Parents who send their kids off in an Uber can now monitor their ride live through the driver’s cellphone camera.
On Tuesday, Uber launched live video streaming for teen rides in nine U.S. markets — Atlanta, Phoenix, Orlando, Raleigh-Durham, Portland, San Antonio, Cleveland, Rhode Island and El Paso — with plans to roll out the service nationwide in the coming weeks.
It’s an effort to give parents a way to check in on teens who use the Uber app to get to school, sports, hangouts and more. But what steps is the company taking to ensure rider and driver privacy?
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Uber’s new live video feature
The new live video feature can be activated on all teen Uber accounts. The parent or guardian linked to the account will be notified when a ride begins, allowing them to tap the notification and watch the ride in the Uber app.
The driver’s front-facing camera streams live, and once the ride ends, the video ends.
Before taking part in the program, eligible Uber drivers will receive onboarding for the feature, including recommendations on how to angle the camera. Drivers can also preview the camera angle when they’re not conducting a ride, through the Safety Toolkit in the Uber app.
Drivers eligible for the program must have a completed background check, a star rating of 4.5 or higher, and complete at least 100 trips.
“It’s another way we’re helping parents feel confident while giving teens the independence to get where they need to be,” Ashu Manohar, director of product management at Uber, told “Good Morning America.”
Safety precautions in place
To protect drivers’ and riders’ privacy, Uber has several safeguards in place.
Everything is done through the Uber app. Both the teen and driver are notified if a parent or guardian starts watching the live stream, and the live streams are recorded and stored in the app.
Uber, however, says the videos are encrypted and can only be viewed during a safety investigation. Otherwise, Uber deletes the videos after 14 days.
“The encrypted video file is stored on Uber’s server, and Uber may only access the decryption key to investigate a safety incident,” Manohar said.
When it comes to drivers, the recording is done on their personal cellphones, as Uber does not provide phones to its drivers. However, they can opt out of teen and recorded drives, giving them more control over whether their cameras are used.
What people are saying
Uber’s precautions aren’t quelling everyone’s fears, however.
Reddit users have been posting about recording Uber rides, even before the teen program launched.
Last week, one user wrote, “I already went and bought stickers at the dollar store to put over my front facing camera. Its insane.”
Meanwhile, another noted there’s an option to opt out. The criticism mostly is that drivers seem to be automatically enrolled and have to opt out, rather than having to opt in.
One user wrote, “They were automatically recording BEFORE giving me the option to opt-out. That’s unacceptable.”
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