Uber rolls out new safety feature for metro Atlanta rideshare users
ATLANTA - In metro Atlanta, Uber users can expect to see a new safety feature when they open up their rideshare app. The company announced Wednesday that both riders and drivers will now have the ability to record audio during trips.
Uber officials told FOX 5 the company started testing out the audio recording feature in 2021 in nine other US cities. Riders can start recording before their driver arrives or in the middle of a ride while drivers have the ability to record over multiple trips.
"We want to encourage safe and comfortable interactions when people are using Uber," Uber’s Head of Safety Communications Andre Hasbun said Wednesday. "All you have to do is go to the settings section of your app and it will prompt you to set up audio recording, give the Uber app permission to use your microphone and you’re ready to go for your next trip."
Hasbun said the privacy of users who enable the new feature is still a top priority. They’ve made it so that the recordings are encrypted on a user’s phone.
"Nobody has access to the audio recording—not even Uber or the person who recorded it. Its stays encrypted on the device and Uber can only listen to this if the rider or driver share the audio recording with us as part of a safety report," he explained.
According to the latest safety report from Uber, about 0.0002 percent of rides ended in a safety report being filed from 2019 to 2020—which could include anything from murder to sexual assault.
Hasbun said the goal of the audio recording feature is to have an unbiased account of a potential safety issue on a trip.
They hope use of the feature from both riders and drivers will help prevent instances where safety is compromised—altogether.
"Having a recording of what went on during a trip helps us determine the best outcome when a safety incident happens and it’s reported to us."
Data from Uber’s most recent safety report showed an increase in fatal physical assaults during rides while sexual assaults decreased by 38 percent. You can find more information about the new feature by clicking here.