Those little robots rolling around city sidewalks might look harmless, just transporting food. However, new lawsuits in Chicago suggest they may be doing much more than delivering dinner.
Two class-action lawsuits filed in Cook County, Illinois, claim that autonomous delivery robots from Coco Robotics and Serve Robotics secretly scan people’s faces and hands, collecting data such as facial features and hand shapes, and share that information with artificial intelligence companies. On top of that, the people supposedly being scanned say they did not give the companies permission to do so.
The lawsuits argue that these companies violated Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act. The law requires companies to give written notice before collecting data, explain how they’ll use it, and get people’s permission first. If they break the rules, they could face fines of $1,000 to $5,000 per violation.
Coco Robotics and Serve Robotics both deny the accusations. They insist their delivery robots don’t collect that kind of information. Coco called the lawsuit “frivolous.” Serve says its cameras and sensors are only used for navigation. The lawsuits claim otherwise.
Food Delivery Robots Accused Of Collecting Biometric Data Without Permission
Mitchell Breidinger, a Chicago resident, says he ordered groceries through DoorDash in September 2025. He didn’t request a robot delivery, but a Coco robot showed up anyway. When he went to pick up his groceries, he claims the robot’s cameras recorded his face, head and hands. It also allegedly used LiDAR sensors to capture the shape of his body parts.
More concerning, Breidinger says a remote operator was watching the whole delivery live. He claims the data was sent to OpenAI and other companies.
“This lawsuit fundamentally misunderstands our technology, we have not collected biometric data in Chicago,” a spokesperson for Coco Robotics said in a statement, according to Mashable.
Another man, Barry Schain, filed a suit against Serve Robotics. He says he received three deliveries from Uber Eats using a robot even though he never requested robot delivery. His lawsuit says Serve collected video and sensor data and licensed it to third-party companies.
“Serve does not use that data to identify individuals and our systems are not designed to identify individuals or create biometric profiles,” Serve told The Associated Press in a statement.
The Lawsuits Highlight Further Concerns About Privacy In The United States
These lawsuits come as surveillance tech faces growing scrutiny. This year, Flock Safety’s network of automated license plate readers has sparked serious debate, and a few rebellions.
The complaints also shine a light on the potential for delivery robots to record pedestrians’ physical characteristics as they walk past them in public. If the allegations prove true, the cases may prompt further investigation into how businesses inform people who interact with their devices about their data practices.
Now people aren’t just wondering if their food will arrive on time. They’re also asking: Is that robot watching me?
In addition to the lawsuits, Chicago residents have also been complaining about delivery robots blocking sidewalks, crashing into bus shelters and making it hard to walk on sidewalks. The city’s robot delivery pilot program is set to end in May 2027 unless officials decide to extend it, according to TechEDT.