Uber rolls out new safety features. Here’s what to know before your next ride

Tanasia Kenney
Photo by Charles Deluvio via Unsplash

Uber riders can now customize safety preferences ahead of their next trip.

On April 10, the ride-hailing company rolled out a slate of new in-app safety features aimed at making female riders feel safe, no matter where they’re headed or when, according to a news release.

The preferences are available worldwide but may vary by city or country, Uber said.

“Whether it’s heading out on a first date or getting home after drinks with friends, women are constantly making decisions on how to prioritize safety in their day to day,” the company said.

“Starting (April 10), we’ll launch this new, one-stop destination ... allowing them to tailor their safety preferences and have peace of mind that it’s handled.”

Riders can customize four new features:

  • RideCheck sends an in-app check-in alert if a ride goes off course, stops unexpectedly or ends early.

  • PIN verification allows riders to receive a 4-digit code to share with a driver to ensure they’re getting in the right car.

  • Audio recordings taken during rides that are then locked and encrypted. The recordings can only be accessed when a rider reports a safety incident and chooses to share it with Uber.

  • Share my trip allows riders to automatically share their ride details with family or friends.

In a safety report published in 2022, Uber said it received more than 3,800 reports “across the five most severe categories of sexual assault and misconduct” during rides in the U.S. It was a 38% dip in the rate of assaults reported on the app in 2017 and 2018.

Today, riders can set or tweak their preferences in the settings menu, customizing them based on time or location, according to the release.

For example, some may opt to activate the features on weekend rides, while others turn them on when leaving a bar.

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