Uber is rolling out a new mask verification feature this month
If you don't wear a mask when you ride, this technology is for you.
Uber will soon ask for masked selfies from some passengers before they ride.
In response to the coronavirus pandemic, the San Francisco-based ride-hailing company is rolling out a new mask verification feature by the end of the month “to help ensure we are all protecting one another,” the company posted on Tuesday.
“Medical experts agree: wearing a mask can help slow the spread of COVID-19,” wrote Sachin Kansal, global head of safety product for Uber, in the post. “That’s why, since May, we have required riders, drivers, and delivery people to wear a mask or face cover when using Uber.”
In May, the company launched technology that verifies drivers are wearing masks. As a result, more than 3.5 million drivers and delivery people have taken part in more than 100 million mask verifications, according to the company.
“We firmly believe that accountability is a two-way street,” Kansal wrote. “That’s why we’re expanding the same technology to riders, too.”
If a driver reports you for not wearing a mask, the company will require that you send a masked selfie before your next ride. The idea is that one driver’s feedback can help keep the next driver safe, according to Kansal. As always, riders and drivers may cancel trips without being penalized if the other person isn’t wearing a mask, Kansal noted.
The technology will be available in the U.S. and Canada by the end of September, according to the company, and across Latin America and other countries after that.
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