Added safety on your rides with Audio Recording
Record all or some of your rides to encourage respectful behavior and keep you covered in case something unexpected happens.
Add a layer of safety to every ride
Set up your Safety preferences
Recordings will be automatic based on the preferences you set up—select all or some rides, such as late-night trips.
Encrypted recordings
These are privacy-protected recordings that cannot be accessed by you, your driver, or Uber Support unless they are attached to an incident report.
Set up Audio Recording
Tap the blue safety shield and select Set up safety preferences
Add Record audio to your preferences and allow the app to use your device’s microphone
Recordings will be automatic based on your preferences—select all or some rides, such as late-night trips
You can also start recording at any moment by selecting Record audio in the Safety Toolkit
How to attach recordings to reports
- Go to Help in your Uber app
- Choose Help with a trip
- Select the trip and then Report safety issue
- For phone recordings, choose Share recording when prompted
Drivers can record, too
Record My Ride
This in-app feature allows drivers to capture audio and video recordings of their trips.
Registered dashcam
Drivers can register their own dashcam and you will be notified if you’re being recorded.
Frequently asked questions
- Where is the Audio Recording feature available?
Audio Recording is currently available in more than a dozen countries throughout Africa, Asia, North America, and South America.
- Who can use Audio Recording?
Where available, riders and drivers can initiate a recording through the in-app Safety Toolkit using their own smartphone. The other party in the vehicle will not be notified at the time of recording, though notice has been given to all users that this capability is available, and riders will see a message in their app informing them that audio may be recorded on their trip.
Don’t see Audio Recording in your Safety Toolkit? Check that you have the latest version of the app.
- Why did Uber introduce this feature?
Uber is committed to building technologies that help make your Uber experience safer. The Audio Recording feature is intended to help encourage safe and comfortable interactions while on a trip, determine what happened, and identify the best response after a safety-related incident.
- Who can listen to the recording?
To maintain the privacy of parties in the vehicle, the recorded content is encrypted and neither riders, drivers, nor Uber can listen to it. If a serious incident is reported, Uber will consider providing the audio recording to the reporting party upon request on a case-by-case basis.
To learn more about our approach to privacy, please see our Privacy Notice.
- What if I don’t want to be recorded?
If you are notified that a trip may be recorded by a driver, you can always cancel the trip if you feel uncomfortable or don’t want to be recorded.
We take user privacy very seriously and limit any review of an audio recording to a dedicated Safety team at Uber. If we receive a recording that is not relevant to a safety incident, we will delete it.
- Does Uber still have access to the recording if I don’t send it?
No. If you don’t submit an incident report with the recording attached, Uber has no access to the recording and it is automatically deleted in 7 days.
- Is it still recording when I’m on a call with someone else?
No. The phone will take over the microphone, and the recording will automatically stop. You’ll have to start recording again on your own after the call.
- Is Uber listening as the recording is happening?
No, Uber is not listening as the recording is happening. Uber also cannot listen to the recording unless the user includes it with an incident report.
- Will the driver/rider know if I’m recording?
Other parties in the vehicle will not be notified at the time a recording begins, but riders will be notified of the possibility of recording when they’re matched with a driver.
In states that require all-party consent for recording (which includes CA, CT, DE, FL, HI, IL, MA, MD, MI, MT, NH, NV, PA, OR, and WA), drivers will also be notified of the possibility of recording when they’re matched with the rider.
- Will Uber provide the recording to anyone else?
In accordance with our law enforcement guidelines and third-party data request policies, and as may be required under applicable laws, Uber may provide the audio recording to third parties with appropriate legal process or in emergency situations.
- How are the audio files encrypted?
Recordings are encrypted using AES encryption Galois/Counter Mode (GCM) on the consumer’s device. Only Uber has the key to decrypt the file after it has been submitted to our Safety Support team by a user. Importantly, it is the user’s choice when to record audio and when to share it with Uber.
- Am I required to get consent to record? Is the law different in different states?
The majority of US states do not require you to obtain consent to record, but there are additional requirements in some states, including CA, CT, DE, FL, HI, IL, MA, MD, MI, MT, NH, NV, PA, OR, and WA. Please review your state’s laws to ensure that you’re complying with requirements around consent.
You can also review this privacy best practices guide, developed by the Future of Privacy Forum and Uber, to learn more about recording laws in the US and what they require you to do. Please keep in mind that if you drive between different states, the law may change based on where you are in the moment. If you’re using Uber’s Audio Recording feature in a state that requires all parties to consent, both the rider and the driver will receive in-app notice of the possibility of recording before the trip begins.
- How much storage does Audio Recording use?
This will vary based on your mobile phone, but in general 5-7 minutes of recording takes 1 MB of space on your device.
- How much data does it use to share the recording with Uber?
If you need to submit a safety report with a recording attached, we encourage you to be connected to wifi first. Otherwise, your normal data rates will apply.
- How do I share the recording?
Share post-trip: a pop-up window will appear at the end of the trip, and you can share with Uber on the spot.
Share later: in the app menu, go to your trip history, pick the trip in question, find the recording in your trip details, and share it with Uber.
Please note: you can only share audio with Uber after a trip ends.
- What will happen after I share the recording with Uber?
A member of Uber’s Safety team will review the report and listen to the contents. Appropriate action will be taken in accordance with our policies.
- I accidentally deleted the recording. Is there any way to recover it?
No, the content is only stored on the device. If you delete it, Uber has no way to recover it.
- When does recording start and stop?
You can start and stop recording at any time through the Safety Toolkit by selecting the blue safety shield in the app.
- What if I forget to stop the recording?
For riders, recording will automatically stop shortly after the trip ends. For drivers, recording will stop when they go offline.
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