【Gary Eberhart Archives】

Everyone has had that horrible experience—Amazon says your package arrived,Gary Eberhart Archives but when you get home, it's nowhere to be seen.

How to fix this? Well, Amazon has tried a variety of things, like nearby lockers and drones, but nothing quite like this.

The ecommerce giant on Wednesday launched Amazon Key, a new system that gives people the ability to let delivery people into their homes to drop off packages.

It's reasonable for your initial reaction to such a feature to be nervous paranoia, but Amazon thinks it has developed a way to make letting strangers into your home a relatively safe proposition.

Here's how it would work: A delivery person would arrive at your humble abode. They scan a barcode on the package, which tells Amazon's system that your little bundle of retail joy is ready to be dropped off.

This is when Amazon's home hardware comes in, featuring internet-connected cameras and locks. The system tells the camera to start recording and tells the delivery person the system is working. The delivery person tells the app they're ready, and the smart lock opens.

The delivery person then theoretically drops off the package, does notrummage through your refrigerator, and leaves. The delivery person then tells their app that the delivery is done, and the door locks again.

The customer is the notified that the package is their home and is sent a video of the drop off.

The function isn't just for deliveries. Amazon also teased that it could be used to let in other people like cleaners.

A big part of the new feature is Amazon's Cloud Cam, an Alexa-enabled video camera that has a variety of security capabilities including live video.

The service is only available for Amazon Prime members in certain major cities right now. To set it up, Prime members will need to purchase Amazon's $250 "Key In-Home Kit," which will include the cloud cam and smart lock.