customer that their roof was missing some tiles, and send them a list of different roofers. ‘Computers may analyse the data and identify that the roof of the location is in disrepair and in need of service,’ it said.

Privacy campaigners are aghast at the proposal. Renate Samson, head of the Big Bother Watch lobby group, said: ‘People should be wary of handing over the keys to their lives for promises of greater consumer convenience.

‘Amazon already have ears in our homes listening to what we say, do and want via their Echo device, but now they say they want their eyes on our property too.’

Amazon, which has successfully trialled its drone delivery service, suggested in the document that it would ask customers before scanning their homes. ‘It may capture video data or audio data as requested by the property owner associated with the delivery location,’ it said.

It declined to comment yesterday.