Amazon One is being promoted as an improvement over tap-to-pay and other contactless payment methods that still require physical items. Unlike traditional systems, Amazon One’s palm recognition ensures that buyers of age-restricted items, like alcohol, are legally eligible for their purchases. Moreover, the deeper level of scanning, which includes analyzing both the palm and veins, creates a unique vector “signature” that is said to be non-replicable, enhancing security.
Despite its advantages, the palm recognition technology has faced criticism from activists, who have called for venues to drop Amazon One due to privacy and human rights concerns. While Amazon assures secure cloud storage for palm signatures and anti-tampering measures, opponents fear that governments could exploit the data for tracking protesters and marginalized individuals. Hackers’ potential access to and misuse of the collected data are also areas of concern.
