Proposed class action lawsuits claim Coco Robotics and Serve Robotics scanned customers’ faces and hands without consent during food deliveries.
Two Cook County residents filed proposed class action lawsuits in Chicago accusing delivery robot companies Coco Robotics and Serve Robotics of capturing biometric data without customer permission, CNET reported. The lawsuits claim the sidewalk robots scanned customers’ faces, hands and body geometry using cameras and lidar sensors when dropping off food orders.
Allegations of unapproved biometric scans
According to the filings, the companies breached the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act of 2008, TechRadar reported. The state law mandates that businesses give written notice about what information they gather and why, secure prior written consent, and publish clear schedules for data retention and deletion.
Plaintiff Mitchell Breidinger stated that a Coco robot arrived with his DoorDash grocery order in September 2025, even though he didn’t request an autonomous delivery. While entering his pickup code to unlock the cargo compartment, the robot’s cameras recorded his face, head and hands, and its lidar sensors measured the physical geometry of those features. Breidinger also said a remote operator viewed the drop-off on video, and Coco never provided written notice about collecting his biometric information or how long it would keep it.
A second plaintiff, Barry Schain, stated that Serve Robotics delivered three of his Uber Eats orders without his selection. Both lawsuits claim the companies hold video and sensor records in violation of state law and share data with artificial intelligence developers for training purposes. The plaintiffs are asking the court for statutory damages of $1,000 for each negligent violation and $5,000 for each reckless or intentional violation.
Responses and company privacy policies
Both companies rejected the claims and said they don’t record biometric profiles of customers or pedestrians. In a statement to CNET, Serve Robotics said that “Serve does not use that data to identify individuals, and our systems are not designed to identify individuals or create biometric profiles.” The company noted that its sidewalk vehicles rely on sensors and cameras strictly to navigate streets safely.
A Coco Robotics spokesperson called the legal action frivolous, telling the Associated Press that “This lawsuit fundamentally misunderstands our technology, we have not collected biometric data in Chicago.” The spokesperson added that Coco shares only navigational data to improve sidewalk safety and doesn’t distribute information gathered at the start or finish of delivery routes.
The companies’ public privacy policies show differing terms. Coco’s policy, last revised in 2022 before the firm entered the Chicago market, doesn’t offer specific retention timelines but mentions sharing aggregated and anonymized data with partners. Serve’s policy was updated more recently and ties data retention periods to agreements with delivery partners, while explicitly mentioning that data may be shared to train artificial intelligence agents and models.
Growth of sidewalk delivery networks
The lawsuits come as autonomous couriers expand across major metropolitan areas. Coco operates around 1,000 delivery robots across Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami and Washington, DC. Serve Robotics runs more than 2,000 devices across Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Dallas-Fort Worth, Miami and Alexandria, Virginia. Both firms work primarily with apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats and Grubhub.
The broader delivery industry has grown steadily since Starship Technologies began its first parcel runs nearly ten years ago, passing 10 million total deliveries globally by midyear. Industry estimates project the American robotic delivery market will surge from $252 million in 2025 to $3.1 billion by 2035. Future fleets could haul medicine, retail goods and factory parts, alongside autonomous boats and aerial drones.
Rising friction over sidewalk automation
The legal dispute reflects broader public pushback against automated surveillance tools across the country, where residents have voiced alarm over devices like Flock Safety police cameras. In addition to privacy issues, critics and digital rights groups have warned that robotic delivery could eliminate courier jobs and provide corporations or authorities with ways to monitor public activity.
Pedestrians have also expressed frustration directly on the streets. Robots on urban sidewalks have faced vandalism, including being kicked, punched, tipped over and defaced as communities adjust to sharing walking paths with autonomous machines.
