Digitally preview incoming USPS mail and packages • Hacker News Board

Re: Digitally preview incoming USPS mail and packages

#91

Post by gowld » Tue, Mar 05, 2019, 6:43 PM UTC

theaccordance wrote: post #81

jtokoph wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The funny part is that they don’t scan the kind of spam that is blanketed to your area like grocery store inserts and local gym offers (the stuff that isn’t actually addressed to you). They do still scan the targeted spam like credit card offers and such. They don’t scan magazines either. Just individually addressed envelopes and postcards.

Except every exception you've outlined has been delivered to me in my daily previews since signing up 6 months ago

They scan the stuff sent to "YOU OR CURRENT RESIDENT". I think they don't scan the stuff that is dropped off in a giant stack with orders to deliver to every box in a zip code.

Re: Digitally preview incoming USPS mail and packages

#92

Post by [deleted] » Tue, Mar 05, 2019, 6:46 PM UTC

gowld wrote: post #91

theaccordance wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except every exception you've outlined has been delivered to me in my daily previews since signing up 6 months ago

They scan the stuff sent to "YOU OR CURRENT RESIDENT". I think they don't scan the stuff that is dropped off in a giant stack with orders to deliver to every box in a zip code.

[deleted]

Re: Digitally preview incoming USPS mail and packages

#93

Post by CharlesColeman » Tue, Mar 05, 2019, 6:47 PM UTC

_ea1k wrote: post #56

crazygringo wrote: post #38

I tried signing up for this 3 months ago, and was shocked to receive images for the mail of literally everyone in my building (I'm one of seven apartments). Huuuge privacy violation. (It's just images of the envelopes, but that still tells you a lot.) I unsubscribed and then went to file feedback, and got an immediate reply explaining this was by design : > Thank you for participating in Informed Delivery®. You recen…

It sounds like they are saying it is not by design, but a mistake that they allowed you to sign up when your location isn't yet meeting the requirements. At least that is how I read the line about "unable to offer[...]until the coding is complete".

> It sounds like they are saying it is not by design, but a mistake that they allowed you to sign up when your location isn't yet meeting the requirements.

Yeah, IIRC they don't support this feature for PO boxes, but I managed to accidentally get it for mine when I filed a change of address form.

I regularly see notifications for mail really indented for a few other PO boxes. It's pretty clear that their automated sorting equipment is not perfect, and that they're relying on the postman to do a final quality-control check.

This is actually an improvement from several years ago, when I'd actually sometimes get the mis-sorted mail in my box. Now that hardly ever happens.

Re: Digitally preview incoming USPS mail and packages

#94

Post by geuis » Tue, Mar 05, 2019, 6:49 PM UTC

I had to disable this because of the sheer volume of email I started getting from USPS.

Re: Digitally preview incoming USPS mail and packages

#95

Post by [deleted] » Tue, Mar 05, 2019, 6:57 PM UTC

dontbenebby wrote: post #21

wil421 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s well known the FBI monitors mail going through USPS. They are able to flag addresses or people for inspection and backtrack all mail.[1][2] People used to send a lot more bombs through the mail and recently anthrax. I’m supprised it’s not so well known. I’m not sure you have an expectation of privacy sending mail through anyone like USPS, FedEx, and UPS. They can open whatever they want at any time. Tracking pac…

>I’m not sure you have an expectation of privacy sending mail through anyone like USPS, FedEx, and UPS One of these things is not like the others. By law, first class mail cannot be opened without a warrant, absent exigent circumstances (eg: it's ticking), it's crossing an international border, or subject to a FISA warrant.[1] Those protections do not apply to UPS or Fedex. [1] https://www.rstreet.org/2014/11/19/yes-…

[deleted]

Re: Digitally preview incoming USPS mail and packages

#96

Post by gergles » Tue, Mar 05, 2019, 7:17 PM UTC

Androider wrote: post #62

crazygringo wrote: post #38

I tried signing up for this 3 months ago, and was shocked to receive images for the mail of literally everyone in my building (I'm one of seven apartments). Huuuge privacy violation. (It's just images of the envelopes, but that still tells you a lot.) I unsubscribed and then went to file feedback, and got an immediate reply explaining this was by design : > Thank you for participating in Informed Delivery®. You recen…

