Uber has a new feature that lets you secretly snitch on your drivers – here’s how to use it

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Uber has updated its app to let you snitch on your driver while on your ride, with a “discreet” way to report on the myriad of ways they might offend you.

That includes anything that doesn’t qualify as an emergency needing police attention, such as “harsh braking,” “inappropriate remarks,” or not paying attention to the road.

That last one’s a doozy, I mean Uber drivers need to have half an eye on their app at all times to know where they’re going.

It also feels like a way to outsource customer service to in-app reporting, so Uber’s actual staff doesn’t have to listen to angry customers. It will most certainly be interesting to see how this plays out in the long run.

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Will this get abused? Is there a way for drivers to report riders similarly?

I mean, it’s not like the rider isn’t able to see their phone at all times while they’re mounted on the dashboard, so the driver is complying with hands-free laws.

With the power on driver ratings firmly in riders’ hands, Uber will have to be careful to weed out spurious use that could make otherwise great drivers look like chumps.

Here’s how to use it:

• Slide out the Safety Toolkit menu during your ride
• Tap on the new Report Safety Issue option
• You’ll get a textbox to enter your issue in, plus a reminder to use the 911 reporting if it’s an emergency
• Enter your grievance, and send it into the ether. You’ll know if it worked by a popup that’ll say a member of the Safety Team will contact you after your ride

Will this fix Uber’s safety issues? Probably not, but it’s nice to see that Uber is at least appearing to care.

What do you think about these changes to Uber? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

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Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience at KnowTechie, SlashGear and XDA Developers. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere, with particular focus in gadgetry and handheld gaming. Shoot him an email at joe@knowtechie.com.