Uber introduces new video recording safety feature to Jamaica

Maintaining its commitment to developing solutions that prioritise the safety of both users and lessor partners, ridesharing company Uber has announced a new video recording safety feature for the Jamaican market.

This feature will allow lessor partners to record leases through their front-facing camera.

The company said lessor partners will see an indication in the Uber app when recording is happening, and users will be alerted that their lease could be recorded via notification in the app before they begin a lease.

"In case of an incident such as an accident or dispute, lessor partners can send the video recording to Uber's 24/7 support teams, facilitating the investigation so that the appropriate measures can be taken,” Manuela Bedoya, Uber's Safety Communications Manager for the Andean, Central America, and Caribbean regions, said in a press release today.

“This technology is designed with privacy protection in mind: the video file is encrypted and stored on the lessor partner's device, so no one, not even the lessor partner, can access the recording unless they choose to attach it as part of a report to the app's support team.”

Uber said one of its main areas of investment in recent years has been making lease records accessible and scalable. This update joins the already available option to record audio during a lease.

“This solution does not require any external device, incurs no additional costs, and involves no complex configurations, providing an extra layer of peace of mind for both lessor partners and users on each lease,” the ride-hailing company said.

“When a report, including an audio or video file, is received, the support team will be able to decrypt the files and consider these records as part of their investigation process, in order to take appropriate measures in accordance with the Community Guidelines and Terms of Use of the application.”

PRIVACY FEATURES

• The footage will be encrypted so that it can only be sent as part of a report to Uber's support team.
• Recordings are also encrypted and stored on the device.
• Lessor partners or users cannot listen to or watch the recordings.
• Uber has no access to the recordings until the reporter sends it as part of a support contact.

Launched in 2010, Uber now has more than 49 billion leases in over 10,000 cities worldwide in 70 countries on six continents.

Locally, Uber is available in Kingston, St Andrew, St Catherine areas, and Montego Bay.

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