NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — Uber has launched specialized teen accounts that were designed to help keep kids safe when requesting rides or ordering food.
According to a press release from Uber, the company began piloting the teen accounts in late 2022 in Canada and in early 2023 in several U.S. cities.
Parents and guardians can invite their teens (ages 13 to 17) to create a specialized Uber account that will allow teens to request their own rides and order food with parental supervision.
Through their Family Profile in the Uber app, a parent or guardian can invite their teen to create an account. The teen will receive a link to download the app, create their new teen account, and complete the mandatory safety onboarding process. After that, teens can start requesting trips and ordering meals on their own.
The release noted the following safety features embedded in the teen accounts:
- Live trip and delivery tracking: Parents can follow along in the app with real-time updates and live trip and delivery tracking whenever their teen requests a ride or places an order. Additionally, for teen trips parents will receive the driver’s name, vehicle information, and requested drop-off location so they know exactly where their teen is going and who is behind the wheel.
- PIN Verification: Before a teen gets in the car for a trip, they’ll be prompted to give their driver a unique PIN. Drivers will not be able to start the trip until they enter the correct code into their app, providing an extra layer of protection to ensure teens get into the right car with the right driver.
- RideCheck: Uber uses sensors and GPS data to detect if a ride goes off course, stops unexpectedly, or ends early. If something like this happens, the Uber app will message the teen and the driver to make sure they’re okay. RideCheck will be adjusted to be more sensitive during teens trips.
- Audio Recording available on trips: The Audio Recording feature allows users to record audio of their trip directly through the app and saves files on the device, automatically encrypting them so that no one, not the driver, not the rider or parents, and not Uber, can listen back to the recording.
- Expanded communication: Parents and guardians will be able to contact their teen’s driver at any time during a trip, as well as Uber’s safety line.
- Only highly rated, experienced drivers and couriers: Only drivers and couriers who have passed local screening and background check requirements and are highly rated and experienced will be able to receive trip and delivery requests from teen account holders. Drivers can choose to opt-out of receiving teen trips at any time.
- Teen-friendly Uber Eats: Teen accounts will have a teen-friendly view on the Uber Eats app so that items teens are not old enough to buy are filtered out. In addition, parents will be able to see every item in their teen’s order.
All teen trips will have safety features automatically enabled, including PIN verification, live trip tracking, unexpected event alerts, and access to Uber’s Safety Line. The features cannot be turned off by the teen, the driver, or the parent, so teens will always have access to them.
Beginning Thursday, riders in the New Orleans area will receive an email informing them about the new offering.
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