Technology –
USPS To Email Pics Of Your Mail
The US Postal Service AKA “snail-mail” may be the butt of jokes for its uselessness in the 21st Century, but USPS has some exciting new technology planned for 2016.
Technology
Admit it because we’ve all done it…we’ve all walked to our mailbox in the rain or snow, only to find it either empty or littered with junk mail that we want to immediately throw in the trash. Well, USPS has created a solution to save you a wasted trip to your box.
The new feature is called Informed Delivery and here’s how it will work: On usual delivery days, USPS will email you up to 10 images a day of what’s in your physical mailbox. That way, you can see via your computer or smart device every piece of mail in your mailbox and if it requires your swift attention. None of your mail will ever be opened. Only a front photo of each piece of mail will be taken and emailed to you.
According to the USPS website:
Participate in this new USPS service enhancement test and get images of the mail that will be placed in your mailbox each day. Black and white images of your actual letter-sized mail pieces, processed by USPS sorting equipment, will be provided to you each morning. Flat-sized pieces, such as catalogues or magazines, may be added in the future. Participation is limited to certain ZIP Codes ™ at this time. See the FAQs for more details.
So, what happens if you receive more than 10 pieces of mail? No need to worry, as every piece of mail you receive each day can be viewed via the service’s web dashboard.
The website says:
Get up to 10 mail piece images in your morning email, which can be viewed on any computer or a smart phone. Get more mail than that? Additional images are available for viewing on your online dashboard – in the same place you track your packages! Don’t worry if you are on travel; if you have email or online access, you can see much of the mail that will be delivered to your mailbox.
The US Postal Service has been testing the service in Virginia since 2014 and says it is ready to go. Informed Delivery will be free to use and is already available to residential customers in Northern Virginia, New York City and Connecticut. Further expansion is being considered for others later in 2016.
Who knows…with Informed Delivery, USPS may actually become relevant again.
THANK GOD IT’S Almost 2016!
