Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Teens might not love it. But Uber just introduced a feature that lets parents watch their kids’ ride happen in real time.
The company announced the live video feature this week, currently available in nine US markets, with plans to expand nationwide in the coming weeks, according to PEOPLE. The feature is built into Uber’s teen accounts, which already link a teen’s account to a parent or guardian. Once a trip starts, the parent gets a notification and can open the app to view a livestream from the driver’s phone’s front-facing camera. Both the teen and driver are notified when someone is watching, and the stream ends automatically when the trip does.
Uber says it built in real privacy limits. The video is encrypted, stored on Uber’s servers and only the linked guardian can view it during an active trip. Uber says it cannot access the livestream in real time and can only unlock the decryption key if it’s investigating a reported safety incident. Recordings are automatically deleted after 14 days unless they’re tied to a report.
One catch: the feature only works if a driver has turned on Record My Ride and enabled live streaming, and drivers can disable it at any time. It’s currently live in Atlanta, Phoenix, Orlando, Raleigh-Durham, Portland, San Antonio, Cleveland, Rhode Island and El Paso.
Teens might not love it. But Uber just introduced a feature that lets parents watch their kids’ ride happen in real time.
The company announced the live video feature this week, currently available in nine US markets, with plans to expand nationwide in the coming weeks, according to PEOPLE. The feature is built into Uber’s teen accounts, which already link a teen’s account to a parent or guardian. Once a trip starts, the parent gets a notification and can open the app to view a livestream from the driver’s phone’s front-facing camera. Both the teen and driver are notified when someone is watching, and the stream ends automatically when the trip does.
Uber says it built in real privacy limits. The video is encrypted, stored on Uber’s servers and only the linked guardian can view it during an active trip. Uber says it cannot access the livestream in real time and can only unlock the decryption key if it’s investigating a reported safety incident. Recordings are automatically deleted after 14 days unless they’re tied to a report.
One catch: the feature only works if a driver has turned on Record My Ride and enabled live streaming, and drivers can disable it at any time. It’s currently live in Atlanta, Phoenix, Orlando, Raleigh-Durham, Portland, San Antonio, Cleveland, Rhode Island and El Paso.
