Amazon uses an app called Mentor to track and discipline delivery drivers [View all]

[demmiblue]

Last week, Amazon triggered privacy concerns when it confirmed it's rolling out AI-enabled cameras in vans used by some of its contracted delivery partners. But the company has for years been using software to monitor and track delivery drivers' behavior on the road.

Amazon requires contracted delivery drivers to download and continuously run a smartphone app, called "Mentor," that monitors their driving behavior while they're on the job. The app, which Amazon bills as a tool to improve driver safety, generates a score each day that measures employees' driving performance.

The delivery service partner (DSP) program, launched in 2018, is made up of contracted delivery companies that handle a growing share of the online retail giant's last-mile deliveries. In just a few years, the program has grown to include more than 1,300 delivery firms across five countries, threatening to upend an industry that has traditionally been dominated by shipping partners such as UPS and FedEx.

Just like the AI-equipped cameras rolling out to contracted delivery companies, Mentor is framed as a "digital driver safety app" to help employees avoid accidents and other unsafe driving habits while they're en route to their destination. But multiple delivery drivers who spoke to CNBC described the app as invasive and raised concerns that bugs within the app can, at times, lead to unfair disciplinary action from their manager.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/12/amazon-mentor-app-tracks-and-disciplines-delivery-drivers.html