COLUMBIA, S.C. — Uber ride service is adding a new in-app safety feature that will allow riders and drivers to record audio during trips. Columbia has been chosen as one of the cities across the US to have access to this expanded feature.
Drivers and riders can set up the feature in the Safety Toolkit in the Uber app. Once enabled, the user can tap the blue shield icon on the map screen and hit "Start" on the "Record Audio" option. The recording can be started or stopped at any point during the trip and will automatically stop recording shortly after the trip is completed, unless manually stopped by the user.
Audio recordings are automatically encrypted and stored on the user's device. One additional safety feature will include privacy -- no one will be able to listen to the recording, including Uber, unless a driver or rider submits a safety report to Uber and attaches the encrypted audio file. At that time, the file will be decrypted and a trained safety agent will be able to review the submitted audio. The audio, along with other incident information, can help Uber determine the best course of action.
The audio recording feature is now live in more than a dozen countries around the world and over 70 cities in the US. Active Uber users in the Columbia area will get an email informing them of the new feature and audio recording will be available to all riders and drivers in Columbia in the coming days.
Rider safety became an issue after March 29, 2019, when USC student Samantha Josephson got into a vehicle in Five Points she thought was her Uber ride and was kidnapped and murdered.