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Uber launches new passenger verification and ‘Record My Ride’ feature

Uber has introduced new changes to its app to improve user safety, including a new rider verification feature and a feature that allows drivers to record video and audio during rides.

Uber’s new verification feature will roll out nationwide on Wednesday, and the company’s “Record My Ride” feature is now available to all drivers after a successful pilot, Uber announced Tuesday.

The Uber logo is seen at Uber headquarters on January 5, 2023 in New York City.

Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

In an exclusive first look on “Good Morning America” ​​that aired Wednesday, ABC News transportation correspondent Gio Benitez explained how the new verification process is being used to make sure travelers are who they say they are.

“So most Uber users are automatically verified,” Benitez explained. “You don’t have to do anything, but if you do, here’s how you do it.”

Benitez said users can select identity verification on their profile to add their ID.

“Choose ID, and it will basically ask me to take a picture of the ID and a selfie, because it will match the two pictures,” he continued. “I take a picture of my ID and now it asks me to take a selfie.”

Once the process is complete, a blue check mark will appear on the user’s account.

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi agreed in an interview with “GMA” on Wednesday when Benitez described the feature as almost similar to “TSA pre-check.”

A woman in a car holds a smartphone with the Uber app on the screen.

STOCK PHOTO/Adobe Stock

“Exactly, and look, I say the pre-check makes everyone on the plane feel safer,” he said, adding that the feature also offers benefits to passengers, especially when requesting a driver late at night.

“If you have a verified badge, you have an advantage over someone who is not verified by a driver who accepts a ride,” he said.

Uber driver L. Denise told “GMA” that she prefers to take verified passengers so she doesn’t have to worry.

“When you’re verified, it helps us say, ‘Yes, we’re going to get you that ride,'” she said. “You get a ride faster. You don’t have to wait. You don’t have to get canceled when people know, like, ‘Hey, this neighborhood, I’m really not sure,’ once you’re verified, it just makes life easier for everyone.”

Another feature Uber has launched to provide additional protection for drivers is ‘Record My Ride’.

This feature allows drivers to use their front-facing camera to record video and audio during their journeys.

Recordings are encrypted directly on the driver’s device and cannot be accessed unless the driver submits the file as part of a safety report.

Travelers will also see a notification in the app if they are paired with a driver who has the feature enabled.

The extra level of security comes in the wake of several recent attacks on drivers, including an incident caught on camera in New York City in August in which a woman pepper-sprayed her Uber driver and was later charged with assault.

The woman, Jennifer Guilbeault, 23, was later indicted on a charge of assault as a hate crime, according to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. She was given supervised release following the indictment and is due back in court on Oct. 3.

Shortly after the incident, an Uber spokesperson called the woman’s behavior “reprehensible” in a statement to WABC in August.

“Violence will not be tolerated and the passenger has been banned from the Uber platform,” the statement said. “We will support law enforcement in their investigation in any way we can.”