Uber will soon bring an in-app feature to Salt Lake City as part of an attempt to improve the safety of drivers and riders.
The “Safety Toolkit” feature will allow both Uber drivers and riders to record audio during trips for their personal safety. If an incident were to occur during the ride, Uber says that trained safety agents can review the audio clip, gather information about the incident, and take the proper course of action moving forward based on what happens.
The recording can be stopped at any point during the trip and is said to automatically stop when the Uber trip reaches its destination. Officials with Uber explained that audio files are stored on either the rider or driver’s device and nobody has authorization to listen to the recording without consent, even Uber employees.
So far, the safety feature has been tested in several states across the country including Kentucky, Missouri, and North Carolina. It’s also been implemented into Uber rides in Latin America and several other countries.
