Uber lets parents spy on teens' rides, but who else can see the video?
Will murky footage rules give new safety feature a bumpy ride?
Uber car with the Uber Connect application on in New York. Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu Agency
- Uber is piloting live video for teen rides in nine US markets.
- Parents can watch through the driver’s phone camera when a teen trip is underway.
- Uber stores encrypted recordings for 14 days and may review them after safety reports.
- Privacy questions remain over teen opt-outs, other passengers, and whether livestreams use end-to-end encryption.
Key Takeaways by nexos.ai, reviewed by Cybernews staff.
Uber is giving parents a new way to keep tabs on their teens during rides by letting them watch a live video feed from inside the car.
The feature uses the selfie camera on the driver’s phone to provide parents or guardians with a view of the car while a teen trip is underway.
Announcing the tool in a blog,published Tuesday, Uber said it was intended to offer families additional peace of mind beyond simply tracking a vehicle on a map.
While a livestream is available, the parent or guardian linked to the teenager’s Uber account receives a notification and drivers may be prompted to mount their phone so the camera has a clear view of the back seat.
If the parent starts watching, both the driver and teenager are notified, meaning there’s full transparency and the monitoring isn’t happening in a covert manner.
Only a parent or guardian whose account is linked to the teen account can access the feed.
However, lack of details around opt outs and footage access have already sparked privacy fears.
Privacy concerns raised over Uber teen live streams
While drivers can choose whether to enable livestreaming and parents choose whether to watch, it's unclear whether teens themselves can opt out once a stream is available.
Additionally, TechCrunch reports that passengers traveling with the teen have no opt out at all.
Neither the parent, teen, nor driver can directly access the recording after the trip, according to the firm.
Uber will only review the encrypted recording if a safety incident is reported, as part of our investigation,”Uber says of its new teen passenger livestreaming safety feature.
The company also stores an encrypted recording for 14 days and says it can use a decryption key to access footage when investigating a safety incident.
However, while Uber has confirmed the video is encrypted, it hasn’t confirmed in any reports whether the livestream is end-to-end encrypted, which would prevent Uber from accessing it during transit.
The feature is initially being piloted in nine US markets, including Atlanta, Phoenix, Cleveland and Rhode Island, with a nationwide rollout planned over the coming weeks.
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The move comes as Uber faces wider scrutiny over how its automated technology affects the people using its platform.
The Dutch Data Protection Authority fined Uber €825m ($966m) for its use of automated systems to suspend drivers.
The investigation began after complaints from 171 French drivers.
Regulators found that Uber failed to give drivers enough information about these automated decisions and did not ensure enough human involvement in them.
