USPS Lets You Check Your Mail Before You Open The Mailbox

The United States Postal Service is trying to give customers a heads up with a feature that'll tell you what kind of mail you can expect to sort through each day.

The free service is called Informed Delivery. For customers who sign up, they'll receive emails with images and details on mail being delivered each day.

Informed Delivery already builds on existing USPS technology. The postal service has been photographing all U.S. mail since 2013. That comes out to tens of billions of photos each year. 

The service is just another sign the USPS is serious about competing with other package delivery services like FedEx and UPS, especially during the holidays. (Video via UPS)

"Trust the carrier who delivers to more people and more places every holiday season." 

A USPS exec told Fox Business the service must either change with the times or become obsolete. That could explain the push to beef up its technology and provide more services like Informed Delivery.

Only USPS customers in the New York metro area will be able to use the service for now, but there are plans to expand it to other areas next year.

This video includes images from Getty Images and music from Frenic / CC BY 3.0.