I also received images from my previous apartment for the new tenants long after moving (yes I did file a move notice with USPS). But then I also keep receiving the physical mail for the previous tenant at my new apartment even 6 months after moving, despite crossing out their addresses and dropping it in the mailbox, and even talking to the postman (didn't help, it's always a different person). That seems like a big…

There is no feedback loop for most mail you don't want. Anything "standard" (or "STD") in the postage area will just be thrown away if you put it back in the mail stream. You'll also have to deal with every catalog being sent to "OR CURRENT RESIDENT".

The prior owners of my place still get on average 9-10 pieces of mail a week here, and I just have to throw it all out. If one sender is especially egregious, I will contact them and demand they stop mailing to my address, but this is a slow process. (The prior owners refused to submit change of address forms, and when I contacted them they specifically said "we get too much junk mail and we want less of it!")

Re: Digitally preview incoming USPS mail and packages

#97

Post by JoshTriplett » Tue, Mar 05, 2019, 7:24 PM UTC

gergles wrote: post #96

Androider wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I also received images from my previous apartment for the new tenants long after moving (yes I did file a move notice with USPS). But then I also keep receiving the physical mail for the previous tenant at my new apartment even 6 months after moving, despite crossing out their addresses and dropping it in the mailbox, and even talking to the postman (didn't help, it's always a different person). That seems like a big…

There is no feedback loop for most mail you don't want. Anything "standard" (or "STD") in the postage area will just be thrown away if you put it back in the mail stream. You'll also have to deal with every catalog being sent to "OR CURRENT RESIDENT". The prior owners of my place still get on average 9-10 pieces of mail a week here, and I just have to throw it all out. If one sender is especially egregious, I will co…

> (The prior owners refused to submit change of address forms, and when I contacted them they specifically said "we get too much junk mail and we want less of it!")

I don't submit change of address forms, as the USPS sells the data from those to spammers.

I do, however, systematically call and cancel any sources of spam, as well as redirecting any mail I actually want.

Re: Digitally preview incoming USPS mail and packages

#98

Post by vinay427 » Tue, Mar 05, 2019, 7:26 PM UTC

I love this service, though it has a sometimes disappointingly high number of pieces of mail for which no picture is available.

Anyway, as I'm currently out of the country I can view the mail sent to my family's address which now serves as my US mail address, though I definitely understand how this would be a privacy concern if you have multiple "households" at the same address.

Re: Digitally preview incoming USPS mail and packages

#99

Post by arcticbull » Tue, Mar 05, 2019, 7:40 PM UTC

I highly recommend a service like virtualpostmail (there's a few, but this is the one I use). They're a commercial mail receiving service. You get a new address (like a PO, but deliverable by everyone -- though this gets tricky with credit card billing addresses). Once mail gets delivered, you get a scan of the front side. Then you can choose to have it shredded, scanned to PDF or delivered to you.

This is great for a lot of reasons: (1) Americans move an average of 12 times in their lives, and changing addresses is a huge PITA. This gives you a forever-mailing-address (well, as long as you keep paying). (2) Practically never deal with physical letter mail again, just PDFs (3) If you get that once in a blue moon letter you actually want, they'll just mail it to you.

Not free, but IMO worth every penny.

Re: Digitally preview incoming USPS mail and packages

#100

Post by joezydeco » Tue, Mar 05, 2019, 7:43 PM UTC

chiefalchemist wrote: post #52

Wasn't there a similar thread on HN a couple months ago about this? I remember commenting about the privacy issues, etc. and was told that USPS is really taking digital images of all the mail, and this is simply offering that as a service. There was a link to support that comment as well. That is, if you're concern about your gov monitoring your mail, that genie is out of the bottle and ain't never going back.

The USPS started scanning everything right around the time the anthrax letters were going out.

USPS has also figured out how to many some money off of this. You'll start to see relevant ads in between the mail images based on the kind of mail you're receiving. I've had the preview for about a year now and the ads are slowly increasing.