Uber to Begin Audio Recording Rides as Safety Measure

Uber is making a big change for rider safety.

According to the Washington Post, riders will be able to “opt in to activate an audio recording on any trip or all trips.” The rider can choose to audio record the ride, and submit the audio afterwards to Uber.

“When the trip ends, the user will be asked if everything is okay and be able to report a safety incident and submit the audio recording to Uber with a few taps,” according to an email written by an Uber executive. “The encrypted audio file is sent to Uber’s customer support agents who will use it to better understand an incident and take the appropriate action.”

“Laws in the United States around consent to being recorded can vary from state to state, but we hope to be able to make this available nationally,” the email added. “We have taken a position that whenever you are in an Uber, the feeling that we want both parties to have is ‘the lights are on.’ That leads to safer interaction on the platform.”

This isn’t the first feature Uber has recently added.