Amazon Key lets couriers unlock your front door and enter your home for deliveries

A camera will record footage of the exchange, which customers will be able to watch

Amazon’s new service lets delivery staff unlock your front door and enter your home.

The company has just announced Amazon Key, a new service that's likely to raise eyebrows.

Instead of delivering packages to your door, Key enables couriers to enter your home, even when you’re not in.

It relies on a collection of products, collectively called the Amazon Key In-Home Kit.

The kit costs $249.99, and comprises an Amazon Cloud Cam (Key Edition) indoor security camera and a compatible Kwikset or Yale smart lock.

When an Amazon delivery person rings your doorbell or knocks on your door but nobody answers, rather than leaving the package on your doorstep or with a neighbour, they’ll be able to open an Amazon Key app and use a feature called Unlock.

Amazon will then perform a check to ensure the right delivery person is trying to deliver the right package to the right address.

Once everything has been been matched up correctly, the lock will let the delivery person in, and the camera will record footage of the delivery.

The delivery person will not be able to make another trip until they’ve left the house and the door locks again, and Amazon says access codes will never be provided to staff.

“This is not an experiment for us,” Peter Larsen, Amazon’s vice president of delivery technology, told Reuters. “This is a core part of the Amazon shopping experience from this point forward.”

According to Mr Larsen, early tests of Amazon Key suggest that theft is “not something that happens in practice”, but if customers encounter a problem, they’ll be able to file a complaint with Amazon customer services.

Users will also be able to use Amazon Key to let friends and family into their homes, and they can set the frequency and length of time a person has access.

Amazon Key will launch on 8 November in 37 US locations, but it’s only open to Prime members.

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