Uber is reportedly testing a new safety feature that will allow riders to record audio of their driver and report it to the company in the event they feel unsafe.
According to USA Today, the new feature was discovered by developer and reverse engineer Jane Manchun Wong. On Monday, Wong tweeted her discovery of the “Record Audio” feature while on an Uber ride. She was unable to test out the feature herself but uncovered it within the app’s “Safety Toolkit,” which also allows passengers to share their location and ride details with family and friends in addition to an emergency panic button that contacts the police.
The feature comes as a part of a larger effort by the company to improve rider safety. Earlier this year, a South Carolina college student was murdered when she mistakenly got into a car she thought was an Uber. In 2018, numerous sexual assault complaints were lodged against drivers by female passengers. In the wake of these incidents, Uber introduced RideCheck, a feature that detects trip abnormalities, like a car crash or unusually long stops.
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